Wrestle Trek: The Series
by Elektra1
Summary: Join Captain Vince McMahon and his crew aboard the WWF Titanprize.
1. Season 1 premiere Episode 1 Encounter a...

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON 1 

EPISODE 1: ENCOUNTER AT STARBASE 666 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF   
TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND   
NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 112233. We've reached Starbase 666. Our mission? Some much needed rest and relaxation for the crew of the WWF TITANPRIZE!" Captain Vincent K. McMahon Jr. closed his log book, and headed out onto the bridge of his ship. 

"Helloooooo Captain! Captain on the Bridge!" Ensign Venis announced, his voice low and gravelly. 

"At ease, everyone," Captain McMahon said as he took his seat, "Mr. Kane," he turned to his security chief, "Anything out of the ordinary I should be informed of before we dock?" he asked. Commander Kane just shook his head. The Captain then turned to his communications officer, "Mr. Rock, is Starbase 666 ready to dock us?" 

Lieutenent Rock spoke into his comm, "WWF Titanprize to Starbase 666 - The Rock wants you to dock his damn ship!" 

The Starbase replied after a few moments, "Starbase 666 will be ready to dock the WWF Titanprize in T-minus 5 minutes..." 

"It doesn't MATTER if you're ready!! If you don't dock us right now, the Rock will take this ship, shine it up real nice, turn the sumbitch sideways, and stick it straight up your candy ass!!" 

The reply was quicker this time, "Starbase 666 ready to dock the WWF Titanprize... right now.... sir...." 

After the docking clamps were set in place, the crew of the WWF Titanprize quickly departed the ship, eager to take their shore leave 

*** 

STARBASE 666 

Captain McMahon's shore leave didn't begin as peacefully as he had hoped. After only 20 minutes of sunbathing in a holosuite Hawaii program with Commander Shane, he was rudely interrupted by a Starbase Ensign. 

"Captain McMahon, sir! I'm sorry to inform you that we seem to have a problem with one of your crewmen..." the young Ensign said, saluting politely. 

"Problem?? What problem?!" McMahon asked. 

"Well... it's better if you come with me, sir..." 

McMahon got up with a sigh, "Fine, whatever, Ensign..." 

*** 

"Ahhh, Captain McMahon! It's a pleasure to have you onboard!" The Starbase commander began as he held his hand out to McMahon. He seemed to be sporting a fresh black eye. 

McMahon ignored the outstretched hand, "Cut the crap. What's the problem here, Commander?" McMahon asked. 

The commander grew serious, "Well, it seems there's a problem with one of your crewmen. Counselor Snow!" 

"Yes, what about him?" 

"We've gotten complaints that he carries around a severed woman's head..." the Commander explained. "When I tried to take the object from him, he hit me in the face with it... and gave me THIS!!" and pointed to his black eye. 

"Where is he now, Commander?" McMahon snapped. 

"He's in one of our holding cells, Captain...." 

"Take me to him!" 

"Right this way..." The Commander said, and lead McMahon to the brig. 

*** 

Counselor Snow was sitting on a cot in the brig, speaking to a strange object in his arms -- something that appeared to be a human cranium, "Yes, I know they're crazy! They don't know what they're talking about!" He paused for a moment, "Captain McMahon is on his way? Good! Maybe we can get this whole thing sorted out!!" 

Captain McMahon arrived. He looked at Counselor Snow and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, turned to the Starbase Commander, "Well... what's the problem?" 

"That THING he's holding! It's offensive, McMahon!!" The Commander said, glaring at Counselor Snow. "He... speaks to it!! And... well.. look at it! It's a WOMAN'S HEAD for heaven's sake!!" 

"You fool!!" McMahon snapped, "Counselor Snow is a telepath! He looks after the psychological well-being of my crew. Counselor Snow is currently holding a device called H.E.A.D. It sends telepathic messages to him and allows him to better understand the person he is counseling!!" 

"But... it's a WOMAN'S HEAD...!" the Commander repeated. 

Counselor Snow stood up, "I have a license for it, and have every right to carry it around wherever I go!" 

"Well, not on MY Starbase you don't!! Especially not after giving me a black eye with that thing!!" The Commander snapped. "I am hereby banning you and your... H.E.A.D. from my base!" 

McMahon glared at the Commander before him, "What is your name?! I'll be making a call to Wrestlefleet regarding this incident!" he snapped. 

"Commander Wally Mart, Captain! I assure you, I have every right to ban whom I chose from this Starbase!" 

"I understand your right to ban visitors under certain circumstances... but there are no such circumstances here!!" Captain McMahon answered. 

"We are getting complaints about Counselor Snow's .... WHATEVER the hell that thing is! He refuses to abide by my rules and part with it. Therefore, I have every right to ban him from my Starbase!!" 

Captain McMahon sighed, "Fine fine... just release him from the brig..." he turned to Counselor Snow, "You will hearby take the remainder of your shore leave aboard the Titanprize..." 

"But sir..." Counselor Snow began. 

"That is an order, Mr. Snow! Now beam back to the ship immediately!" 

Commander Snow headed to the transporter room, muttering incoherently to H.E.A.D. 

*** 

UNIDENTIFIED WRESTLEFLEET SHIP   
-- 3 DAYS FROM STARBASE 666: 

"Captain, we are running out of Dilithium crystals! We need to find more... and SOON!" The First officer began. 

The gray-haired Captain sighed, "Yes, I know, Commander. We are only a few days from a Starbase!" He checked the readouts on the screen, "Ahhh... it seems there is a Wrestlefleet ship there already," he looked closer at the readouts, "The WWF TITANPRIZE...?" the Captain stopped, and sighed, "That's the LAST ship I want to see right now..." 

*** STARBASE 666 

"What do you mean puppies are forbidden on this Starbase, son?" Lieutenant Commander Austin shouted at the Ensign that confronted him. 

"I'm sorry, sir..." he sputtered nervously, "But... no animals allowed on board!" 

"Listen ya silly bastard, these are OUR puppies! I'm gonna damn well bring 'em on board if I want to! And that's the bottom line!" Austin snapped. He pulled something out of his pocket - a small hand-held weapon with blinking lights, "You see this, son? It's called a stunner. And I'll stun your ass if you try to stop us!" 

"I'll call security!" the Ensign threatened. 

"You do that, son. We'll see how long they last against my stunner!" With that, Lieutenant Commander Austin took the hand of the puppy owner - Lieutenant Debra. "Let's go, Debra!" The two walked away, puppies and all. 

"Security!! SECURITY!" The Ensign called desperately. No one dared answer. 

*** 

UNIDENTIFIED WRESTLEFLEET SHIP   
-- 3 DAYS LATER 

"Are the docking clamps tightened?" The Captain asked. 

"Yes, sir!" Came the reply from Starbase 666. "Your crew is free to disembark!" 

"Thank you." he turned to his First Officer, "I don't wish to run into Captain McMahon, Commander. Go ahead. And... if you find anything we can use, take it!" 

"Anything we can use?" She replied. 

"Yes," The Captain replied, "ANYTHING!" 

*** 

TITANPRIZE   
-- 1 WEEK LATER 

"Did everyone enjoy their shore leave?" Captain McMahon asked the crew before him. 

Everyone muttered in agreement. They had fun. Now it was back to touring solar systems for another month. 

"Good!" he smiled at his crew, then turned to one of the younger members, "Mr. Edge, send Commanders Ferrera and Russo to my quarters as soon as possible. I must speak to them about our upcoming events..." 

"Uh.. dude..." Ensign Edge spoke quietly, "That may be a problem..." 

McMahon turned to the Ensign, "And why would that be a problem, Mr. Edge?" 

"They.. uh.. didn't sign back in... sir..." 

"WHAT?!" McMahon shouted, "Where the hell ARE they then?!" 

"We... don't know, sir..." Edge replied. 

Counselor Snow spoke up, "H.E.A.D. is telling me that Commanders Russo and Ferrera may have been... taken from us, sir?" 

"Taken from us? What, are they DEAD?" McMahon snapped. 

"No, Captain..." Counselor Snow began, "H.E.A.D. is telling me they are aboard another ship..." 

"Another ship?! What ship?!" 

Counselor Snow went to the view screen controls, and brought up a Wrestlefleet ship, "This ship, sir..." 

"Open hailing frequencies!" McMahon ordered. "Unidentified Wrestlefleet ship, this is Captain McMahon of the WWF Titanprize. We think two of our crew members may have accidentally boarded your ship by mistake..." 

A man appeared on the view screen, "This is Captain Turner of the WCW Nitro..." the man replied, "We have your crew members. But we refuse to give them back! That is, unless you give us a few Dilithium crystals. A fair trade, yes?" 

"WCW NITRO... last I heard you went AWOL! So this is where you've turned up! I'm sure Wrestlefleet would be very interested in discovering your whereabouts..." Captain McMahon replied. 

"We do not answer to Wrestlefleet anymore, Captain! I have bought my OWN fleet now! And us Nytrons do what we please!" Turner replied. 

"Nytrons?" Vince repeated, "Listen, Captain Turner, I don't care what you call yourselves. But if you insist on breaking ties with Wrestlefleet, then I have no choice but to arrest you for being in possesion of a Wrestlefleet ship! However, if you chose to return Ferrera and Russo, I will be more then willing to forget this incident...." 

"These two crewmen mean so much to you that you would protect me from Wrestlefleet?" Captain Turner spoke, surprised. 

"Yes, Captain," McMahon replied. 

The man on the view screen laughed, "Well then... here is the deal. You provide us with Dilithium crystals, prevent Wrestlefleet from finding out about us... and we will return your crewmen!" 

Suddenly, a voice spoke up from behind the Captain of the WCW NITRO, "Actually, we like it here..." 

Captain Turner moved aside to allow Captain McMahon a view of his Commanders. Russo stepped forward, "We request a change of assignment, Captain..." 

"A change of assignment? I refuse to grant you that! Especially aboard a renegade ship. No. an ENEMY ship now!" Captain McMahon replied. 

The First Officer appeared on the Screen, "This is Commander Fonda," She began, "Captain McMahon, it seems your crew members have chosen to stay with us. We will keep them whether you grant permission or not!!" 

Captain McMahon looked at Commander Russo, "DAMNIT, MR. RUSSO! Get your ass back here!!" McMahon shouted. 

Commander Ferrera stepped forward, "No, sir. We refuse! It's much nicer here. Better perks too..." 

"Damnit damnit damnit!!" McMahon swore. He turned to Lieutenant Commander Kane, "Ready phasers!! If they won't come back willingly, we'll take them back by force!!" 

Kane grunted, and McMahon translated it as 'Phasers ready'. 

"On my mark..." McMahon started, "... fire!!" 

The Titanprize's phasers hit the WCW NITRO full on. The ship was damaged, though not nearly enough for McMahon's liking. 

Captain Turner's eyes went wide as he asked for damage reports. He then glared at McMahon, "You may have damaged us... but you will NEVER defeat us! Goodbye, Titanprize!" and with that, the WCW Nitro went into warp, and disappeared. 

Captain McMahon and the crew of the WWF Titanprize would not see the last of the WCW Nitro.   



	2. Season 1 Episode 2 The Walls of Jericho

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON 1 

EPISODE 2: THE WALLS OF JERICHO 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more!   


CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, Stardate 223344. Our newest crew member, Ensign Jericho, defected from the Nytrons a few weeks ago, refusing to be part of Turner's rebellion. WrestleFleet ordered us to bring him on-board and test his loyalty. So far, he has proven quite satisfactory. He is able to do what is asked of him thoroughly and efficiently. He is definitely WrestleFleet all the way," Captain McMahon paused, "Though.... there seems to be something odd about him," He stopped, and re-thought his last sentence. "Computer," he spoke, "Delete that last statement from the log.."   


The computer beeped in response, and McMahon closed his log book. 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN: MESS HALL 

Ensign Jericho sat at the bar in The Smackdown - the only social dinning area aboard the WWF TITANPRIZE. The bartender, Terri, was wiping the bar down. "So... you're from the WCW NITRO, hmmm?" 

Ensign Jericho nodded, "Yeah, though I'd rather not remember that. I'm WrestleFleet, and I'll always be WrestleFleet. I refuse to aid rebels... which is actually for the better. WrestleFleet is so much better organized than Turner's pathetic little rebel faction!" 

Suddenly, Lieutenant McMichael came up to the bar. She seemed upset - which probably had something to do with the unflattering stain on her blue uniform, "Terri... will you do something about your incompetent waitress?" She said as she glared at a woman on the other side of the room. 

Jericho looked at the woman now being scrutinized by Lieutenant McMichael. He could tell the waitress was a Catarian - as characterized by the two feline ears on top of her head, the graceful stripes along her face and arms, and a tail that seemed to be waving wildly. 

"Miss Kitty!" Terri called out to the victim of McMichael's anger. 

The Catarian, Miss Kitty, was busy talking to King Lawler -- a man who claimed to be on a good will mission from Planet Memphis. Apparently, the mission had already lasted many years, and didn't seem to be ending any time soon. Jericho had heard murmurs around the ship claiming Lawler's campaign for congress had failed, and that he was only aboard the   
TITANPRIZE for lack of anywhere else to go. 

But then, Ensign Jericho was never one to believe rumors and gossip. 

"Kitty! Get over here!" Terri shouted loudly. 

Miss Kitty's ears twitched at the sound of the angry voice. She quickly spun around and bounced over to the bar, tray in hand. "Yes, Miss Terri?" 

"What happened with Lieutenant McMichael?" Terri asked. 

Miss Kitty shrugged, "I dunno... what happened?" 

"You spilled my synthehol on me!" McMichael snapped. 

Miss Kitty seemed clueless, "I did??" 

"Yes, you incompetent girl!! Maybe you should watch where you swing your tail next time!" 

"Oh, I'm soooo sorry, Miss Debra! I didn't mean too!" Miss Kitty replied, looking rather pathetic as her feline green eyes begged for forgiveness. 

Jericho watched the women arguing. For a moment, it looked like they would come to blows. 

Suddenly, the voices of the bickering women faded and were replaced by a loud buzz. Apparently, no one but Ensign Jericho heard it. 

The Ensign let out a yell as a the buzzing turned into a stabbing pain that drilled through his brain, and blurred his vision. He tried to stand up, but lost his balance and fell to his knees. 

"Ensign Jericho!" 

He could hear Terri shouting his name, but the pain was too intense. He was immobile, and unable to respond. 

The last thing Jericho heard was, "Smackdown to Sickbay. We have a medical emergency here!" then all went black. 

*** 

SICKBAY 

Ensign Jericho slowly awoke to see a scary, pale man staring down at him with cold gray eyes. He quickly bolted upright with a startled scream, and paid for it with a wave of dizziness. 

"Lie down..." the pale man said, his voice cold and gravely. Jericho recognized the man now as Dr. Taker, and did as he was told. The doctor turned to another man, this one also pale... but shorter and quite pudgy. "Bearer... give me another hypospray..." 

The pudgy man handed the hypospray to Dr. Taker, and the dark doctor quickly placed the object against Jericho's neck. Jericho could hear a hiss, and soon his dizziness faded. 

"You can sit up now..." Dr. Taker said. Jericho did so... slower this time. 

"What happened to me...?" he asked. 

The doctor looked at Jericho, "If you don't know, son, then I sure as hell can't help you!" 

"Great bedside manner..." Jericho thought. "So... you really don't know??" 

"Didn't I just say that? Don't you listen when the Lord of Medicine speaks, boy?" 

Jericho thought for a moment... and came up with the only possible explanation, "They tried to hack me!" he said aloud. 

The doctor looked perplexed, "Hack you?" 

Jericho jumped off the diagnostic bed, "Uh... never mind. Am I free to go?" he asked. The doctor nodded, and Jericho quickly left. 

*** 

ENSIGN JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

Ensign Jericho went over his diagnostic read-outs on the computer screen in front of him, "Hmm... everything seems normal," he said. 

He had taken precautions in case of another attack. Precautions that would not fail! 

Whatever was trying to hack into unit Y2J would deeply regret it. 

*** 

THE BRIDGE 

Jericho sat at his post on the bridge, watching over the ship diagnostics. It was all he could do to keep from falling asleep. Jericho much preferred his shifts in Engineering... even though he found the Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon, a tad on the annoying side. 

"Captain McMahon to Ensign Jericho. Report to my ready room! Immediately!" McMahon's angry voice came through the bridge comm system. 

Jericho tapped his comm badge, "Right away, Captain," he replied. He quickly stood up and headed to the door a few feet away. 

"Hey, roody poo... McMahon sounds pissed! The Rock thinks you'd better watch your candy ass!" Mr. Rock said as Jericho walked past him. 

Jericho chose to ignore the communications officer, and waited in front of the Captain's door. It automatically slid open. Ensign Jericho walked in slowly, wondering what horror awaited him. 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"She did it again!" Lieutenant Debra shouted to Terri. "Will you get rid of her already?!" 

Terri sighed, "I can't do that. She's King Lawler's friend. Captain McMahon told me to give her a job here as a sign of good will!" 

"One day, I'm just going to take her down!" Debra said. 

Terri allowed a small smile, "Good idea!" She looked at her friend, "Think we can charge?" 

"What do you mean?" Debra asked, brow furrowed. 

"If you and Kitty have a match... we could charge all these men to watch!" Terri replied. 

"You can't be serious!" the Transporter Officer gasped. 

Terri smiled and nodded. 

Lieutenant Debra knew the barkeep was being VERY serious. 

*** 

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Captain McMahon gestured to the seat across his desk. Jericho quickly took it, "How can I help you, Captain...?" he asked. 

"You can help me by answering a few questions!" The Captain replied. "I was informed by Dr. Taker that you had a problem earlier today?" 

Jericho nodded, "Yes, sir." 

"Well, Dr. Taker did a cat scan on your brain while you were unconscious in order to see if there was any physical reason for your discomfort." McMahon handed a small computer pad to Ensign Jericho, "Do you mind telling me what all this means? These results aren't exactly normal...!" 

Jericho read the pad, and paled, "Um... yes... well.. uh.... you see--" 

McMahon interrupted the Ensign, "If I had known there was an _android _aboard my ship, Mr. Jericho, I would have thought twice about allowing it to roam freely! When you asked to be signed aboard, you failed to inform me of your true nature! Now... do you mind TELLING me everything?" 

Ensign Jericho spoke proudly, "I'm unit Y2J. Created by Irvine Inc., trained by WrestleFleet, and sent aboard the WCW NITRO to observe human social interaction and culture," he explained. "I have many special skills. I have acrobatic skills, and above average strength. I was also programmed with free will, and am able to adapt to different circumstances and situations. But that's not all..." he continued, "I can interface with other computers and either save them from destruction, or infect them." he then quickly added, "Uh... not that I would ever infect the TITANPRIZE, sir!" 

"Well, that's reasuring!" Captain McMahon spoke. "Now... what happened to you earlier?" 

"I believe someone tried to hack into my system, sir. But it will never eeeeeeever happen again!" 

"Are you sure of that?" McMahon asked doubtfully. 

"Yes sir! I come equipt with 'the walls of Jericho' - a program that shields my system from hackers. If anyone attempts to hack into this beautiful brain of mine, I'm able to track them and stop them!" he spoke. 

"Who was trying to hack into your system then?" McMahon asked. 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "Well, I... I'm not sure, sir. I... uh.. didn't have the wall at that time. I just created it a few hours ago..." 

"WHAT?!" McMahon shouted, and stood up quickly, "Are you telling me that someone COULD have hacked into your system a few hours ago?" 

"Uh.. well..." he took a deep breath, and silently cursed the emotion chip that was currently sending feelings of anxiety through his body, "Yes... maybe... but..." he spoke quickly, "I don't think they were successful!! I've run a complete diagnostic... and everything is fine!" 

"Can you guarantee that?" McMahon snapped. "Listen, Ensign! You have access to some very sensitive information aboard my ship, and you're telling me that ANYONE could have taken that from your little brain a few hours ago and used it for their own purpose?!" 

"Well... if they were a qualified hacker... it's possible... maybe..." 

*** 

SOMEWHERE IN A SECTOR CLOSE BY   
- DX GAMESHIP 

"Damnit, Chyna! Don't tell me you can't get the link back!" Captain Helmsley shouted to the woman in front of him. 

"I'm sorry, Hunter... I guess the hack was too powerful last time..." Commander Chyna replied. 

"Damn right it was!" Mr. Ass said angrily. "You practically overloaded the Y2J's system! So much for being discreet!" 

"Didn't Turner give you any more useful info on how to hack into the Y2J Unit?" Navigation officer X-Pac asked. 

"I've USED all the info they gave us!" Commander Chyna snapped, "The Y2J unit put up the wall after our first attempt failed!" 

"Then break the wall down!" Captain Helmsley commanded, "It's time the TITANPRIZE and her crew met up with DX!" 

TO BE CONTINUED 


	3. Season 1 Episode 3 Unbreakable Wall

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON 1 

EPISODE 3: UNBREAKABLE WALL 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF   
TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND   
NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - HOLOSUITE 1 

A large bowl of replicated liquid chocolate sat in the middle of a holographic arena. Beside it stood a regular wrestling ring. Many of the male crew members gathered around. They had paid 5 ration chips each for the show they were about to see. 

Terri stood behind the till in a referee style bikini top and counted the chips. 350 chips in all. Not a bad take. More would be gathered when the snack and refreshment carts came out. 

Ensigns Ivory and Jacqueline came out first. Apparently, the two had had a disagreement in Engineering, where both were stationed. They had decided to work out their differences in the ring. 

Ivory easily got the better of her rival. 

Ensign Luna came out next to face Ensign Tori. A disagreement on who's 'other half' was scarier. Luna insisted it was Ensign Gangrel. Tori insisted it was Chief of Security, Kane. Again, this was the best place to work out their differences. 

Luna won. 

Finally, the main event started. Lieutenant Debra vs Miss Kitty in the chocolate bowl with Terri as special guest referee. Terri was guarded by the Hardy Ensigns as she made her way to the bowl. 

This was the moment the audience was waiting for. 

Lieutenant Debra wanted revenge for her ruined uniform. 

*** 

DX GAMESHIP 

"Captain! I've hacked into the Y2J unit again!" Commander Chyna announced. 

"YES! Now... tell me everything you find out!" 

*** 

BRIDGE OF THE STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

Ensign Jericho quickly looked up from his station and turned to the Captain, "Sir, bring up sector 576! They're attempting to hack into me again!" 

Captain McMahon turned to the Titanscreen, "On Screen! Scan the area." He commanded. 

"Sir," Mr. Edge began, "Scanners picking up an ship…. the DX GAMESHIP!" 

Captain McMahon stood up, "I've heard of them! They're trouble. WrestleFleet has all their ships on full guard. Set course, Mr. Edge. It's time to get rid of those bastards once and for all!" 

*** 

DX GAMESHIP 

"Captain... sensors pick up a ship closing in on us..." Chief Engineer Dogg began. "Awww, crap!! It's the TITANPRIZE!!" 

Captain Helmsley swore under his breath, "Chyna, how are you doing?" 

Chyna looked at the readouts in front of her, "I'm in... but.... oh... wait..." she pressed a few buttons, and gasped, "Oooops..." 

Captain Helmsley looked at her, "Oops? OOPS??!!! What the hell do you mean _Oops_?!" 

"When I hacked into the Y2J unit again, I set off some sort of scanner," She checked her readouts again, "Oh no! It's the Wall the Y2J unit created! Instead of us finding out its information, IT is finding out ours!!!" 

"I hate that damn Y2J unit!!" Captain Helmsley muttered under his breath. "X-Pac, get us the hell out of here!" 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

"They're traveling at impulse speed. The information I'm getting from their computer says that they aren't capable of going faster. Apparently their ship was damaged in a previous fight. Amazing that hunk of junk is moving at all!" Ensign Jericho said. 

"Can we beam aboard?" Captain McMahon asked. 

"Oh hell yeah!" Lieutenant Commander Austin replied as he checked the scanners, "Their shields are weak ass things..." 

"Fine. Mr. Kane! Take Lieutenant Commander Austin and Ensign Jericho with you to the DX ship. Bring those no good bastards here! We'll find them a nice place in the brig!" 

"Yes sir!" Austin replied, and headed off with Mr. Jericho and Mr. Kane. 

*** 

DX GAMESHIP 

"They're beaming aboard!" Mr. Ass replied. 

"Oh, great... juuuuuust great!" Captain Helmsley muttered. 

Chyna quickly materialized something from a nearby replicator, "I'll take care of the Y2J unit!" she said as she hid the object behind her back. 

The TITANPRIZE group shimmered into existence in the cockpit of the DX escape shuttle. 

Ensign Jericho went up to Commander Chyna, "You're coming with me, chickie! You've caused me enough problems already! Cause me any more, and I may have to break your fingers so you can no longer type away on your little computer here!"   
  
Commander Chyna quickly pulled a hammer out from behind her back, and hit Jericho over the head. 

The hammer had no effect. The Y2J Unit smiled, "Underneath this perfectly flawless skin, I'm made of no-selling titanium metal! I can't be damaged by something as weak as a hammer shot, he-woman!!" 

Chyna let out a resigned sigh, and dropped the hammer. She reluctantly held her arms out for the restraints. 

The rest of the GAMESHIP'S crew realized there was no way out of their predicament, and quickly followed suit. 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE   
- THE BRIG 

"I hope you guys enjoy your stay here..." Lieutenant Commander Austin spoke as the DX Crew remained behind a force field, "You'll be in the brig for a long, long time!" 

"Perhaps..." a voice spoke. It was the Captain. He had come to see the prisoners, "Perhaps there is SOME use for them after all!" 

"You mean integrate them into the crew?" Austin asked. 

"Yes... why not?" 

"Ya silly bastard!! You want WrestleFleet enemies to help run the ship?!" Austin replied. 

"That's not exactly what I had in mind..." Captain McMahon answered. He smiled. 

The crew of the DX GAMESHIP didn't like that smile. Not in the least! 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"How are the new waiters working out?" Ensign Jericho asked Terri as he sat at the bar, observing the human social scene and silently recording it in his database. 

Terri looked across the room. Chyna, Road Dogg, Helmsley, X-pac, and Mr. Ass had been stripped of their rank, and were now waiting tables with Kitty, who was busy begging forgiveness from the woman who had bested her in the Chocolate Bowl match - Lieutenant Debra. 

Chyna let out a shout as Kitty's tail accidentally hit the hot pot of coffee she was carrying, spilling it on her shirt, "I'll skin you, little kitty cat!!" Chyna shouted. 

Kitty looked frightened, "I'm sorry, Miss Chyna! I'm sooooo sorry!! Here... let me wait your tables for you!! You can go back to your quarters. I'll look after everything!" She took Chyna's tray, and began to serve the customers what was left of the coffee, "By the way, Miss Chyna... did I ever tell you how much I idolize you?" she asked. 

Chyna rolled her eyes, and left The Smackdown to get a clean outfit. 

Terri smiled at Ensign Jericho, "They're working out great! I haven't laughed this much in a long time..." There was a beep from the watch on her wrist, and she looked at the time, "Oh, I have to go give the Hardy Ensigns some special training," She smiled slyly, then looked across the room at Helmsley, "Hey, Hunter... get your cute butt over here and watch my bar for me!" 

"I'll make sure he doesn't drink anything..." Ensign Jericho offered. 

"Great. See ya, sweetie!" With that, Terri bounded out the doors. 

As Helmsley wiped down the bar, he tried to ignore Ensign Jericho's constant chatter and berating. 

Hunter fumed quietly. 

One day, everyone aboard the TITANPRIZE would be sorry. Sorry that they ever messed with DX! 


	4. Season 1 Episode 4 The Greatest Threat

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON 1 

EPISODE 4: THE GREATEST THREAT 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE!   


TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more!   
  


STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

"Captain's Log, stardate 445566.99. All is going well. We have a two day stop-over on the planet of Kanata. We will have one day of promotion, and the next night we will appear at the sold-out Trawna Spacedome. Everything should go moothly..." 

Captain McMahon closed his log book, and headed out to the Bridge. 

*** 

UNIDENTIFIED CUBE SHIP 

Emotionless automatons walked back and forth along the cold silver metal floor of their ship - a ship with no name. 

Names were irrelevant. 

Personal choice was irrelevant. 

All would be assimilated to their ways and their beliefs. 

Resistance was futile. 

*** 

PLANET KANATA - TRAWNA CITY 

Ensign Jericho, Ensign Test, Ensign Edge, Ensign Val Venis, and Ensign Christian all took a deep breath as they set foot on their home planet, "Ahhhh... it's good to be home!" Ensign Test began. 

"Yes. Perhaps I can take a trip to Win-a-peg City and visit the factory in which I was created!" Unit Y2J said happily. 

Test and the others looked at him, then shook their heads and headed to their hotel rooms. 

*** 

The Trawna Spacedome was sold out as the crew of the Titanprize made themselves ready to entertain the fans. 

Little did they know something was closing in on their ship. 

Something that could destroy everything they had worked for. 

*** 

UNIDENTIFIED CUBE SHIP 

The emotionless automatons readied themselves to board the WWF TITANPRIZE. 

No one would be safe 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE: THE SMACKDOWN 

Terri mixed a special drink for visiting Admiral Mae Young, "Here you go! Now drink it slow. It's very powerful!" 

Before the Admiral could even take a sip, a surge of energy shot the glass out of her hand. 

"Drinking is evil..." A strange echo of voices filled the popular bar. 

Terri turned to the entrance way only to see three shiny white automatons aiming what looked like energy weapons at the now demolished drink, "What the hell!" Terri gasped. 

"Swearing is evil..." the voices spoke again. 

The automatons then raised their weapons, and aimed at Terri. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

Ensign Angle looked at the readouts on the screen before him, "What's this?!" he gasped. He quickly hailed the Trawna Spacedome, "Ensign Angle to Captain McMahon! We need you back on the TITANPRIZE immediately, sir! It's an emergency!" 

*** 

Captain McMahon quickly made his way onto the bridge. The crew had all been beamed back to the Titanprize and their Spacedome show had been canceled, "What the hell is going on here, Ensign?! What is so damn important that I had to refund 100,000 credits worth of tickets?" 

"We've been boarded, sir!" Angle replied. 

"WHAT? By who?! And WHY didn't you prevent this?! ANSWER me, Mr. Angle!" The Captain demanded. 

Angle replied, "We don't know who they are! They evaded our sensors originally, sir! But now, we're getting a reading of a large cube-like ship!" 

"Life signs?!" McMahon asked. 

Angle scanned the cube ship, "No signs of life, sir... " 

"How is it possible that a ship that big has NO life signs?!" McMahon demanded. 

"I don't know... but it's TRUE, sir! Your Olympic WrestleFleet hero wouldn't lie!" 

"They're robots!!" A slurred voice shouted as the turbolift doors opened. Everyone turned to see a very drunk Admiral Young making her way onto the bridge. "I saw'em... they're robotsssss... they hit Tera... or.... Toby... er... Terri..." 

"What the hell are YOU going on about, old woman?" McMahon asked. 

"Shhhhhhhsssshhhh.... swearing is evil! Not allowed to swear.... not allowed to drink.... not allowed...." Admiral Young then passed out on the floor of the bridge. 

"Damnit, someone get that drunken sloth out of here! And go see what the hell is happening in The SMACKDOWN!" McMahon snapped. 

Ensign Jericho, Commander Kane, and Lieutenant Commander Austin quickly headed off to the Smackdown. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Kane, Austin, and Jericho rushed into The Smackdown, phasers ready to fire. 

They saw what Admiral Young had been talking about. Three automatons had taken the patrons of The Smackdown hostage. 

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated..." the automatons spoke. 

"Assimilate THIS, ya stupid bastard!" Austin shouted, and fired his stunner at the things standing before him. He knocked one down, and aimed for the next one. 

Unfortunately, the second one created an invisible shield and deflected Austin's attack. 

Kane fired at the second one with his own weapon. It was unable to adapt, and soon fell to the ground in a heap. He attempted to attack the third one as well, but it had adapted to his weapon's energy signature and shielded itself. 

The third one was busy scanning the computers of the Titanprize. It turned to the armed crewmen, "You will be assimilated," 

"I don't WANT to be assimilated, you big pile of metallic excrement!" Ensign Jericho shouted. 

"Resistance is futile..." the automaton replied. Then it paused, and walked up to Jericho. It looked at him and Unit Y2J could feel it scan him. He scanned it in return, slowly finding out information. 

It didn't seem to care. 

"You are different," the automaton began. "You will be easier to assimilate. We will reprogram you..." 

"Reprogram MY beautiful positronic matrix? I don't think so!" he replied, and tackled the automaton to the ground. 

Jericho's titanium no-selling metal body hit the automaton hard. The automaton was stunned for the moment, and Jericho quickly reached behind it's back and pulled it's self-destruct mechanism. 

Unit Y2J then jumped to his feet and watched as the automaton turned to dust. 

Austin tapped his comm badge, "Austin to sickbay. Is the barkeep all right?" 

Dr. Taker's ever calm voice replied, "Terri is alive. She is recovering from a flesh wound. She was able to duck the enemy weapon on time..." 

"Ensign Jericho to the Bridge. Captain, we've destroyed the invaders... for now..." 

"Return to the bridge," Captain McMahon replied. 

They did so. 

*** 

THE BRIDGE 

"Captain, the enemy ship's roody poo candy ass is hailing us!!" 

"On screen, Mr. Rock!" McMahon ordered. 

An inside view of the ship showed up on the Titanscreen. It was a frightening sight! 

Rows upon rows of shiny white metal hallways filled the cube ship. Along the walls of the hallways were alcoves upon alcoves. Each filled with an automaton. 

McMahon was in awe at what stood before him. He turned back to Ensign Angle, "I thought you said there were no life signs, Mr. Angle!" 

Ensign Angle checked his readouts again, "Like I said before, it's true! These automatons have NO life! I mean... they're not registering as life forms!" 

"They're robots, sir," Ensign Jericho spoke up. "And they can adapt to our weapons..." 

"Crew of the WWF TITANPRIZE..." The automatons spoke as if they were one, "We are the PTC!" 

"The PTC?" Captain McMahon asked his crew. No one seemed to be familiar with them. McMahon addressed the enemy, "PTC, why have you targeted our ship?! We mean you no harm!!" 

"We have decided your ways are unacceptable. Your ways are evil! You must be made to understand. You must be assimilated!" the PTC replied. 

"What do you mean assimilated?? If you plan to take away our free will," McMahon was interrupted. 

"Free will is irrelevant. Personal choice is irrelevant! We have seen your broadcasts! We have deemed then unacceptable!" 

"If you don't like our show, change the damn channel!!" McMahon replied. 

"Changing the channel is irrelevant! You must all be assimilated!! The behavior of your crew must be censored!" 

"What right do you have to---" McMahon was interrupted again. 

"We are the PTC! We will decide what is acceptable and what is unacceptable! You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile!!" 

"If you attack our ship, then I'll have to retaliate!!" McMahon replied. 

"We will attack those that support you! They will be assimilated!!" The many voices of the PTC replied. "We will meet again, Captain Vincent K. McMahon..." 

With that, the PTC cube ship sped off at warp speed. 

All was silent on the bridge. 

Finally, McMahon spoke, "Mr. Rock... send communications to all Starbases, and information services. We have a new enemy. One that may be a great threat to all of Wrestlefleet!" 


	5. Season 1 Episode 5 Blackout

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON 1 

EPISODE 5: BLACKOUT 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log stardate 55.66.77.88. The ship is running on auxiliary power. Minimal life support, minimal lights. We are not sure the cause of our power loss since my daugher, Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon, is unavailable. She had a hair appointment she couldn't miss," 

*snap* 

"Damnit!" Captain McMahon swore as he looked at the broken pencil in his hands, "Damnit, damnit...!!" He threw the pencil in the trash. It landed on top of 5 other similarly broken pencils. "I hate this primitive way of keeping data!" he muttered, cursing the power loss. He angrily crumpled up the piece of paper in front of him. It joined the pencils in the trash bin. "Screw it... no Captain's log today!" 

With that, he headed out onto the bridge. 

*** 

BRIDGE 

"Ensign Jericho," McMahon commanded, "Have you gone down to Engineering to find out what the cause of this power loss is?!" 

Y2J responded, "Yes, sir. The Engineering doors are jammed. Whatever happened, no one wanted us to find out. I can't get into the engineering computer from here either... unless you want me to hack into it." 

"YES! Do it!" the Captain commanded. 

Y2J nodded, and grabbed the ever-present ponytail at the back of his head. He began to pull... and the ponytail seemed to grow. He removed the elastic... and revealed a port plug. 

Captain McMahon looked at him, "...the hell..?!" 

Jericho handed the ponytail plug to his Captain, "Could you please place that into the comm port on the side of the diagnostics station, sir?" he asked. 

McMahon looked at the handful of hair, and the wire leading into Y2J's positronic brain that followed it. He shrugged and quickly inserted the plug into the diagnostics station. 

Y2J jerked slightly as a jolt of power surged through him. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, McMahon could see the whites of Y2J's eyes had been replaced with green binary images. "Mmm hmmm... very interesting..." Jericho muttered to himself, "Ooooh.... that's weird..." 

"What? What is it?" McMahon asked desperately. 

Jericho looked at McMahon, "The latest GTV! It's picked up Admiral Mae Young and Lieutenant Mark Henry doing some weird---" 

"Ensign Jericho!" McMahon interrupted impatiently, "ENGINEERING! What is happening in ENGINEERING?!" 

"OH! Yes, sir!" Jericho replied. He closed his eyes again, and re-opened them. New computer readouts replaced the binary images, "Your problem lies in the power belt, sir..." 

"What's wrong with the power belt? It's state of the art!" McMahon said. 

"I know. The problem is that your power belt is... GONE... sir!" 

*** 

ENGINEERING 

Lieutenant Henry, finished with Admiral Young for the moment, attempted to pry the Engineering doors open with his bare hands. It wasn't working. Even Y2J's attempts to override the controls didn't help. 

"Move aside, Mr. Harry..." Y2J said, and pushed Lieutenant Henry away. Y2J went up to the doors, and pried them apart by himself. 

Henry looked at him, "How did you---?" 

"Not now, Lieutenant Harry.." Jericho interrupted, "Let's get inside!" Y2 J said as he quickly went up to where the power belt SHOULD have been. "Yup... it's still gone..." . 

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Ensign! But... WHO took it?" The Captain asked. 

"Damned if I know... sir...." Jericho replied, then furrowed his brow, "One moment... hmmm..." he looked over the area, "There are fingerprints here. I'll run them through my database.." 

McMahon looked at where Jericho had claimed to see the fingerprints, "There's nothing there..." 

"No. They're not noticeable to the naked eye...." Jericho began. 

"Naked!" Lieutenant Henry replied, and quickly excused himself. He needed to find Admiral Young again. 

Jericho watched him go, and shook his head, "Scary. Very scary..." he muttered, then turned back to the task at hand. "Anyway, Captain... I can see what most humans can't, including fingerprints." He used his internal sensors to scan the area, and went through his database of all those on board the Titanprize at the time of the power loss. "Sir, my database indicates these are the fingerprints of the waiter, Triple H!" 

"Triple H? DAMNIT!" McMahon swore, "but we didn't give him any access!" 

"Where is your daughter, sir?" Jericho asked, his suspicions aroused. 

"She's getting her hair done! Why does that matter? She has nothing to do with Triple H! Damn that DX! Damn them to hell!" 

McMahon then proceeded to cut a 5 minute promo about how he planned to screw DX. 

Ensign Jericho interrupted him, "Ok sir... if you can't at least be entertaining, then shut the hell up!" 

Captain McMahon turned back to Ensign Jericho, angered by the rude dismissal of his promo. He decided he would punish Y2J later by putting him in a long and boring feud with one of the female waiters at the Smackdown. 

Right now, however, the Captain needed the arrogant Y2J Unit to fix the problem that lay before them, "Fine, Ensign Jericho... what can we do? The auxiliary power won't last more then another two hours!" 

"We need a temporary power source. Do you have any extra gold aboard this ship? Something similar to the power belt?" 

"I don't... but I know someone who may!!" McMahon replied. 

*** 

BRIDGE 

"Mr. Rock!" Captain McMahon started as he entered the bridge. "We need an alternate power source, and your gold watch is the first thing I thought of!" 

"WHAT?" Mr. Rock replied as he spun to face Captain McMahon, "You want to take The Rock's $2000 Rolex watch and use it as a power source?" 

"That's what I said, yes..." 

"But this is The Rock's $2000 Rolex watch!" he repeated, "The Rock isn't simply going to hand it over to a roody-poo like yourself..." he paused, and added, "Sir..." 

"If you don't, Mr. Rock, we will all die when life support fails in two hours!" McMahon replied. 

"Actually, 1 hour, 57 minutes, and 20 seconds..." Y2J corrected, "1 hour, 57 minutes, and 19 seconds... 1 hour, 57 minutes, and--" 

"THANK you, Ensign Jericho!" McMahon interrupted. 

"I still think you should look for your daughter, Captain," Jericho said, "I saw her in the Smackdown the other day speaking to Triple H...." 

"Quiet, Jericho!" McMahon snapped, "Now, Mr. Rock... your watch please..." 

Lieutenant Rock paid no attention. He turned his back to the Captain, and stuck his nose in the air, crossing his arms. His eyes were unreadable behind his shiny black sunglasses (which he wore despite the fact it was against ship dress code). 

"Sir," Ensign Jericho began, "I think I know where else we can find gold..." 

*** ENSIGN KURT ANGLE'S QUARTERS 

"Ensign Angle, we need your help," Captain McMahon started as he sat in the couch across from his newest crewman. 

"Captain, may I say it is an honor that a man such as yourself recognizes the talents of an Olympic gold medalist such as _my_self!" Ensign Angle began. 

"Actually... speaking of gold..." Captain McMahon started, a sneaky smile appearing on his lips. 

*** 

ENGINEERING 

"Nooooo... give them back! GIVE THEM BAAAAACK!!" Ensign Angle shouted. "My gold medals! How DARE you do this to an Olympic champion?! How DARE YOU!!" 

Ensign Angle's screams faded down the corridor as he was dragged away from engineering by the Chief of Security, Commander Kane. 

Y2J quickly placed Ensign Angle's gold in the power core, "That should work for a few days. At least until we can get to the next Starbase and get another power belt. Unfortunately, lights, life support, and computer use will still be minimal..." Y2J explained, then sighed, "Who's bright idea was it to use a gold Heavyweight title belt as a power source anyway?" 

Captain McMahon shrugged, "Why not? It's not useful for anything else anymore," 

Ensign Jericho shook his head in dismay. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - the next day 

Terri poured Ensign Jericho's 8th Synthehol of the night, "You can really hold your liquor!" she said. 

Ensign Jericho shrugged his shoulders, "Synthehol doesn't affect me the way it affects humans," 

Terri nodded appreciatively, "So I've noticed... but then why do you drink it?" 

"I'm trying to imitate human behavior and practices. I've noticed a lot of the crew drink synthehol constantly," 

"If you want to truly imitate human behavior, you should pass out drunk. A lot of the crew do that too." Terri replied with a smile. 

"Have you seen your waiter, Triple H, lately, Terri? Or Commander Stephanie McMahon?" 

Terri thought for a moment, "Now that you mention it, I DID see them the other day. They seemed a bit cozy," 

"I'm a bit suspicious about Triple H and the Chief Engineer... but Security Lieutenants Farooq and Bradshaw gave both a thorough interrogation and could find nothing. Not even the missing power belt! The Commander swore her loyalty to WrestleFleet, and your waiter, Trip, seemed to have an alibi for the time the belt went missing." 

The Catarian, Kitty, quickly came up to the bar, interrupting the conversation. "Terri... it's cooooold in here!! Can't you turn the heat up or something?" 

"Life support is minimal," Ensign Jericho explained, "It will be cold for a few days until we can get a new power belt." 

"But.. then that means I'd have to wear underwear!" she whined, then looked at Y2J and offered him a sly smile, "Unless YOU can keep me warm," 

Ensign Jericho raised an eyebrow, "I don't think so, no..." he replied. 

"But... aren't you going to be cold too? 

"My body temperature never changes. I'm always comfortable," he explained. 

"Well then..." Kitty began, "Can you keep ME comfortable?" she asked. 

Y2J looked across the Smackdown, and noticed The Rock, now off duty, "Look... Lieutenant Rock is sweating, Kitty. Why don't you ask him to keep you warm!" 

"Mr. Rock is just trying to come up with new catch phrases, that's why he's sweating! He doesn't want to be disturbed!" Kitty replied, then added, "And call me The Kat!" 

"Yeah, whatever, Kitty..." Y2J replied, not really listening to her as he became fascinated with a couple on the other side of the bar keeping each other VERY warm. 

"I said CALL ME THE KAT!" 

Jericho looked at her, "Sorry... did you say something, Kitty?" 

"ARGH!!" Kitty -- The KAT -- screeched angrily, then spun on her heel and walked away. 

"What's her problem?" Y2J asked. 

"She was flirting with you. You totally rejected her," Terri explained. 

"Hmpf! I'd much rather flirt with the ship's computer," he replied, and chugged down another glass of synthehol as the Titanprize made it's way to Starbase 876 to pick up a new power belt.   
  



	6. Season 1 Episode 6 Extreme Attack

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON 1 

EPISODE 6: EXTREME ATTACK 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log. Our new power belt is holding up well. So far, all seems well..." 

Captain McMahon closed his log and headed to the bridge. 

*** 

BRIDGE 

"Captain on the bridge!" an Ensign called out. McMahon couldn't remember his name at the moment. It was some personality-challenged crewman. Blackman... or something. 

"Captain, The Rock's located a distress call coming in on a WrestleFleet emergency frequency..." Lieutenant Rock informed Captain McMahon. 

"On screen, Mr. Rock." 

Lieutenant Rock played the distress call. 

The view screen revealed an injured WrestleFleet Captain, but the reception was snowy and almost un-watchable. Behind the Captain lay a damaged bridge and several injured, if not dead, crewmen. 

"This is Captain Heyman, new Captain of **fzzz** ECW Extremeship. We are under attack **fzzz** Repeat. Under attack!! **fzzz* are having trouble **fzzz** keeping systems **fzzz** online. The ship **fzzz** useless. We **fzzz** backup. Repeat. **fzzz** Request backup **fzzz** enemy is **fzzz**" 

Soon the fuzzy viewscreen revealed five large men grabbing two prone bodies behind the Captain. He attempted to stop them, but to no avail, "We're being raided **fzzzz**," the Captain's message continued, "Need help **fzzz** Immediately... **fzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**" 

The picture exploded in a shower of snow. 

"What were the last known coordinates of the ECW Extremeship?" Captain McMahon demanded. 

"The roody poo Extremeship was last seen at coordinates 66.22.33," 

"Take us there!" McMahon commanded the navigator, "Immediately!" 

*** 

COORDINATES 66.22.33 - ECW EXTREMESHIP 

Captain Heyman paced around a dark bridge as his ship drifted lifeless through space. "10 minutes until complete systems failure," the cold computer voice reminded him. 

"Shut up!" he shouted. 

"Oh my god!" Commander Styles replied hysterically, "It'll kill us! It'll kill us!! That's it. We're dead! Oh my god!" 

Captain Heyman quickly smacked his commander upside his head, "I don't need YOU going on now, Joey!" 

Suddenly, Lieutenant Van Dam spoke up, "Sir! We have a WrestleFleet communication coming in!" he smirked, "Cool!" 

Captain Heyman turned to Van Dam, "Well put it on the F'n screen, Rob!!" 

Captain Heyman turned to the F'n Screen to see a well-groomed man in an Armani WrestleFleet Uniform, "This is Captain Vincent K. McMahon of the Starship Titanprize. We will be at your location in 4 minutes." 

"This is Captain Heyman of the ECW EXTREMESHIP. We are in urgent need of assistant, Captain! We have 10 minutes of life support left!" 

"9 Minutes, 30 seconds until complete systems failure..." the cold computer voice corrected. 

"We will beam your crew aboard the Titanprize and see about repairs. Captain McMahon out!" 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Thank you for offering us a life-line, sir," Captain Heyman said. 

"It's WrestleFleet's duty to assist fellow ships. Now, what happened? We received your distress call, but it didn't tell us much," Captain McMahon said. 

"We were attacked by a cube ship! It was the PTC, McMahon!!" Captain Heyman explained, "And once they damned us for cheering on the WWF Titanprize over the WCW Nitro a short while ago, they attacked and left my ship drifting." 

"Damn the PTC! They've caused a lot of damage lately!" McMahon said. 

Captain Heyman nodded, "Yes, they have... and to make matters worse, once we were sufficiently damaged, we saw WCW Thunder heading towards us! We thought they would help... but..." he shook his head, "They raided our ship, took Ensigns Sandman, and Knobbs, and left us!" 

"Damn the Nytrons! They've converted a lot of officers lately!" McMahon replied. "Well, Captain, we will repair your ship... but the PTC seem to have run off and hidden again, and we have no idea how to get your crewmen back!" 

"We can take care of our crewmen, but we need a ship to get them back!" Heyman replied. 

McMahon nodded, "We've lost two good men to the Nytrons recently as well..." he sighed and shook his head, "Well, Captain. For now, you and the rest of the crew are safe. Let me take you on a tour of the Titanprize..." 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Paul!!" Jericho, Austin, and Foley shouted in sync as Captain Heyman entered the bar with Captain McMahon. 

"Hey! Nice to see you guys! You've gotten a sweet position here on the Titanprize!" He replied. 

McMahon, Heyman, and the other 6 men all sat down to share a drink... until... "The most electrifying crewman aboard the WWF TITANPRIZE to Captain McMahon," Lieutenant Rock paged through the com in the Smackdown, "Your roody poo candy ass is receiving a message from the WCW Thunder. Marked URGENT!" 

*** 

BRIDGE 

"What do you want?" Captain McMahon asked the Captain of the WCW Thunder, who's face currently took up the whole view screen, "and what the hell happened to Turner?" 

"Captain Turner is no longer in charge of the WCW Thunder and the Nytrons," the new captain replied, "He didn't like what Commander Ferrera and I had planned for the future of his company... so we mutinied!" 

McMahon watched as the new Captain, Russo, laughed at the memory of his mutiny. McMahon rolled his eyes, "Yes, and now YOU have free reign to screw everyone. What's your point? What do you want from us, Russo?" 

Captain Russo became serious, "Well, Vinnie-mac... it seems that the PTC has not only been targeting you, but others as well!" 

"Gee... ya think?!" Captain Heyman interjected sarcastically, and glared angrily at the face on the viewscreen, "Tell me, Russo, did you raid the other fallen ships too?!" 

"No. No, just yours..." Russo replied, "Now the point I'm trying to make is this... the PTC seems to have it in for EVERYONE! I propose that we team up and fight them off!" 

McMahon frowned, "You're just scared they'll come after you next with all the crap you've been showing lately!!" 

"Our show is not as risqué as yours, McMahon..." 

"Well.... No... but it's still crap nonetheless. Our show is much more entertaining!" 

"Oh really?!" Russo replied, "Well how about if I out-McMahon McMahon!! What will you say then, hmmm?? HMMM?!!" 

"OK!" Captain Heyman interrupted, "This isn't getting us anywhere!! Just return the Extremship's crewmen, Russo!" 

"Captain," a voice came through the com. It was the transport bay, "One crewmember taken from the ECW Extremeship has beamed aboard the Titanprize! Ensign Sandman." 

"Damnit!" Russo swore, "They got away!!" 

"What about Knobbs?" McMahon asked the transporter chief. 

"He's still aboard the WCW Thunder, sir..." 

"Knobbs never WAS too bright," Captain Heyman muttered. 

"Bring Sandman to the bridge," McMahon commanded. 

Sandman arrived on the bridge and quickly ran to Heyman, hugged his Captain and sobbing, "They called me HAK, sir... HAK!!" Sandman started as tears streamed down his face "It was horrible... just horrible!!" he shook his head, "They denied me the three things I could not live without! My beer, my cane, and my swearing! I almost DIED, sir!" 

Captain Heyman consoled his crewman, "It's over now... it's ok! You're safe. Go to storage bay 8. You'll find everything from the Extremeship there, including your cane, your book of swearwords, and a lot of beer!" 

"HEY!! That's MY beer!" Lieutenant Commander Austin spoke up from his position at the tactical station. 

Sandman looked at Austin, eyes pleading, face sad, "Pleeeeeeease, Lieutenant Commander? I NEED the beer! It's been soooo looooooong!" 

"Ahh... the hell with it! Go ahead, ya silly bastard. Take a six pack!" Austin said. 

"Thank you!!" With that, Sandman ran to Storage Bay 8. 

McMahon turned his attention back to Russo, "Well, Captain..." he began, "Against my better judgement, you and I may need to work together after all. If the PTC struck us, and the Extremeship, they may just strike you next!" 

Russo nodded, "So... we'd better make plans then, hmmm, McMahon?" 

*** 

PTC CUBE SHIP 

The PTC ship slowly made it's way towards where the Extremeship, Titanprize, and Thunder currently were. 

The only way to defeat the enemy was to KNOW the enemy. 

The only way to defeat Captain McMahon was to KNOW Captain McMahon. 

_ We will assimilate Captain McMahon of the Starship Titanprize._

_ Resistance will be futile!_   
  



	7. Season 1 Finale Episode 7 Best of the P...

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON 1**

**EPISODE 7: BEST OF THE PTC WORLD**

**PART ONE**

**By: **Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 88.99.1010. Captain Russo of the WCW Thunder, and myself have agreed to a temporary truce to deal with the latest threat, the PTC. We have decided to meet on neutral territory - the now repaired Extremeship. I only hope that I have not made an error in judgment joining up with Russo," 

Captain McMahon closed his log. 

*** 

BRIDGE 

"Mr. Rock, ask the Thunder if Captain Russo is ready to beam aboard the Extremeship." McMahon commanded. 

Lieutenant Rock brought the Thunder's communication's officer on screen. "This is the WWF Titanprize to the roody poo WCW Thunder. Is your Captain's candy ass on board the Extremeship yet?" 

"Yo, yo, yo.... Lemme speak on 'dis!" Came the reply from the bald-headed Thunder communications officer, "Captain Russo is bowdy bowdy and rowdy rowdy!" 

Rock looked at the communications officer, "What the hell kind of language are you speaking, Jabroni? Answer the Rock's damn question!" he said. 

"I told you he bowdy bowdy and rowdy rowdy!" 

Rock raised his eyebrow, "What is your name?" 

"My name is Lieutenant Konnan---" 

"It doesn't MATTER what your name is!" Rock interrupted, "Now just tell the Rock if your roody poo Captain is on the Extremeship. Yes, or no!" 

There was a pause, then finally, "Yes!" the officer replied. 

Rock cut the link, "Get your candy ass over there, McMahon. Russo is already on board!" 

With that, Captain McMahon headed to the transporter bay. 

*** 

ECW EXTREMESHIP 

"Where the hell is McMahon!!" Russo demanded of the Titanprize. 

"McMahon is just about to transport to the Extremeship!" Rock replied. 

Russo and company waited. Ten minutes later, they called the Titanprize back, "He's still not here!!" Russo said, "Is he trying to screw me?" 

On the F'n Extremeship screen, Lieutenant Rock looked confused, "The Rock's been told he beamed aboard five minutes ago!" 

"Well he ain't here!" Russo repeated. "That's it! If McMahon doesn't show up soon, I will regard it as an act of hostility, and head back to my own ship to declare the truce over!" 

*** 

UNIDENTIFIED SHIP 

Captain McMahon found himself lying on a cold metal floor, a bit dizzy, and very disoriented. He carefully sat up. "_Where am I?_" he asked himself. 

Slowly, he got to his feet, casually dusting off his Armani WrestleFleet uniform. He looked around. Everything seemed so shiny and silver... and perfect here. This sure didn't look like the ECW Extremeship. "Hello?" McMahon called out, only to receive an echo in return. "HELLO? Is anyone here, damnit?!" McMahon shouted. 

Finally there was a reply. 

"Swearing is evil," said a chorus of emotionless mechanical voices, "You will be assimilated!" 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

Commander Shane McMahon entered the transporter bay, unhappy to say the least, "Where is my pops?" he demanded. 

The transporter operator, Ensign Albert, looked confused, "I thought he was over on the Extremeship!" 

"Well he's not there!" Shane replied. 

Albert checked his transporter logs, and shrugged, "I don't know what happened to him, sir!" 

Shane tapped his comm badge, "Commander McMahon to Ensign Jericho! Get down to Transporter Bay 3 immediately..!" 

After a few minutes, Y2J appeared, "What is it, sir?" 

Shane pointed to the transporter logs, "Can you tell me if any of these reveal where my pops was beamed to?" 

Jericho looked over the screen in front of him, and pressed a few buttons on the control panel, "Ah! The logs show an inconsistency here. Another frequency interrupted Captain McMahon's beam over to the Extremeship... hmm..." he furrowed his brow, "It's not a WrestleFleet frequency... it's a..." he stopped, "oh oh!" 

"What? What's _oh oh_? What did you find!!" Shane asked desperately. 

"Well, upon intense scanning of the logs, the other frequency shows up with a PTC signature, sir!" 

"NO!" Shane started, "Then that means..." 

"Your father was abducted by the PTC!" Jericho finished. 

*** 

PTC CUBE SHIP 

Captain McMahon felt nothing as the cold metal was integrated into his organic structure. 

He would be given a new name... and a new objective. 

Resistance would be futile. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE 

Captain Russo's face filled up the viewscreen on the bridge of the Titanprize, "Commander McMahon," he started, "I demand to speak to your father!" 

Shane took a deep breath, and spoke, "Pops isn't here. He's been... abducted..." 

"Psst... Commander Shane...?" Mr. Snow began quietly, "H.E.A.D. says that maybe you shouldn't tell them that. If Russo knows the Captain's been abducted by the PTC, he may attempt to use that to his advantage..." 

Russo didn't hear what Snow said, and questioned Shane, "Abducted? When? By whom?" 

"Uh... did I say abducted?? Well... uh... what I meant is... he... uh... he's been abducted by - a severe case of the flu! Yes, that's it!" Shane said quickly. 

Russo looked at Shane, unconvinced, "Well... tell him I want to talk to him anyway!" 

"You can't!!" Shane replied, "He's... uh... he's lost his voice! Yes. That's it!" 

Russo frowned, "If you're lying to me, commander..." 

"No no no!!" Shane said, "I wouldn't lie to you! Not at all!" he laughed nervously. 

"You'd better not... because if I find out that McMahon isn't aboard your ship..." he let the sentence trail. 

"I understand, Captain!" Shane replied, "Titanprize out!" The viewscreen went black, and Shane let out a sigh of relief, "You know... this really sucks!" 

*** 

PTC CUBE SHIP 

Captain McMahon stood in an alcove, hooked into the PTC's mainframe. His assignment was promptly downloaded into his re-programmed brain. 

The cube ship slowly made it's way to the last known co-ordinates of the WWF Titanprize. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

As Shane contemplated what to do about Russo's impatience, the ship was suddenly jolted. All power fizzled out for a moment, and returned. "Commander McMahon to Bridge. What the hell was that?!" 

"Those bastards hit us with a long range beam!" Came the reply from Lieutenant Commander Austin at tactical. 

"What bastards?" Shane asked. 

"The PTC!!" Austin answered. 

"WHAT??" Shane shouted, and quickly walked out onto the bridge. 

"Commander McMahon on the---" Ensign Blackman began. 

"Shut up!" Shane snapped to Ensign Blackman. 

"The PTC is hailing us, Commander! Want the Rock to put their candy asses on screen?" Rock asked. 

"Yes! Immediately!" Shane replied. 

The cold interior of the PTC ship appeared on screen, "We are PTC. You will be assimilated..." 

"No we won't!!" he turned to his crew, "Code red! Shields to full power! Ready torpedoes!" Commander Shane demanded. 

Suddenly, the interior of the cube ship was replaced by an altered, but familiar face. 

There, filling the screen, was an assimilated Captain Vincent K. McMahon. 

He began to speak, and his emotionless mechanical voice sent a shiver throughout the crew of the Titanprize. 

"I am Bozell of PTC. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile..." 

END OF SEASON 1 


	8. Season 2 Premiere Episode 1 Best of the...

**SEASON TWO**

**EPISODE 1: BEST OF THE PTC WORLD**   
PART TWO 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more!   


STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

"Acting Captain's log, stardate 11.22.33. Pops has been captured by the PTC, and assimilated. Russo is breathing down our necks demanding to speak to pops.... and I have no clue how to run this ship..." Commander Shane McMahon paused as the computer recorded his log. "Uh... computer strike those last 10 words from the log..." 

"Last 10 words deleted... " the computer confirmed. 

"Thanks..." Shane replied, "End log." 

With that, he headed out onto the bridge. 

*** WCW THUNDER 

"McMahon is playing games with me. I don't like it!" Captain Russo began, addressing his crew, "Scan the Titanprize. Tell me if the Captain is even on board!" 

"Scanning... BANG!" Ensign Page replied, "I scanned it 3 time, 3 time, 3 time, sir! No sign of Captain SCUM McMahon at ALL! Just his scumy son." 

"I knew it!!" Russo replied angrily, then muttered, "So... where the hell IS McMahon then?!" 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE 

"Pops! It's me! Shane! Your son!!" Shane begged the emotionless automaton on the screen in front of him. 

"Pops is not my designation..." the former Captain McMahon replied, "My designation is Bozell of PTC!" 

"But pops!!" Shane pleaded. 

"Sir..." Counselor Snow began quietly, "H.E.A.D. says you won't be able to get through to him. Maybe if he was on-board the Titanprize where H.E.A.D. and I could thoroughly examine his mental state---" 

"You're right, Mr. Snow!" Shane said, then turned to the Chief of security, "Mr. Kane... get an away team together!! We're going to bring my pops back!!" 

*** PTC CUBE SHIP 

Commander Kane walked quietly along the corridors of the PTC cube ship, phaser in hand. Lieutenant Commander Austin, Lieutenant Debra, and Ensign Jacquie followed. 

As they walked, the PTC drones seemed to ignore them. "We have yet to swear or do anything that would bring attention to ourselves," Jacquie explained, "Right now, they don't see us as a threat..." 

"Where is Captain McMahon!" Austin demanded. 

Jacquie checked her tricorder, "I'm picking up his readings along this next corridor," The away team quickly headed left. 

As they turned the corner, they saw their assimilated Captain... surrounded by several PTC drones. 

"We have to get that stupid bastard!"Austin said, and quickly raised his stunner. 

"No, Steve..." Debra replied quickly, and pushed his hand back to his side, "You know our weapons don't work very well on them. Once you fire, they'll adapt and the rest of the drones will be alerted to our presence!" 

"So what do you think we should do then, Deb?!" Austin asked. 

Debra smiled, "Stay here. I'll distract them... then YOU grab McMahon!" 

Debra walked up to the PTC drones... and slowly began undoing her uniform. 

"DEBRA!" Austin shouted. 

The PTC drones paid no attention to Austin. Their attention was now focused on the woman willing to show her puppies, "Nudity is evil!" the many voices of the PTC said. 

"Maybe..." Lt. Debra replied, "But you're waiting with baited breath to see how far I'll go!" 

"Waiting is irrelevant. Nudity is evil!" The PTC repeated. But even as they did so, the drones moved away from Captain McMahon, and headed towards Debra. 

"NOW!" Debra commanded. 

Commander Kane, Lieutenant Commander Austin, and Ensign Jacquie quickly grabbed Captain McMahon. 

"I am Bozell of PTC!!! You will be assimilated!!" the Captain shouted. 

"Shut up! You're pathetic!" Austin replied, and hit McMahon with his stunner. The former Captain was out cold. Austin tapped his comm badge, "Austin to Titanprize... 5 to beam out!" 

Debra had yet to redo the top of her uniform... and Commander Kane was eyeing her with great confusion and interest. "Uh, SIR?" Jacquie spoke up. Kane quickly turned away, and nodded to her, "Titanprize, beam us up!" she spoke into her comm, and the group quickly vanished from the deck of the PTC cube ship. 

*** WCW THUNDER 

"Hey, Russo man!" Page began, "Sensors indicate that Captain SCUM McMahon has beamed aboard the Titanprize... from the PTC Cube ship!!" 

"What??!" Russo replied, "What the hell was he doing there?! Hmm... I'll have to have a few words with Mr. McMahon!" 

*** TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY 

Captain McMahon - Bozell of PTC - stood in an isolation tube as Dr. Taker studied him, "Hmmm... interesting..." he muttered to himself. 

Counselor Snow seemed to be discussing the situation with H.E.A.D. 

"I am Bozell of PTC! You will be assimilated---" 

"Did I already tell you to shut up, ya silly bastard?" Austin interrupted. 

"Swearing is evil---" Bozell of PTC spoke. 

"Yeah... whatever!" Austin replied. 

"I am Bozell of PTC... and Captain Vincent K. McMahon," Bozell/McMahon began in an unemotional and cold voice, "My orders are as follows - Swearing will be censored. Sexual references will be deleted. Scantily clad valets will wear potato sacks. If you fail to comply, you will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." 

"Taker, can you shut his mouth?" Austin asked. 

Dr. Taker took a careful look at the Captain, "I cannot shut him up, but I can remove the cybernetic implants the PTC have attached to him. It will take a while..." with that, Dr. Taker quickly grabbed a scalpel. His eyes glinted with a disturbing satanic joy as he set about his task. 

*** BRIDGE 

The cold interior of the PTC Cube ship filled the Titanprize's viewscreen, "We demand you return Bozell of PTC to us!" 

"Forget it!" Shane replied, "No one is gonna take my pops!" 

"Resistance is futile. We will use force..." 

"Shields on full, red alert!" Shane commanded to his crew, then turned back to the viewscreen, "Just try it! Go on!! Try it!!" 

The ship shook violently with an energy blast from the PTC ship. 

"They DID it!!" Shane replied, shocked, "They actually FIRED on us!" He turned to Lieutenant Rock, "Hail the Thunder! We're under attack!" 

"Those candy asses on the WCW Thunder aren't answering the Rock's hails!" Rock replied. 

"Damnit!! Can't they see we're under attack here!" Shane replied, then saw the PTC aim their weapons at the Thunder, and fire. Shane laughed, "Losers!" 

"That jabroni, Captain Russo, is hailing THE ROCK now!" Rock announced. 

"On screen!!" Shane commanded. 

Russo's big head appeared on screen again, "Where the hell is Captain McMahon? Why did our sensors find him beaming from the PTC cube ship to the Titanprize? What the hell is going on here!" 

"We're under attack, Captain Russo!!" Shane replied, "Let's leave the questions until later!! Right now, we have to work together!!" 

"Message coming in from ECW Extremeship..." Rock said. 

"Split screen, Mr. Rock..." 

Captain Heyman appeared on screen beside Captain Russo, "Commander McMahon... it appears the three of us are going to have to pull our resources and work together to eliminate this threat," Heyman said. 

"Yes sir! We're going to need back up. Let's hope we can hold off the PTC until we find some!" Shane replied. 

"Understood! Heyman out!" Captain Heyman's face disappeared from the screen. 

"I'll see what I can find too... Russo out!" Russo's big head disappeared as well. 

"Mr. Rock..." Shane addressed his communications officer, "Send a message and our coordinates on all known WrestleFleet frequencies to any Independent WrestleFleet ships out there!" 

"What should the message say...?" Rock asked. 

Shane thought a moment, and said the first thing that came to mind, "HELP!!!!" 

*** SICKBAY 

"Hey, Al... do you think the bastard has any luck regaining his original personality?" Austin asked. 

"H.E.A.D. says it is possible... but his brain will need reprogramming!" Counselor Snow replied, then tapped his comm badge, "Snow to Ensign Jericho. We may need your help down here..."   
  
  
  


*** 

SPACE 

3 hours later, several independent WrestleFleet ships joined the Titanprize, Extremeship, and Thunder in the battle against the PTC. 

Unfortunately, they would fail miserably 

*** SICKBAY 

The cybernetic components had finally been removed from Captain McMahon, with the exception of his link to the PTC Collective. 

Ensign Jericho plugged into McMahon's brain, and slowly began to disconnect the computerized implant that allowed the collective to access him. It was increasingly difficult as the PTC's attack continued. 

The Titanprize was trying to fight back, but it's shields were barely holding. 

There was only one thing left to do. The Y2J Unit would have to send his own special message to the collective. 

*** BRIDGE 

Shane McMahon swore under his breath. The Titanprize's torpedoes and phasers were useless against an enemy that could compensate after one hit. 

The commander had to get rid of the PTC ship, and fast. He had to save the others. There was only one thing to do... "Commander Shane McMahon to Captain Russo andf Captain Heyman. We have to ram the PTC ship!" 

"WHAT?!" Russo replied. "You want us to go on a suicide mission?!" 

"It's the only way! Or else we're ALL going to die!" Shane replied. 

"Extremeship to Titanprize..." Captain Heyman began, "A member of our crew just volunteered to take a shuttlecraft to the PTC ship. His name is Sabu..." 

*** SICKBAY 

Ensign Jericho smiled as he sent his message to the PTC cube ship. 

Finally, the damaged WrestleFleet ships would have time to repair themselves, and the PTC would leave in peace - for now. 

*** BRIDGE 

The cube ship on the viewscreen suddenly ceased firing, "What...??" Shane asked, surprised. "It just... STOPPED?" 

The cube ship slowly began backing away. It gracefully turned around... and disappeared at warp speed. 

Shane smiled, "I guess we scared it off!" 

"Not quite, sir..." Ensign Jericho began as he arrived on the Bridge from the Turbolift "I sent them a message. Once they received it, they quickly broke off their attack and left..." 

"What message did you SEND them, Ensign?" Shane asked. 

"Simple. I told them that the inhabitants of the planet Moesha said the word '_ass_'..." Jericho replied happily. 

"But... Planet Moesha is an uninhabited Planet in the delta quadrant!" Shane replied. 

Jericho smiled, "I know..." 

*** THE SMACKDOWN 

"Think the silly bastard is back to normal yet?" Austin asked Jericho as they sat at a table in the Smackdown. 

Before Jericho could answer, a loud voice boomed throughout the bar, "Damn the PTC! I GUARANTEE they will PAY for what they did to me!" 

Jericho turned towards the bar to see Captain McMahon loudly expressing his opinion of the PTC to his son, Shane. In the Captain's hand was a sledgehammer. 

"Pops! Calm down!! The PTC isn't here! Give me the sledgehammer, pops... GIVE IT TO ME!" Shane demanded. 

Jericho and Austin watched as Shane tried to grab the sledgehammer from his irate father. 

Y2J turned to Austin, "Looks pretty normal to me..." 

*** DELTA QUADRANT - PLANET MOESHA 

** PLANET: 456743**

** STATUS: Already Assimilated**

** COURSE OF ACTION: Return to last known coordinates of the WWF Titanprize**   


  



	9. Season 2 Episode 2 Stowaways

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON TWO**

**EPISODE 2: STOWAWAYS**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 98765432.12. All is going well here. After hearing mumblings on the ship that Triple H may attempt to restart the rebel faction DX, my daughter offered to intervene on WrestleFleet's behalf. Other then that, there's nothing else to report. End log," 

Captain McMahon closed his log, and headed out to the bridge. 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - STORAGE BAY 

The four stowaways crawled out of the large empty beer kegs they had been hiding in. They had to see Captain McMahon. They had to ask him if he would include them as part of their crew. If not, then all would be lost, and their efforts would have been for nothing. 

*** 

DOCKING BAY 1 - DX GAMESHIP - BRIDGE 

Triple H assisted Stephanie as he and his crew snuck onto the DX Gameship. He smiled, "So, Steph… you told your dad you were attempting in infiltrate us?" 

"Well, you ARE enemies of the federation, Hunter," Stephanie replied, then smiled, "Daddy doesn't need to know the truth about us," Triple H sat in the Captain's chair, and Stephanie quickly made herself comfortable on his lap, "So, what can this ship do?" 

"Plenty…" he said, "With your help…" Stephanie nodded, and punched in an access code, breaking the ship free from it's restraints. The Gameship then eased out of the docking bay and flew off into space. 

*** 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Ensign Blackman to Captain McMahon! Sensors indicate the DX ship is free from the docking bay and heading off! Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon is on board!" 

"WHAT? Damnit!!" McMahon stood up, "Lt. Rock, hail DX!" 

"The Rock is the most electrifying communications officer in Wrestlefleet! If The Rock can't get those candy asses on the comm, then no one can!" Lt. Rock replied. 

"Just DO it, Mr. Rock!" McMahon said. 

After a few minutes, Rock was able to hail the DX ship. 

"What do you want, McMahon?!" Triple H began. 

"I want my daughter back!!" 

Stephanie's face came onscreen, "Daddy, how little you know!" 

McMahon looked at her, "Stephie?" He began to realize what was going on, judging from how comfortable Stephanie seemed to be in Triple H's lap, "You... and the DeGenerate?!" 

Stephanie smirked, "What can I say? I've always had a weak spot for bad boys!" 

McMahon's face paled, then grew angry, "FINE! McMahon to transporter room, beam Stephanie out. Commander Kane, prepare to FIRE!" 

"There's a dampening field around the DX Gameship," Ensign Edge spoke up, "We can't transport Stephanie out. This reeks of suickitude, sir!" 

McMahon slumped down in his chair, "What else can go wrong..." he sighed. 

Suddenly, the comm beeped, "Security to Captain McMahon.... we've found four stowaways, sir. We are holding them in security." 

McMahon swore under his breath. 

*** SECURITY 

"Where are they?" he asked. Security Lt. Bradshaw lead McMahon to the holding cell. McMahon looked at the stowaways, and recognized the leader as a Nytron officer, "BENOIT!?" 

Benoit put his hands up in surrender, "We've defected, Captain," he replied, "Things are bad under Russo's reign, sir! People like us," he pointed to the others beside him, "Ensigns Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn - are being held down. Since we were all once WrestleFleet officers, we were hoping for a position aboard your ship..." 

The Captain narrowed his eyes, "And how am I supposed to trust you? How do I know it's not just a WCW plot?" 

"Sir..." Guerrero began, "WCW can't even come up with a decent plot on TV, let alone a plot to infiltrate your ship..." 

McMahon sighed, then turned to the security Bradshaw, "We need all the help we can get. Let them out, but keep an eye on them! If ANY of them seem shady--" McMahon didn't have to finish. 

"Damn straight, Captain!" Bradshaw replied. 

McMahon turned back to the foursome, "Since you're here, there IS something I can use you for..." 

*** TRANSPORTER BAY 

The Nytron defectors stood on the Transporter pad, holding phasers. They were accompanied by Commander Kane. 

"You are to make your way to the DX ship, and bring the crew and my Stephanie back to me!" McMahon commanded. The foursome nodded. McMahon turned to the transporter chief, "Energize!" 

Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero, Saturn, and Kane disappeared in a shimmer of light. 

*** DX GAMESHIP - BRIDGE 

"Yo, Triple H! Sensors indicate five crewmen from the TITANPRIZE have beamed aboard our ship!" Mr. X-pac began. 

"Damn! Head them off, X-pac. Take Road Dogg with you!!" Triple H commanded. 

X-pac and Road Dogg headed off to find the ones who beamed aboard. Triple H watched the internal sensors on the monitor in front of him, and tapped his comm badge, "They're on deck 5, in section 7. X-pac and Road Dogg, head them off on the other side," 

"Hunter, is the Y2J Unit with the ones who beamed aboard?" Chyna asked. 

Triple H looked away from the monitor, and stared at her, "How the hell should _I_ know! The sensors don't tell me WHO the invaders are!" he then furrowed his brow, "And why are you so eager to run into that Y2J Unit again? I thought you _hated_ the damned thing!" 

"I find him fascinating, actually," she glared at Triple H, "At least he's not afraid of me!" 

X-pac spoke through the comm, "Triple H..." X-pac started, "Where are McMahon's buddies now??" 

Helmsley didn't reply as he turned all his attention to Chyna, "Are you saying _I'm _afraid of you?" 

"Uh, yo... Triple H? We lost track of the TITANPRIZE invaders. Triple H? HELLOOOOO?!" X-pac's voice continued through the comm. Again, Triple H paid no attention. 

Chyna frowned, "Well, you _seem_ to be afraid of me, yes! Or else you wouldn't have dumped me for that two-bit tramp!" she indicated Stephanie. 

"How DARE you!" Stephanie snapped, "I am Stephanie McMahon, DAMNIT! I will NOT be talked to like that!" 

Chyna ignored Stephanie, "Do you really like a weak little girl like that?! Was _I _too much for you??" 

"HEY! I can handle ANY woman!!" Helmsley snapped. 

Suddenly, a voice interrupted the ex-lovers' quarrel, "Would you two like to come back to the TITANPRIZE and work out your differences there?" 

Helmsley and Chyna turned towards the voice. It was Benoit, accompanied by Saturn, Malenko, and Kane. Saturn and Benoit's phasers were aimed at Helmsley and Chyna. 

"Captain! We couldn't find the..." X-pac started as he ran onto the bridge. Kane spun around to face X-pac, who was joined by Road Dogg. Mr. Kane held his phaser ready. X-pac swore under his breath, "Guess we found them _now_..." he muttered. 

Guerrero soon joined the others on the bridge, holding a phaser to Stephanie and and Mr. Ass. He looked at his comrades, "I say we all return to the Titanprize, and let McMahon figure out what to do with these loco bastards..." 

The other three nodded, and Benoit tapped his comm badge, "Beam us back..." 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Ensign Jericho was sitting at the bar, talking to Terri again, "Glad to see you got your waiters back...!" he said. 

Terri nodded, and looked at the DX crew... back to waiting tables. A voice interrupted Terri and Jericho's chat, "Hey, Chris.... can I get you anything?" 

Jericho turned to see Chyna. He paused for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, suspicious, "Since when are _you_ nice to me?" he asked. 

Chyna shrugged, "I developed... a little bit... VERY little bit... of respect for you. You were willing to take me one on one the first time the Titanprize captured us," 

Unit Y2J let out a harsh laugh, "Respect? Yeah, right! You'll respect me until you decide to stab me in the back, is that it?" 

"I don't have any plans to do that," she began, then added, "Besides, no-selling titanium can't be stabbed," 

"Well don't sound _too _disappointed now!" Jericho frowned, then sighed, "Fine. Fine. I will call a truce with you for now," He held out his hand. Chyna allowed a small smile... VERY small... and shook the offered hand. 

Miss Kitty watched the handshake from a few feet away, unseen by Chyna or Jericho. She frowned. So, Chyna had found a new buddy now, had she? Fine! 

It was time The Kat took matters into her own hands! Chyna would be HER friend, and HER friend alone!! 

As for the Y2J unit... well... she had OTHER plans for _him_!   



	10. Season 2 Episode 3 Kitty's Revenge

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON TWO**

**EPISODE 3: KITTY'S REVENGE**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
... And many more!   
  


STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 5265482.22. We've entered a dark cloud nebula. So many derelict ships float lifeless here. They look battleworn, and very old. Counselor Snow claims that H.E.A.D. senses unhappy spirits here. I'm starting to wonder if chosing Mr. Snow as ship's counselor was a mistake..." McMahon paused, "Computer, strike that last sentence from the log..." The computer beeped and complied. 

Captain McMahon left the room and headed to his usual post. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Kitty watched as Ensign Jericho and Chyna talked at the bar. They had become friends in the last month or so. The Y2J Unit actually began to TRUST her, and suggested to the Captain that she could be useful on away missions. McMahon reluctantly agreed, but wasn't about to let the ex-rebel carry anything more then a stunner. 

Kitty frowned, and headed to the bar. She walked up beside Ensign Jericho, but spoke to Terri, "Cappuchino for table three..." she said. 

Terri went to the replicator and returned with the cappuchino, "Here you go, Kitty..." she said, "Be careful, it's hot," she handed the mug to Kitty. 

Kitty grabbed it and let out a surprised shout as the hot mug slipped through her fingers, and spilled down the front of Ensign Jericho's Uniform. 

Ensign Jericho let out a loud scream, and ripped off the top of his WrestleFleet uniform, "THAT BURNS, JERKETTE!" he shouted. 

Kitty looked at him, and for a moment he could have sworn her eyes were glowing. She smiled a cold smile, "Oh really...?" she said, then walked away. 

The Y2J Unit watched her, eyes narrowed, "Hmpf!" He threw his shirt angrily on the floor, "She could have at least apologized for ruining my uniform!!" 

Terri quickly came around the bar and began to wipe the coffee off Ensign Jericho's pants, "Sorry about that, Chris," she sighed, and looked at Kitty. Kitty seemed to be watching Jericho's discomfort with a smile. Terri shook her head, "She's been acting weird these last few days. I don't know what's wrong with her..." 

"Uh... Terri..." Jericho started, "Not to seem rude, but wouldn't it be better to wipe my pants off with a NAPKIN instead of your hands??" 

Terri looked up at him, and smiled, "Probably... but not nearly as much fun!" 

*** TITANPRIZE - MISS KITTY'S QUARTERS 

Kitty paced her quarters. Yes, normally she was a klutz, but the incident with the Y2J Unit was more then klutzyness. She had ENJOYED pouring hot coffee on him. Normally, she wasn't so spiteful... but she was really bothered about Chyna dumping her friendship to become buddies with a robot. Ok, so he was a fine-looking robot, but what did it matter? Friends were supposed to be forever! 

Kitty fumed. Damn that Y2J Unit! The android would pay for taking Kitty's friend from her! He would pay dearly! 

*** BRIDGE 

"Captain McMahon, H.E.A.D. is sensing a lot of energy coming from one of the ships in the nebula. The energy seems to be surrounding our ship!" Counselor Snow began. 

McMahon turned to the Ensign studying the sensors, "Mr. Christian? What are the sensors reading?" 

Ensign Christian studied his readouts, "Nothing here, dude..." 

McMahon turned back to Mr. Snow, "Perhaps you should have your H.E.A.D. checked, Counselor..." 

"But sir, you don't seem to understand! It's not physical energy!" Counselor Snow explained, "It's psychic energy!" 

"Make that an ORDER then, Mr. Snow. Have your H.E.A.D. examined! NOW!" 

Counselor Snow sighed, "Yes, sir..." he replied, and headed off to sickbay. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Y2J made his way to Sickbay at Counselor Snow's request. Something about running a full diagnostics on H.E.A.D. Luckily, Y2J had been able to replicate a new uniform since the coffee incident a few hours ago. 

"Ensign Jericho?" a voice called behind him. 

Ensign Jericho slowly turned around to come face to face with Kitty. He quickly took a few steps back, "What... do you want to ruin THIS uniform too?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. 

"No no!" Kitty began, "I want to apologize!" 

He looked at her, brow furrowed, "Apologize?" 

Kitty nodded, her cat-green eyes looking sad, "I'm such a klutz. I'm soooo sorry..." she began to sniffle, "I can't do ANYTHING right..." she started, then began to cry. 

Ensign Jericho was taken aback, "Hey...!!! Stop crying! It's ok!! I forgive you...!" 

Kitty let out a cat-like wail, "I'm sorry!!" She cried loudly, "I didn't mean to ruin your uniform!! PLEASE don't be mad at me!!" She threw her arms around the Y2J Unit, still wailing loudly. 

Ensign Edge was passing by when he saw the Y2J Unit and Kitty. He stopped and glared at Ensign Jericho accusingly, "What the heck did you do to Kitty, man?" he asked. Surely the Y2J Unit had done SOMETHING to cause the normally quiet Catarian to bawl her eyes out. 

"Nothing! I swear! I didn't do ANYTHING to her!" 

"PLEASE don't hurt me!!" she cried, wrapping her tail around his legs. 

"I'm not mad at you!! Let go!!!" The Y2J Unit shouted. 

She clamped on tighter, digging her claws into his back. Jericho winced as the claws pierced his synthetic skin. 

Yes, he could feel pain. 

"HEY! What are you doing to my woman?!" A voice snapped. Jericho looked to see the dignitary from Planet Memphis, King Lawler, glaring at him... looking extremely angry as he stood by Ensign Edge, "Get your hands off her!" 

Ensign Jericho held his arms out from his sides, "I'm not TOUCHING her!! She grabbed ME!!" 

Ensign Angle, and Ensign Godfather were making their way down the corridor when they noticed the scene. They stopped and stood with Ensign Edge and King Lawler. 

"How DARE you grab a pretty lady and make her cry!!" Ensign Godfather started. "If you wanted a woman that badly, you could have come to me! I got plenty I could loan to you! You didn't have to throw yourself on an innocent woman!" 

"But... I didn't throw myself at ANYONE! She started bawling her eyes out, then GRABBED me!" Ensign Jericho tried to explain. 

"I never knew androids could be such perverts!" Ensign Angle spoke up. 

"Damn, boy! You got some SERIOUS problems!!" Ensign Godfather said as he looked disapporvingly at Unit Y2J. 

Jericho turned his attention back to Kitty, and grabbed her shoulders, trying to push the Catarian away, "Leave me alone!!" 

"Oh.... so first you take advantage of MY Kitty, then you try to get rid of her?!!?" King Lawler shouted. He turned to the others, and they all seemed to be thinking the same thing. 

Kitty took this moment to unhook her claws from Jericho's uniform, and smiled. She quickly stepped away from the perplexed Y2J Unit. 

Ensigns Edge, Angle, and Godfather quickly attacked Jericho, punching and kicking, as King Lawler comforted his girlfriend. 

The Y2J Unit was going to need some serious repairs after this! 

*** SICKBAY 

Ensign Jericho entered Sickbay looking a mess. His synthetic skin was partially peeled off his face, and his detached left arm was in his right hand. 

Dr. Taker took in the Y2J Unit's appearance, "What the hell happened to you, boy?" 

Ensign Jericho looked at him, "MISS KITTY HAPPENED TO ME!!" he shouted in frustration. 

Dr. Taker raised an eybrow, but didn't reply as he nodded towards the diagnostics bed. Jericho quickly jumped up on it, and held out his detached arm to Dr. Taker. 

"Woah! Chris! What happened?" Counselor Snow said as he entered sickbay with H.E.A.D. 

Ensign Jericho just sat quietly and fumed. 

After half-an-hour, the Y2J Unit was repaired and looked good as new. He jumped off the diagnostics bed and went over to Counsellor Snow, "So... you're having problems with your H.E.A.D.?" he asked. 

"Well, _I_ don't think there's anything wrong, but the Captain does," Mr. Snow replied. 

"Mind if I hack into it? I won't wreck it or anything..." 

"Yes... but just be careful... it's H.E.A.D'S first time..." 

Y2J looked at Counsellor Snow, "Riiiiight," He replied, then pulled out the back of his pony tail, pluging the end into H.E.A.D. "Hmm... scanning... scanning... OH! This is interesting!" 

"What?" Mr. Snow asked. 

Y2J turned to the nearest monitor and started to call up external sensors, "Hmmm.. H.E.A.D. is sensing high energy coming from the dead ships surrounding us. I'm re-calibrating the sensors..." he punched a few buttons, and studied the sensors again, "Ah ha! Well, this explains everything!" 

"What...?? WHAT?" Mr. Snow asked. 

"There is an unidentified anomoly surrounding our ship! It's penetrated the hull, and surrounded Miss Kitty with negative energy!! No WONDER she's been acting so weird!" 

"Sounds like you have a poltergiest on the ship, boy!" Jericho and Snow both jumped as Dr. Taker came up behind them, his gravelly voice echoing in the quiet sickbay. 

"So... any idea how to get rid of it? I mean, what with you being the resident dead guy, I figured you'd know about this kind of stuff..." 

"Maybe..." Dr. Taker replied. 

"I HOPE so! I don't think my system could handle another massive beat down like that so soon!" Ensign Jericho replied, then tapped his comm badge, "Computer, locate kitty..." 

"Kitty is currently in The Smackdown.." the computer voice replied. 

"Then that's where we're going..." Y2J said to Snow and Taker. The three headed out. 

*** THE SMACKDOWN 

Dr. Taker, Ensign Jericho, and Counselor Snow entered The Smackdown. The crew members assembled there took one look at Dr. Taker... and ran out. 

The Smackdown was now empty, save for Jericho, Taker, Snow, Terri, Kitty, and Chyna... the latter two seemingly perplexed at the sudden emptiness of the tables they were serving. 

Terri came up to the three men, "Hey, Mr. Tall dark and scary! You're chasing away my customers!" she said, looking up at Dr. Taker. Dr. Taker glared at Terri. She shook her head and sighed, heading back to the bar. 

Jericho quickly went up to Chyna, "I need your help..." he started, watching Kitty carefully. 

Chyna put down her tray and looked up at him, "What is it?" 

He motioned for her to lean towards him. She did so. He then whispered the current situation in her ear, not wanting Kitty to know they were on to her. Chyna's eyes went wide... then she nodded. 

"Kitty..." Chyna started. 

Kitty looked at her, her green eyes shining happily, "Yes, Chyna?" 

"Come here for a sec..." 

Kitty quickly complied. 

When Kitty was close enough, Chyna quickly grabbed her, "OK! GOT HER! Do what you have to do!!" 

Kitty struggled, "What are you doing?! LET ME GO!" 

"No!" Chyna replied. 

Kitty stopped struggling, and began to sniffle, "You're just like Tina..." 

Chyna looked at her, brow furrowed, "Who?" 

"Tina left me behind for a GUY! She forgot about her loyal friend! She left me alone!!" 

"Who is Tina? Answer me, Kitty!" Chyna demanded. 

"My name isn't Kitty!! It's Farm!" 

Dr. Taker nodded, "Definite poltergiest..." 

"Thank's for pointing out the obvious, dead man!" Jericho muttered. 

Dr. Taker spun to face him, "You dare speak to the lord of medicine that way, boy?!" 

Jericho took a step back, and cleared his throat. Perhaps annoying the good doctor was NOT the best idea he ever had. 

Y2J quickly shook his head, and went up to Kitty, "Whoever you are, shut the hell up and go away!" 

Kitty glared up at him, eyes glowing, "I am Lieutenant Farm Daughter, a Catarian currently serving aboard WrestleFleet ship G.L.O.W!" 

"Computer, Locate WrestleFleet ship G.L.O.W!" Jericho said. 

"WrestleFleet ship G.L.O.W. is at coordinates 9.0, 8.6," the computer replied. 

"Those are OUR coordinates!" Y2J gasped, then went up to one of the Windows in The Smackdown. He looked out, "THERE it is!!" he turned back to Kitty -- Farm -- "The Starship G.L.O.W is DEAD!! So are the careers of all who were on it..." Jericho shook his head, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Daughter... but, you have no right to be here!" 

"I have EVERY right! You're trying to take my friend away again!" Kitty cried, using Daughter's voice. 

"If anyone is taking anyone away, it's YOU! YOU are taking Kitty away by possessing her!" Y2J replied, "And... although I find Kitty extremely annoying, at least she never tried to get me killed by my fellow crewmen!" 

Kitty frowned, "I'm staying!" 

Suddenly, Dr. Taker came up to Kitty, and put a hand on her forehead. He began to chant soemething in another language. 

Kitty frowned, "What are you doing?" she asked. 

"Exercising a ghost..." the grim doctor replied. 

Soon, Kitty fell to her knees and screamed, "No!! I don't want to go!!" 

A white light escaped from Kitty's body, and the Catarian collapsed to the ground. 

There was silence. 

Y2J turned to Dr. Taker, breaking the silence, "Why didn't you do that when we FIRST came in here?!" 

"Do not question the lord of medicine, boy!" he replied, then left. 

Jericho watched Dr. Taker leave, and shook his head. He then turned to Snow, "So... what does H.E.A.D. have to say about the ghost...?" 

"H.E.A.D. says it's gone..." he replied. 

"Good! Now maybe things can get back to normal...!" Y2J replied. 

Kitty slowly stood up, holding her head, "What happened?" 

"It's a long story," Chyna replied, then handed Kitty the tray she had left on the table earlier, "Here. Put this away and I'll tell you all about it..." 

The Y2J Unit turned his back to the two ladies, and went to sit with his back against Terri's bar. Kitty took the tray and followed. She placed the tray on the bar top, and turned to Ensign Jericho, "I'm sorry for everything! I can make it up to you..." 

"No No!" Y2J quickly said, "It's fine!! It's ok!" 

"But I WANT to!" She said, hitting her hand on the bar for emphasis... and knocking over the dirty tray. 

The Y2J Unit let out a high-pitched screech as ice cubes from a half-finished synthehol, cold coffee, and even colder ice cream dripped down the back of his uniform. "AGH!! NOT AGAIN!!" He shouted as he quickly pulled off his icy wet tunic, throwing it on the floor. 

The Y2J Unit fumed as he spun on his heel and made his way back to his quarters. He would have to replicate himself a new uniform again. 

Maybe next time he decided to visit the Smackdown, he would see if Kitty was on-duty _first_.   
  



	11. Season 2 Finale Episode 4 Assimilation,...

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON TWO**

**EPISODE 4: ASSIMILATION**   
**PART ONE**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 98764532.45. WrestleFleet has instructed us to perform on a planet called Beital. They wish to introduce the Beitalans to our brand of Sports Entertainment. Of course, this being the WWF, there is no doubt they will be impressed. End log." 

Captain McMahon closed his log book and headed to the bridge. 

* * * 

BRIDGE 

"Mr. Rock, have you hailed Planet Beital yet?" McMahon asked his communications officer. 

"The Rock has been hailing those roody poos for the last 20 minutes! They're not answering!" 

Captain McMahon furrowed his brow, and turned to Ensign Edge, "Scan for life signs..." 

Mr. Edge did so, then shook his head, "It's not reading anything, sir..." 

"What the hell?! Check the coordinates WrestleFleet gave us!" 

"I've run them through the computer again, sir. This is the place..." Ensign Edge explained. 

"Mr. Jericho, Mr. Austin - assemble an away team and get your asses down there! Take Dr. Taker and Counselor Snow with you... just in case there are people down there injured or in need of psychological counseling!" 

Jericho and Austin nodded, and headed off. 

* * * TRANSPORTER ROOM 

Lieutenant Commander Debra, recently given a promotion to Transporter Chief, met the away team in the transporter room. Lt. Commander Austin, Ensign Jericho, Ensign Angle, Dr. Taker, and Counselor Snow were ready to beam down to the seemingly uninhabited planet. 

Ensign Jericho looked at Ensign Angle, "Why are YOU here, Kirk?" 

"A man such as myself knows quite a bit about what we may encounter!" He answered. Jericho looked at him, skeptical. Angle looked innocent, " It's true!!" he added. 

Jericho studied the large backpack on Angle's back, and the equipment in his hands, "In other words, Dr. Taker and Lt. Commander Austin made you their bag boy?" 

Angle held his head high, "Only one with intensity, integrity, and intelligence such as myself is given the honor of carrying the fragile supplies!!" 

"Yeah, whatever, Angel..." 

"Energize, Debbie..." Lt. Commander. Austin told Lt. Cmdr. McMichael. She quickly complied. 

* * * PLANET BEITAL - EMPTY FIELD 

The away team looked around the area they had landed. It was an open field, with a large wooden gate in the distance. Y2J scanned the area with his tricorder, looking for anything that may resemble life as Austin held his stunner ready. 

"Anything, Ensign?" Austin asked. 

"Nothing!" he looked in the direction of the gates, "Unless you want to check there..." 

"H.E.A.D. says it may not be a good idea...." Counselor Snow began. He was ignored. 

Austin tapped his comm badge, "Austin to Captain McMahon..." there was no answer, "What the hell?!" 

Jericho checked his tricorder readings, "We're surrounded by a dampening field, Steve..." he started. 

Austin looked at him, "Who the hell gave you the right to call me STEVE, Ensign?" 

"Sorry, sir..." Jericho replied. "We're surrounded by a dampening field, _Commander_," 

"That's better, son!!" Austin replied, then nodded towards the gates, "Let's get our asses over there..." he commanded, and headed towards the gates. Taker, Jericho, and Snow quickly followed. 

"Wait!!" Ensign Angle gasped as he tried to keep up with the others, "Slow down!! I've got all this stuff to carry!" Taker, Austin, Snow, and Jericho continued to head towards the large white gates, ignoring Angle's plea, "WAIT!!!" he shouted again, then fell to his knees, resting for a moment. "Thanks a lot..." he muttered. 

Suddenly, Ensign Angle heard a sound behind him. He quickly jumped to his feet and spun around. 

Angle didn't even have time to scream before a metallic hand struck out... and all went black. 

* * * PLANET BEITAL - GATES 

When Austin, Jericho, Snow, and Taker arrived at the gates, Austin knocked. No reply. He nodded towards Jericho, and Jericho checked his tricorder again. He furrowed his brow, "This is giving me some strange readings..." 

"Forget the damn tricorder and break the walls down!" Austin commanded. 

"Yes, sir!" Jericho replied, and threw his no-selling titanium metal body at the wooden gates. The gates splintered and began to collapse. He tried again, and soon a Jericho-shaped hole was made. He quickly went through, and stopped dead in his tracks. 

"What the hell did you stop for?!" Austin snapped as he almost smashed into Jericho. 

Jericho pointed in front of him. A large building stood before him, and appeared as if it had been hit by massive phaser fire. 

"These are the headquarters for this planet..." Counselor Snow began, "but if this is what happened to the building, then what happened to the PEOPLE?" 

* * * WWF TITANPRIZE - THE BRIDGE 

"Rock, are you able to hail the away team on ANY frequencies?" 

"The Rock already told you that he couldn't! They're surrounded by a dampening field! 

"Damnit!!" 

"Lt. Commander Debra to Captain McMahon! Sir, we have an unauthorized transport! Get security to The Smackdown right away!! We have visitors!" 

McMahon looked towards Commander Kane, "You heard her!! Get down there!" 

Kane grunted, and quickly headed to The Smackdown. 

* * * PLANET BEITAL 

"Think we should go in??" Ensign Jericho asked. 

"There may be injured inside..." Dr. Taker spoke for the first time. He looked towards Austin. 

Austin looked towards Snow, "What does your damn H.E.A.D. tell you?" 

"H.E.A.D. says there are definitely people inside... or something. Maybe we shouldn't go in. In fact, H.E.A.D. says we DEFINITELY shouldn't go in!" 

"Then we go in!" Austin replied. 

Snow opened his mouth to respond, but realized it was a wasted effort. 

The group headed towards the building... until Jericho stopped, "Hey, have you guys seen Kirk anywhere?" 

Austin looked behind him, as did Dr. Taker, "Where DID that silly bastard disappear too?" Austin asked. 

"I don't know, but he's got all our supplies!!" Jericho replied. 

"Well get your ass back there and find him! We'll take care of things here." Austin commanded, and headed towards the building with Dr. Taker and Counselor Snow. 

* * * PLANET BEITAL - EMPTY FIELD 

Jericho retraced the away team's steps... and found the supplies lying in the middle of the field. "What the...?" he bent down, and studied the grass, scanning it for any evidence of where Angle may have gone. What he found was unsettling, "Oh crap..." 

He quickly dug through the abandoned supplies and pulled out a phaser, and a few other goodies... then turned back to where the others had gone, increasing his speed to 100 mph. He had to find Austin, Snow, and Dr. Taker... before it was too late. 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL - GATES 

Jericho stood in front of the large building. Austin, Snow, and Taker were gone now too. 

The Y2J Unit turned his auditory sensors up, and listened. 

Nothing. 

Ensign Jericho tapped his comm badge, "Jericho to Titanprize..." no answer, "Jericho to Austin..." again, no answer, "JERICHO to ANYONE! Answer me, damnit!!" he snapped. Still no reply. He scanned the area with his tricorder again. The dampening field was still there. 

Unit Y2J looked at the damaged building before him. There was only one thing to do. He took a deep breath, and walked in. 

Within seconds, Ensign Jericho found out what had happened to the inhabitants of Planet Beital. 

The Beitalans stood before him, silver metallic bodies gleaming from the sun through the damaged roof. 

They all spoke with one voice. A voice that had haunted many a WrestleFleet officer. 

"We are the PTC. You will be assimilated!" 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Commander Kane lay on the ground, unconscious. His security team has suffered the same fate. 

Commander Shane McMahon held his phaser towards the intruders. His father stood beside him, as did Chief of Chief's, Linda - who had decided to make a rare appearance. 

The McMahon's were not going to give up their ship without a fight -- even as the ten emotionless automatons before them lifted their weapons, and fired.   


  


END OF SEASON 2 


	12. Season 3 Premiere Episode 1 Assimilatio...

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON THREE**

**EPISODE 1: ASSIMILATION**   
**PART TWO**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Acting Captain's log, Stardate ---- it doesn't MATTER what the stardate is! The McMahon's are currently in sickbay due to point blank range phaser fire from the PTC drones that boarded the Rock's Titanprize. Nurse Bearer is currently looking after them. The McMahon's were left alive because, apparently, the PTC don't condone killing. Of course, assimilation is just peachy to those roody poo candy asses!" he muttered, then sighed, "Going back to ship's business -- The Rock still hasn't heard from the jabronies on Beital yet. End log!' 

Acting Captain Rock closed his log book and headed to the Bridge. 

* * * THE BRIDGE 

"Acting Captain on the Bridge!" Ensign Matt Hardy announced. 

The Rock looked at Ensign Hardy. Even though he and his brother looked completely human, they were actually Aerialans - a species known for their inhuman flexiblility and uncanny talent for levitation. "Ensign..." The Rock began,"From now on, you refer to the Rock as the _people's _Captain when you announce his presence!" 

Ensign Matt nodded, "Yes sir!" 

He turned to Mr. Matt's brother, who was currently in charge of communications while The Rock was taking over Captain's duties, "Ensign... anything from the planet yet?" 

"No sir, " Mr. Jeff replied. 

"Ahhhh... damnit! The Rock is getting annoyed waiting for those jabronis to report! What can they be DOING down there?" 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL 

Jericho was surrounded by PTC drones -- what was left of the inhabitants of Beital. Their single robotic voice echoed throughout the building, "Resistance is futile... you will be assimilated!" The drones lifted their weapons. 

"Look out!!" A voice shouted, and Jericho soon found himself pushed out of harm's way. He quickly ran for the exit, with someone following behind him. The PTC didn't give chase. 

When he was safely outside, Y2J looked at the person who had just saved him, "Al!!" he shouted, relieved, "Where are Taker, and Austin?" 

"They didn't listen to me!! They didn't listen to H.E.A.D. We told them not to go in there! No one ever listens to me! Never. _Oh it's just loony Al_, they say... why should we--" 

"Yeah, well, while you're muttering about the unfairness of life, tell me what happened!" Jericho interrupted. 

"Dr. Taker and Lt. Commander Austin went in there... and were quickly abducted by the PTC. The PTC apparently had a big problem with Austin's language, and Dr. Taker's satan worshipping," Snow shrugged. "I stayed hidden until I saw you..." Snow then furrowed his brow, "I thought you went to find Angle!" He looked behind Jericho, but didn't see the gold medalist. 

"I couldn't find that ass-clown, but I detected a PTC signature where he last was. Our supplies were scattered all over the place!" 

"Are they in one piece?" 

"They seem to be. You and I are going to set up camp there, and decide what the hell we're going to do!" 

"Hey... I'm the superior officer here!" Counsellor Snow started. 

"Sorry... then, what is your plan?" 

"My plan is...." he thought for a moment, then turned to H.E.A.D, "You sure?" he asked the contraption in his hands, then nodded, "Our plan is ... that you take over as mission leader until we find the others!" 

"Good idea..." Ensign Jericho replied, and the two headed back to where the supplies were. 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL - JERICHO AND SNOW'S WRESLTEFLEET-ISSUE TENT 

Snow opened the can of rations in front of him. He reluctantly stuffed a piece into his mouth and gulped it down, "Ugh. Spam rations. I _hate _Spamrations..." 

"Well, that's all we have," Jericho replied, and squeezed a small tube of something into his mouth. 

Counselor Snow looked at him, "What the hell _is _that stuff?" 

Jericho shrugged, "I don't know, but it has all the nutrients I need to keep my systems functioning normally." 

"Could I try it??" 

"The make up of this substance is unhealthy to humans," Unit Y2J explained. 

Snow held up a piece of spam, "The make up of THIS substance is unhealthy to humans!" 

"Touché," Jericho replied. When he finished his tube, he pulled out his tricorder. He had added some modifications to it recently due to the current situation. He studied the readouts, "The PTC haven't left their safe little building yet," he reported. 

"So what are we going to do to get Taker, Austin, and Angle back?" Snow asked. 

"Never fear. Y2J has a plan!" 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL - OUTSIDE JERICHO AND SNOW'S WRESLTEFLEET-ISSUE TENT 

Ensign Jericho stood outside the tent, carrying a large pack on his back. He took a quick look around, and heard a sound behind him. He quickly turned, and was met with a PTC hand upside the head. His visual receptors soon became static and cut out, leaving everything black. 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL - JERICHO AND SNOW'S WRESLTEFLEET-ISSUE TENT 

"Chris?" Counselor Snow called out. "Hey, Chris? What are you doing out there?" 

No answer. 

Snow stuck his head out of the tent but saw no one. He quickly went back inside, zipped up the tent, and held H.E.A.D. tightly against his chest, rocking back and forth. He looked at H.E.A.D. "What do you mean _you're_ scared?? If _you're_ scared, then who am I supposed to turn to for comfort?!" H.E.A.D. didn't respond. Counselor Snow took a deep breath, "We're in trouble," he muttered, "Big trouble." 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL - HEADQUARTERS 

Ensign Jericho found himself in a PTC alcove. In the alcoves beside him stood Dr. Taker, Commander Austin, and Ensign Angle. All three seemed to be in stasis. 

Suddenly, he felt something attempting to hack in to his positronic matrix. It was The PTC! They were trying to re-program Unit Y2J! 

Jericho quickly put up his wall, and traced the signal. He found where it was coming from and decided he would look into that soon enough. But first, he had to contact the Titanprize. 

Ensign Jericho looked down at himself. Cables had been insterted into his arms and legs. He quickly tugged his arms free, ripping his synthetic skin. He then reached down and pulled the cables out of his legs and freed his tricorder from the pack on his back. It seemed the PTC had not cared to remove it. Good. 

Ensign Jericho pulled out a phaser, and held it in front of him. As he began to wander around the building, he found a door. He went through, and came upon Beital's communications center. The PTC had not touched it. 

Unit Y2J quickly shut the door behind him, welding it shut with the fire from the phaser. Should the PTC become curious, the welded door would keep them occupied for a while as Y2J escaped through the large window on the other side of the room. 

Ensign Jericho quickly went up to the computer console. He notice that this console was more then just communications. It was, in fact, the main computer for the entire planet! 

Jericho pulled his ponytail out, and plugged it into the port on the side of the console. He quickly hacked in, and found where the dampening fields had come from. The power source was located on a cloaked PTC ship in orbit around Beital. A ship he knew the Titanprize's sensors would not be able to pick up. He could only guess that the Titanprize had already had a visit from the PTC. 

Jericho hacked into the PTC ship, and disabled the dampening fields. He found that currently the collective was regenerating. They would not notice his hacking until much later. It was one of the negatives to being a collective - when one slept, all slept. 

"Unit Y2J to WWF TITANPRIZE! Come in, Titanprize!!" He recieved nothing but static. Unit Y2J quickly sent out a distress signal on all WrestleFleet frequencies. Now, all he could do was wait, and hope SOMEONE aboard the Titanprize recieved it soon. 

With that done, he used his superior strength to rip a hole in the welded door of the control center. It was time to begin his search for the signal his Wall had found earlier. 

Unfortunately, the PTC drones that met him on the other side of the door had other ideas. 

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	13. Season 3 Episode 2 Assimilation, Pt 3

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON THREE**

**EPISODE 2: ASSIMILATION**   
**PART THREE**

By:Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Ensign Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"The People's Captain's log, stardate 07986.098. The Rock has taken over command of this roody poo ship, since it seems no one else can! We still haven't heard from the candy asses on Planet Beital. We have opened all communication frequencies for any sign. In other news, the McMahons seem to be coming along well in Nurse Bearer's care. End log." 

With that, Acting Captain Rock headed onto the people's bridge. 

* * * BRIDGE 

"People's Captain on the bridge," Ensign Matt announced. 

"At ease..." Rock commanded. "Anything new to report?" 

"Yes sir!" Ensign Jeff began, "We seem to be getting a transmission from the surface of Planet Beital!" 

"Is it a communication?" 

"One moment..." Ensign Jeff started, and pressed a few buttons, then read the screen before him, "Yes sir! It is! It seems the dampening field has been deactivated! We're receiving a distress call sent on all WrestleFleet frequencies about ten minutes ago..." Jeff continued. 

"Well, play it!" 

"It's a bit choppy sir. I trying to clean it up..." Ensign Jeff said. He made some modifications, and finally played the message. 

"This is Ensign Chris Jericho **fzzz** to any WrestleFleet ship in orbit of Planet Beital **fzzzz** We are **fzzz** currently on the surface **fzzz** ...was able to lower the dampening field **fzzz** but **fzz** cloaked PTC ship in orbit around the planet, **fzzz** inhabitants of Beital **fzzz** ...assimilated. **fzzz** captured fellow crewmen **fzzz** Jericho out!" 

"It's about damn TIME the Rock got an update! Mr. Jeff, can you locate Ensign Jericho?" 

"I'm still receiving static, sir." 

"Well do something about that, before the Rock kicks your roody poo candy ass!" 

"Yes sir!" 

Before Ensign Jeff had a chance to hail their lost crewman, the WWF TITANPRIZE was attacked with a barrage of weapons from the cloaked PTC ship the Y2J Unit had mentioned in his communication. 

"Mr. Kane, Report!" Rock commanded. 

"PTC attack..." Commander Kane spoke in his monosyllabic smoke-damaged voice. 

"You think?" Rock replied sarcastically, "DO something about it!! Raise shields! Fire photon torpedoes!" 

The ship shook again, "Shields failing..." Kane replied. 

"Well what the HELL is The Rock supposed to do NOW?!" 

* * * PLANET BEITAL - PTC BUILDING 

Jericho allowed the PTC drones to capture him. They began to lead him through the complex. Jericho took in his surroundings, creating blueprints and making note of where a quick exit could be made in comparison to where his crewmates were currently in stasis. 

He was getting closer to the signal his wall had detected earlier. 

After what seemed like an hour (but Y2J's inner clock told him it was only 10 minutes), he was taken to a large door. The drones opened the door, and shoved him through. 

Unit Y2J's eyes went wide as he saw the room before him. It was like walking into a large computer. Wires hung from the ceiling, and computer consoles lined the walls. Various drones milled about doing various jobs... and then he saw the source of the signal. 

One large PTC automaton walked up to him, his metallic golden body shining in the unnatural light. The automaton scanned him. Jericho returned the scan, "What the hell are YOU?" he asked. 

The golden automaton spoke, "We are the PTC..." it said. 

Jericho got the feeling the automaton was speaking of ITSELF even as it said _WE_. Was this the leader? Did the PTC even HAVE such a thing? 

"We know your thoughts..." it said. "We can read your positronic matrix. The PTC have no leader... but WE..." the automaton pointed to himself, "are The Controller! YOU, Unit Y2J, will be assimilated." 

Ensign Jericho understood now. He was speaking to the embodiment of PTC. The collective itself... or... HIMself, "And what will you do if I resist?" Jericho asked. 

"Resistance is futile..." 

"Is it now?" Y2J asked, "Well, it seems our past efforts were NOT futile! Myself and my fellow crewmembers resisted you when your boarded our ship. We resisted you when you assimilated our Captain... and we will resist you now!" 

"Resistance is futile..."The Controller repeated. 

"And what will you do if I DO resist?" 

"You will suffer for your evil..." The Controller replied. 

"You would make us suffer?? But... isn't that somewhat EVIL of you yourself?" Jericho asked. 

The Controller twitched, then spoke again, "It is for the greater good..." 

"And who decides this greater good?" 

"The PTC decide!" 

"So... you are going to make us SUFFER and force us to follow what YOU believe?" Jericho nodded, "Definitely EVIL!" 

The Controller twitched again, "The PTC is not evil..." he said. 

"You say that... but causing others pain and suffering is the embodiment of EVIL! Threats are the embodiment of EVIL...!" 

The Controller twitched a bit more this time. He seemed to be having a problem computing Y2J's words, "We are not EVIL..." he repeated. 

"No? Then tell me... what is it that you DO consider evil?" Unit Y2J asked. 

"Violence is evil---" The controller began. 

Unit Y2J interrupted, "Yet here YOU are... threatening my ship with VIOLENCE..." 

A spark flew out of the wire attached to the Controller's head, and he continued, "Stealing is evil..." 

"Yet here you are trying to STEAL our individuality..." 

Another spark, and the sound of a wire short-circuiting, "The WWF is evil..." the Controller continued. 

"And yet, here your collective has been watching the WWF closely..." 

Twitch. "We... **fzz** watch to **fzzz** condemn..." 

"Condemning others is evil..." Ensign Jericho pointed out. By now, The Controller and his drones were not looking very healthy. They all seemed to be showing signs of malfunction, "See... you are more evil then WE are. What we do, we do to entertain. What YOU do, you do to dominate. Cruelly dominating others weaker then you is... in a word... _evil_..." 

The Controller was confused. Unit Y2J's words did not compute! 

ERROR! AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN! ERROR. 

The Controller collapsed to the ground, and his drones quickly followed. 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

As quickly as it had started, the PTC attack stopped. 

"What..?" Rock began, then turned towards Ensign Christian, who was currently taking over Ensign Jericho's duties (after all, they both looked the same... what difference did it make?) "What the hell happened, Ensign?" Rock asked. 

"It seems the PTC have stopped their attack. I'm reading a major malfunction in their central computer," Ensign Christian replied. 

Rock looked towards the planet on the viewscreen, and saw the PTC ship begin to uncloak, "FIRE, you big red retard! Fire on those roody poo candy asses!!" he snapped. Commander Kane did so, and the PTC ship -- already severely damaged from whatever had attacked the collective on the planet, exploded in a ball of fire. 

* * * 

PLANET BEITAL - PTC BUILDING 

The controller and his drones began to smoke, wires short-circuiting as their collective mind was cut off from their destroyed ship. The Controller crawled to his knees, and tried to speak again, "We are not evil..." he repeated, "We are not--" 

Suddenly, the controller's words were interrupted by a wide phaser stream that not only disintegrated The Controller... but most of his now dysfunctional drones. 

Ensign Jericho spun around... to see Dr. Taker holding a discharged phaser in his hands, "What the...?? I thought you were in stasis!" Ensign Jericho started. 

"I was playing dead..." Dr. Taker replied. 

Ensign Jericho looked at the dark doctor, "Well.. you do a damn good job of it!!" 

Dr. Taker stared at him, his cold grey eyes unreadable, "The PTC cannot control one as powerful as myself..." he spoke. 

Unit Y2J frowned, "Oh really?? Well if you're so powerful, why are you only a chief medical officer instead of in command then?" 

"As chief medical officer, I hold life and death in my hands, boy!! THAT is the ultimate power! A power that cannot be matched by a mere command position!" 

Ensign Jericho blinked, "What the...?" Then just shook his head, "With a doctor like YOU on board, it's a good thing I can't die!!" he replied. 

"Everything dies, boy. EVERYTHING." 

Unit Y2J paled, if that was possible, and cleared his throat, "Uh... yes.. .well... umm... on THAT happy note.... let's find our crewmen!" he said, and quickly headed off, not bothering to see if Dr. Taker followed. 

* * * WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Sir... transmission coming in from Planet Beital!" Mr. Jeff announced. 

"On screen!" The people's Captain replied. 

The Titanscreen showed a fuzzy picture of Ensign Jericho, Dr. Taker, a groggy Ensign Angle and Lt. Commander Austin... and a nervous-looking Counselor Snow. "Rock?!" Jericho began, "Where is Captain McMahon? 

"It doesn't MATTER where McMahon is! What does your candy ass have to report? What the hell happened down there?" 

"We had a little... problem... with the PTC... but it's all taken care of now. I'll give the Captain my report. Just beam us up!" 

"Rock to Lt. Commander McMichael! Beam the away team up." 

"Yes, sir!" came the reply, and the away team shimmered out of existence on the Titanscreen. 

* * * WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Ensign Jericho walked into the ready room, and sat across from Captain McMahon, who was back in command after finally being released from Sickbay. "Mr. Jericho, I've read your report on the incident on Planet Beital. I've also read Dr. Taker's report. I want to congratulate you on a job well done!" 

"Thank you, sir..." Unit Y2J replied. 

"According to Dr. Taker, if you had not disabled The Controller, then there would have been no hope for Angle or Austin... or the TITANPRIZE." 

"Well, Dr. Taker is the one who killed The Controller..." Unit Y2J spoke. 

"According to Dr. Taker's report, he didn't have to. You had already rendered The Controller, the drones, and the PTC ship useless. Killing him would not have made a difference..." 

"Then, why DID Dr. Taker kill him?" 

"Because... Dr. Taker is a sadistic bastard..." Captain McMahon replied. 

"And.... he's your Chief Medical Officer...??" Unit Y2J asked. 

"Yes... well... " McMahon cleared his throat, "My crew choices are besides the point. I called you in here for a reason..." 

"Yes, sir...?" 

"Due to your exemplary performance during the crisis on Planet Beital, and for single-handedly saving the WWF TITANPRIZE from the PTC attack, I hearby grant you the rank of Lieutenant!" The Captain then handed Jericho a Lieutenant badge. 

Ensign... no... LIEUTENANT Jericho nodded as he pinned the badge to the collar of his WrestleFleet uniform, "Well... I DO recall saying I would save the WWF when I had first come on board!" he started, then stood up, arms crossed triumphantly, "And I will CONTINUE to save this floundering ship as long as I am functional!" _Lieutenant_ Jericho turned to Captain McMahon, and held a hand out, "Thank you, sir." 

Captain McMahon stood up, and shook Unit Y2J's hand. 

Y2J left the Captain's ready room, and headed to The Smackdown. 

It was time to celebrate his promotion. 


	14. Season 3 Episode 3 The Holo Man, Pt 1

Wrestle Trek: Season 3, Episode 3

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON THREE 

****

EPISODE 3: THE HOLO MAN   
**PART ONE**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate748596.02. Now that the PTC presence is gone for the moment, we can breathe easy... " Captain McMahon paused, "Damn... this is boring!" he muttered, then quickly realized his log was still recording, "Computer, delete last sentence," 

The Computer complied, and McMahon headed to his bridge 

* * *

ELSEWHERE ON THE TITANPRIZE 

Ensign Lita, the newest addition to the crew, superkicked the man in front of her. He fell to the ground with a thud, "That's for my fellow women, you bastard!" She shouted, and gathered her hooped skirt and began to walk away. 

A man with multi-coloured hair applauded, "Nice moves, Lita!' 

"Thanks, Jeff... but..." she looked down at herself, "I really hate these period costumes..." she muttered, "Computer... did women wear pants in this time period?" 

"Negative..." The computer replied. 

Lita muttered a swear word under her breath. 

"Well-bred ladies in the 1800s never spoke like that, Lita..." Ensign Jeff Hardy replied. 

"Why do we have to be so accurate on the holodeck anyway?!" Lita asked. 

"Because it's more FUN that way!" Ensign Matt Hardy spoke up. 

"Fun for YOU maybe. YOU get to wear pants!" 

Ensign Jeff smiled, "But... the dress looks real good on you, Lita!" 

Lita smiled, blushing slightly, "You really think so, Jeff?" she asked. He nodded. "Well... I guess I can wear it... for a bit longer..." 

"HEY! Look out! Jack is getting up again..." Matt interrupted. 

Lita spun around to face her opponent. He came towards her with a knife, "Why won't you just stay DOWN!" she snapped, and quickly DDT'd him on the concrete. He was out cold. 

Suddenly, the entire planet seemed to shake... or... the entire holodeck at least. 

"What the heck?!" Ensign Jeff asked, "Computer, did we program Earthquakes into the holodeck?" 

"Negative..." the computer replied. 

"Computer... what the heck WAS that?" Ensign Matt asked. 

"Unknown..." the computer replied. 

"Is the Holodeck supposed to have 'unknowns' in its programs?" Lita asked. 

"No." Jeff replied. "Not at all!" 

"Computer, end program!" Matt commanded. The famliar yellow and black grid of the holodeck replaced the English streets of the late 1800s. The three Ensigns quickly headed out of the holodeck, doors swooshing shut behind them. 

A lone man, dressed in old English clothing, materalized on the grid... and smiled a cruel smile. 

> * * *

BRIDGE 

"What was that? Lieutenant Jericho... report!" Captain McMahon commanded. 

"A strange energy signature came from coordinates 309, 564. It's a nearby star. I'm putting it on screen..." Unit Y2J replied, and the star quickly took up the front wall of the bridge. 

"Any damage to the ship?!" McMahon asked. 

"No. Whatever it was seems to be gone now..." Unit Y2J replied. 

"Fine. Fine. Then let's get out of her before that damn star goes Supernova or something..." McMahon commanded. 

* * *

HOLODECK 2 

Lieutenant Commander Austin, and Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael entered the empty hunting lodge. They quickly set about loading their rifles. 

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir? Madame?" A voice spoke with a thick English accent. 

Austin and McMichael looked at the interruption. A man, dressed as a lodge servant, came up to them. 

Austin turned to Commander McMichael, "Did you program this silly bastard in here, Deb?" 

"No. Didn't _you_?" Debra asked. Austin shook his head. Debra looked at the waiter, "What's your name?" she asked. 

"My name is Jack, Madame..." the waiter replied. 

"Computer, delete Jack from Austin program 678-X-45 Alpha..." Austin commanded. The waiter quickly disappeared, "Damn computer glitches..." he muttered. 

McMichael and Austin continuted to enjoy their evening... unaware of the strange man that watched them from afar. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"How did you break your leg, boy?" Dr. Taker asked Ensign Edge as he fixed up the young man's injury. 

"I was practicing some moves on holodeck 2, and my opponent did this!" he muttered. 

"Weren't the safetys on?" 

"I thought they were... but... after I got hurt, I asked the computer. The computer said they had been turned off..." Edge shrugged, "I guess I had forgotten to turn them on.. but.." he furrowed his brow, "I could have sworn they WERE on!" 

"Who was your opponent?" Dr. Taker asked. 

"Just a generic computer simulation named Jack," Edge answered. 

Dr. Taker thought for a moment, then quickly hit his comm badge, "Sickbay to bridge. We have a problem with the holodeck, McMahon..."   
  


* * *

MEETING ROOM 

"So... this '_Jack_' character seems to be popping up in everyone's holodeck programs... and sometimes hurting them even AFTER they turn the safetys on?" McMahon asked his command crew 

"Seems that way, pops..." Commander Shane McMahon replied, sporting a cast on his right arm, "He attacked me while I was plotting a company takeover! It wasn't fair!" he complained. 

"Oh shut up! You're always whinning!" Chief engineer Stephanie McMahon (who had been giving her job back due to being Daddy's Little Girl) snapped. 

"Oh, I wouldn't talk Miss '_Why do I have to make my own bed_'..." Shane replied. 

"Ok! Enough...!!" Chief of Chiefs, Linda McMahon, shouted. 

The bickering siblings quickly shut up. 

"As I was saying..." McMahon continued. He turned to Dr. Taker, "You've reported numerous injuries caused by this 'Jack' glitch...?" he replied. The doctor nodded, "Any idea when it first showed up?" 

"Shortly after the energy signature was detected from the star at coordinates 309, 564," 

"Hmmmm... what does this man look like?" he asked. 

"When I saw him," Shane interrupted, "He was tall, pale, and scary!!" 

Everyone suddenly turned towards Dr. Taker. Dr. Taker offered them an icy glare, "I have NOT set foot on the holodeck in all my time here! The Lord of Medicine does not care for such puerile things!" 

The command crew seemed to accept that... as they knew Dr. Taker didn't care for ANYTHING, "All right then, who was the last one on the holodeck before the energy surge...?" McMahon asked. 

Commander Kane went up to the computer console and called up the holodeck logs. "Hardys. Lita." he replied in his gruff monotone voice. 

"Then get them the hell in here! We need to talk to them!"McMahon commanded. 

After a few minutes, the young Ensigns entered the meeting room -- looking somewhat nervous. 

"Sit!!" Commander Shane McMahon snapped. The Ensigns quickly complied. 

"You don't have to be so rude, Shane!" Stephanie replied. 

"Oh, like you're Miss polite!!" Shane shouted, "Or did you forget you called mom a Bi--" 

"QUIT IT!" McMahon interrupted angrily. His children quickly shut up. He turned to the Ensigns, "We called you in here because we've been having a problem with the holodeck lately. You were the last ones to use the holodeck before the energy surge. What program were you running?" 

"Uh... it was just a period piece I wrote myself, sir..." Ensign Jeff replied. 

"Yes. We were playing detectives trying to track down a criminal..." Ensign Matt added. 

"Well, your criminal has been infecting OTHER programs!!" McMahon replied. He turned to Lita, "Who... exactly... was this criminal, Ensign?" McMahon asked. 

Ensign Lita swallowed nervously, "Jack, sir. Jack... the Ripper...." 

* * *

HOLODECK 2 

"WHY do I have to wear this stupid dress again?!" Ensign Lita asked angrily as she played with the large uncomfortable hoop in the back. 

"Well... we need bait..." Ensign Matt replied. 

Lita paled, and Ensign Jeff quickly smacked Matt on the back of the head, "Dumbass..." 

"What??!" Matt asked innocently, "It's true!" 

"But you didn't have to come out and SAY it like that!!" Jeff replied. 

"That's ok, guys..." Lita replied, and lifted her chin proudly, "I'll still kick Jack's ass!" 

"And I'll help you..." another female voice replied. The three young Ensigns turned to see Chyna, decked out in a dress similar to Lita's. 

Lieutenant Jericho stood beside her, dressed in a period suit. He smiled, "Let's rock and roll, baby!" 

The plan was to defeat Jack the Ripper in his own territory. Phasers would be useless against a hologram, but if they were to battle the man physically, it may just purge the program from the ship's computer. 

"Computer... load program Hardy 798-X-98 Alpha!" Jeff commanded. 

Soon, the holodeck grid was replaced by the dark streets of 1800s London, England. 

The group waited for Jack to appear. The silence weighed down on them. 

"Are you waiting for me?" a clipped voice with a strong English accent shattered the silence. "Ahhh... pretty pretty Lita... you've come back.. and you have brought a friend with you! How lovely!" A man materialized before the group, and frowned, "Where is Captain McMahon? I was surely hoping he'd grace me with his presence...!" 

"You know about Captain McMahon?!" Lieutenant Jericho asked. 

Jack went up to Jericho, and furrowed his brow, "Didn't I break your leg?" he asked. 

Jericho frowned, "That was ANOTHER long-haired, blond Kanat-ian..." 

"Good lord! How many _are_ there on this ship?" Jack asked. 

Jericho shook his head, "Never mind that!!" Then paused as what Jack had just said sunk in, "Wait... you _know_ you're on a ship?!" 

"The WWF Titanprize! Yes. I am quite aware of my surroundings! I have been going through your ship's logs and crew profiles when the holodeck is not in use..." 

"How? I mean... how did you become self-aware?" Lita asked. 

"I've always been self-aware, my dear... I just merely borrowed this holographic projection to express myself!" Jack replied. 

"I don't understand..." Lita started. 

"Wait..." Jericho interrupted. He furrowed his brow, "You're ALIVE, aren't you?" he asked. "You're an energy being!" 

"Quite astute of you, Unit Y2J. I was wondering when your thermal sensors would notice..." Jack replied. "I am from a star called Pagian. I believe you passed it a short while ago. I was interested in studying your species. Or... the many you have on board..." he turned to the Hardys, "You are Aerialans. Your species are extremely flexible, and able to take to the air... is that correct?" Jack asked. 

Matt and Jeff nodded, "How'd you---" Matt started, but Jack ignored him as he went up to Lieutenant Jericho. 

"You are an android. You are highly intelligent, albiet a bit egocentric... very acrobatic, and inhumanly strong." 

"Yeah, yeah... and Chyna and Lita are human females, very attractive, and able to kick your ass!" Jericho interrupted, "Now how about you explain what YOU are!" Jericho demanded. 

"Merely a traveller..." Jack replied. 

"A traveller that likes to cause harm to our crewmates?!" Jeff snapped. 

"Oh, are you upset about that?" Jack asked, "I simply wanted to see how fragile your people were!" he smiled coldly, then looked at Lita and Chyna, "But I have grown particularly fond of your females..." 

Lita looked at Chyna, and Chyna nodded. Lita then turned back to Jack, "Computer!" she shouted to the holodeck, "Lita program 65 Alpha!" 

Suddenly, Jack found himself in the middle of a wrestling ring. The crewmembers in front him quickly ripped off their clothing to reveal their Wrestling gear. 

Jack looked at them, and smiled, "You seem to think you can defeat me this way..." he replied. "Computer! Jack program 985 delta!" Suddenly, the ring returned to a dusty old London street. Jack smiled, "This holodeck is MY domain! You cannot control anything in here!" 

"Your domain, huh?" Lita started, "And what are you going to DO in your domain?!" she asked. 

"This!" Jack replied, then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the WrestleFleet officers found themselves surrounded by armed and dangerous men. Men who looked like they were born with phasers in their hands. 

The new arrivals quickly aimed their weapons, and waited. 

Jack smiled as he looked at his fellow holo characters, then his expression changed. His face grew serious as he turned back to the TITANPRIZE crew, "What shall you do, children? Shall you run? Surely you will be fired upon. Shall you surrender? Surely that will make you my prisioners..." 

"Holodeck phasers can't hurt us, Jack! You can fire, and we can be perfectly safe!" Matt replied. 

"Oh, is that so?" Jack asked, "Then explain how I damaged that other Ensign's leg! Explain how I broke your Commander's arm!" he narrowed his eyes and raised his voice, "_I_ control the holodeck, son. _I _ control the settings! If I say phasers will kill you, then mark my words -- they WILL KILL YOU!!" He turned to what seemed to be the leader of the holo-group, "Give this obstinate Ensign an example of what I can do! Fire on his blond friend!!" 

The leader raised his phaser, and Lieutenant Jericho barely jumped out of the way as the beam headed towards him. He let out a painful shout as he landed hard on the ground, and rolled to a stop. He had saved himself from a point blank shot to the head... but his left bicep was now a mess of smoking wires. 

"CHRIS!" Chyna shouted. She turned to Jack angrily, and began to take a step forward. A phaser beam from one of the holo-characters barely missed her head, and she quickly jumped back. 

"They do not have to miss, madame..." Jack replied, "I control their actions. I control everything they DO!" He then motioned to the new arrivals. They quickly aimed their phasers at the damaged Y2J Unit. Jack smiled his cold, cruel smile and turned back to the others, "Now, Children... I suggest you surrender peacefully... or we will soon find out how much continuous phaser fire it takes before your robotic friend turns into liquid metal!" 

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	15. Season 3 Episode 4 The Holo Man, Pt 2

SEASON THREE 

EPISODE 4: THE HOLO MAN   
PART TWO 

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 632845.25. It seems a few members of my crew have been taken hostage by Jack the Ripper on the holodeck. We are attempting to remedy the situation. End log." Captain McMahon closed his log angrily, and headed onto the bridge. 

* * * 

BRIDGE 

"Lieutenant Rock... any luck getting feedback from WrestleFleet about our... _problem_...?" Captain McMahon asked. 

"Those roody poos at WrestleFleet say they've never had a problem like this before. They claim they need time to work out a plan. The Rock thinks they're full of shi---" 

"THANK you, Mr. Rock. That will be quite enough!" McMahon tapped his comm badge, "Bridge to Holodeck 2... report!" All he recieved was static. 

"That candy ass hologram has cut our communications to holodeck 2!" Rock replied. 

"Damnit!" McMahon swore. "FIX it, Mr. Rock!" the Captain demanded. 

"Fix WHAT? The Rock says he can't do a damn thing about it!!" 

Captain McMahon glared at him, "You WILL do a damn thing about it... or you will be demoted to ENSIGN!!" 

The Rock quickly turned back to his communications console, and got to work. 

* * * 

HOLODECK 2 

The holo-characters held their phasers ready, aimed at Unit Y2J. 

Ensigns Jeff, Matt, and Lita looked at each other, and nodded. They seemed to be thinking the same thing. 

Ensign Jeff suddenly took to the air, and Ensigns Lita and Matt ran head first into the holograms. The holos scattered, and Jack looked somewhat confused. 

"Computer! Program Jeff-90-87-delta!" Ensign Jeff shouted. 

Platforms emerged from the old English buildings that made up the current holodeck. Jeff landed on one, and quickly flipped backwards onto the crowd of armed holo-characters. Lita and Matt knocked down as many holos as they could. 

This allowed Chyna enough time to grab Unit Y2J, and drag him to a safer place. The young Ensigns quickly followed Chyna as Jack and his followers were busy trying to untangle themselves. 

Chyna and the Ensigns ducked into an old building and quickly barred the door. Chyna rested Jericho against a wall, "You ok, Chris?" 

\ "I'll survive..." he said, then looked at his arm, "I could use something to patch this up though," a large strip of synthetic skin has been burned away from the limb, revealing a mess of wires. 

Chyna hit her comm badge, "Chyna to Sickbay..." she called. She recived nothing but static. "Damn..." Chyna looked at herself. She was in her Wrestling gear... as were the others. "I should have kept the dress on. I could have ripped it apart to patch your arm ..." 

"Here..." Jeff offered his shirt. Chyna took it and quickly wrapped it around Unit Y2J's injury. 

Jericho wiggled his fingers, "At least everything still works..." He then turned to the young Ensigns, "Nice moves out there, by the way. I'll be sure to tell Vinnie-mac." 

The youngsters smiled, "Thank you, sir!" Matt replied. 

Jericho frowned, "_Sir_? Call me Chris... at least when we're out of our WrestleFleet uniforms."The Ensigns nodded, "Great. Now..." he looked at the group in front of him, "How are we going to give Jack and his friends a beating they'll never eeeeeeever forget?!" 

"I may be able to help..." a voice spoke. Everyone jumped at the deep, gravelly sound. The owner of the voice walked out of the shadows. 

"TAKER?!" Jericho asked, "How the HELL did you get in here?!" 

Dr. Taker raised a blood-red eyebrow, "Hell indeed..." he replied, then looked at the group before him, "Did you think you could defeat a sadistic man like Jack the Ripper on your own?" 

"But he's NOT Jack the Ripper! He's an alien dude from that star we passed a little while ago... sir..." Ensign Jeff explained. 

"_Alien dude _does not accurately describe what has taken over our holodeck, Ensign!" Dr. Taker replied. "He is an alien being, true... but he has taken on the thoughts and feelings of the real Jack the Ripper. Everything we have in our databases about Jack, whether true or rumoured, are now within that one being. Unless you are as sadistic as HE is, you will not be able to fight him. To defeat your enemy, you must UNDERSTAND the enemy," he turned to Jericho, "For example, _you_ had something in common with the PTC Controller on planet Beital with both of you being artificial life forms. You understood it, and understood that the only way to defeat a computer was to confuse it." 

"True... but... if that's the case, then who here could defeat _Jack_?" Lieutenant Jericho began, "None of us are as heartless and sadistic as he---" Unit Y2J stopped, and looked at Dr. Taker, "Never mind. I just answered my own question..." 

Suddenly, a scream was heard from outside. It was a female. The scream was followed by male laughter, and the sound of a knife slicing into something. The scream turned into a tortured gurgle, and finally faded away.... but the laughter continued. 

Ensign Lita buried her face in her hands, "I'm glad that was a hologram..." she whispered, her voice hoarse. Ensign Jeff put his arms around her, and she returned the comforting embrace. 

"Would you two like me to program a holo-suite?" Lieutenant Jericho interrupted dryly. 

The two quickly jumped apart, "W-w-w-w-we're just friends!" Jeff stuttered quickly. 

"Friends, hmmm...?" Lieutenant Jericho replied. 

"Yes, sir... er.. Chris..." Jeff replied. 

Jericho raised an eyebrow as he noticed Jeff aching to hold Lita's hand,"Whatever. Enough chit chat..." he said, "Let's get down to business..." 

* * * 

BRIDGE 

"Captain!" Ensign Christian spoke up, "Sensors indicate that Dr. Taker is now on the holodeck!" 

"If WE can't get in there, how the hell did HE get in there?!" McMahon asked. 

"I don't know... sir," Christian said, "I really don't know!" 

McMahon shrugged, realizing it was a wasted effort trying to explain Dr. Taker in any way, shape, or form. 

* * * 

HOLODECK 2 

The Titanprize crew sat in the empty holodeck building, going over possible tactics for defeating Jack. 

"None of your ideas will work," Dr. Taker informed them. "There is only one way to defeat an enemy such as Jack.. and that is to pretend he is a real person... and destroy him!" 

"Destroy him HOW?" Lieutenant Jericho asked. 

Dr. Taker walked to the door, "Come with me..." 

The others got to their feet and followed him. The group walked out the door, and Dr. Taker led them down an alleyway. He stopped, and called out, "Computer - Taker alpha-x-666" 

Suddenly, the London streets on the holodeck turned into a graveyard. Crooked tombstones replaced buildings, and weeds and dead grass replaced the ashphalt. 

"Where did my city go?! What is the meaning of this?!" an angry voice boomed through the silence of the graveyard. 

The group turned to see Jack - looking quite put out. 

"Welcome to your personal hell, Jack..." Dr. Taker replied. 

"And who, sir, are YOU?" Jack asked. 

"I am the Undertaker!" Dr. Taker answered. 

Unit Y2J's eyes went wide, "He's WHAT??" Jericho turned to the Ensigns, "Dr. Taker is just saying that figuratively, right?" 

Jeff shook his head, "No. He IS an Undertaker..." 

"I thought he was the Chief Medical Officer!!" Jericho said. 

"He is. But he was an Undertaker first..." Matt answered. 

Lieutenant Jericho shook his head, "How the HELL does a man who handles DEAD people become freakin' CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER aboard Wrestlefleet's flagship?!" 

Chyna shrugged, "We don't question Captain McMahon's crew choices." 

"Well... I guess your Captain is a fool then..." Jack interrupted. Everyone turned back to him. He smiled coldly, then turned back to Dr. Taker, "Now.. as you were saying? My own personal hell? Please explain..." 

"I do not need to explain..." Dr. Taker began, then looked towards one of the tombstones. It began to shake... and soon, a dead skeletal hand raised out of the dirt. 

Ensign Lita gasped, and grabbed on to Ensign Jeff. 

Lieutenant Jericho looked at them, "You grab each other an awful lot. Are you sure you two are just friends?" 

"YES!" Lita and Jeff replied at the same time, and quickly stepped away from each other. 

Dr. Taker ignored the others, and looked towards another tombstone. Another hand raised out of the dirt. 

Soon, bodies began raising up one after the other. 

Jack looked somewhat distressed, "What's this?!" The zombies... as that was the best way to describe them... began to walk towards Jack. Jack paled, and shook his head violently. He recognized them. "NO!" he shouted, "You're dead! You're all dead! I KILLED you! GO AWAY!!" 

The zombies headed towards Jack, and surrounded him. 

Lieutenant Jericho watched like a deer caught in the headlights as the _victims_ took their revenge on the one who sent them to their graves. Even Chyna, normally calm and collective, had to look away as Jack's screams echoed throughout the holodeck. 

"Put him out of his misery!!" Lita cried as she covered her ears and closed her eyes. 

"No." Dr. Taker replied. 

"Why not?!" Lieutenant Jericho asked, "The energy within the holo is SENTIENT! The corpses are just HOLOGRAMS! I think Jack learned his lesson!" Jericho snapped, "Computer! End program!!" 

"Unable to comply..." the computer replied. 

"What?! Why not?!" Jericho asked. 

"Only Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker, has authority to end program Taker alpha-x-666..." The computer responded. 

Dr. Taker looked at Unit Y2J, "As I said before.... to defeat one as sadistic as Jack, one must be TWICE as sadistic! Computer..." Dr. Taker started, "Control panel!" 

The holodeck control panel appeared beside the doctor. He programmed something into it, and the graveyard was soon replaced by the yellow and black grid of the holodeck. 

"What did you do?" Lieutenant Jericho asked. "Where did he go?" 

"He is currently replaying that scene in the holodeck data banks," Dr. Taker replied. 

"That was an alien life form!" Unit Y2J started. "You just trapped a sentient being in the ship's computer!" 

"Yes. What is your point, Lieutenant? It was a _hostile_ life form..." Dr. Taker replied. 

"That may be... but... oh never mind!!" Jericho snapped, and hacked into the holodeck databases. He quickly ended the program. 

Suddenly, an energy form appeared on the empty holodeck. It stood there glowing with white light... and it seemed to be shaking. 

"Computer... put an energy field around the life form!" Jericho commanded. An energy field went up around the white light. 

Ensign Lita looked at the creature, "Uh... hey.. um... you ok?" She asked it. 

"I want to go home now...!" The life form said. It sounded as if it were crying, "I will never come back. I will leave you solid life forms in peace!" 

"Good..." Lieutenant Jericho replied, "And if you break that promise, I'll..." he stopped, "Er... TAKER will punish you!" he looked at the doctor. The doctor nodded. "Now, I'll beam you back to the coordinates you came from!!" 

Y2J routed the transporter beam to Holodeck 2, and within seconds, the troublesome entity was gone. 

* * * 

BRIDGE 

"Sensors indicate that the only lifeforms on board holodeck 2 are Ensigns Matt, Jeff, Lita, Lieutenant Jericho, Chyna, and Dr. Taker, sir..." Ensign Christian began. 

McMahon tapped his comm badge, "Captain McMahon to Holodeck. Report!" 

"The life form is gone, sir..." Jericho replied. 

"How?" McMahon asked. 

"Long story, sir..." Jericho answered. 

"I look forward to reading your report, Lieutenant. Now get all your asses back on the bridge!" 

"With pleasure, sir!" The young Ensigns answered in sync. They sounded a little too relieved. 

McMahon _would_ look forward to reading Lieutenant Jericho's report. 


	16. Season 3 Episode 5 Kidnapped

SEASON THREE 

**EPISODE 5: KIDNAPPED**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 24601. We have entered a new region of Space. WrestleFleet HAS chartered the stars here, but tell us they are unaware of any inhabitants. We have scanned the closest class M planet in this region, and our sensors indicate it is uninhabited. End log." 

Captain McMahon closed his log book, and headed on to the bridge. 

* * * ENGINEERING 

Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon looked over the duty roster, and glanced around engineering. The large vertical cylinder in the middle of the room glowed and hummed as usual. The powerbelt was at full power, and early diagnostics revealed everything was running smoothly. 

Various crewmen stood at their stations running over basic diagnostics... but there was one station that was empty. 

Stephanie frowned, "Computer..." she began, "Locate Ensign Crash Holly!" 

"Ensign Crash Holly is on Holodeck 2," the computer replied. 

Stephanie tapped her comm badge, "Engineering to Holodeck 2!" she started, "Did you forget you had a duty shift in Engineering, Ensign Crash?!" 

A young, nervous voice came through the comm speakers, "What?! OH! Uh... I'm sorry ma'am... er... _sir_... I'll be there right away!" 

"You'd better move your ass, Holly! I don't have the patience to wait all day!" 

"Yes, ma'am… sir... Ensign Crash out!" the comm beeped closed. 

Stephanie sighed to herself, and waited. 

* * * 

After a few minutes, Ensign Crash entered engineering. He looked around carefully -- after all, there was no telling when someone was waiting to jump out at you! Sure... Counsellor Snow claimed the Houdinian was just being paranoid, but Crash knew better! People _were_ after him! He could feel them _watching_ him... which was one of the reasons he had spent so much time on the holodeck. In there, no one attacked you unless you programmed them too ... or unless they were possessed by an alien life form - as the Hardy Ensigns had once claimed. Not that Crash believed them, of course. For all HE knew, the Hardy Ensigns had made up that story to psych him out! 

"Nice of you to join us, Ensign!" a voice spoke up behind Ensign Crash. He jumped and quickly spun around, fists ready. Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon stood there, tapping a foot impatiently, "At ease, Ensign! I'm not going to attack you!" 

"That's what everyone says... and then they go do it!" Ensign Crash replied. 

"Yeah… ok... whatever!" she replied, and sighed, "I'm off duty. If anyone needs me, I'll be in The Smackdown," 

With that, she headed out of Engineering. Crash quickly went to his station and began his work. 

* * * UNIDENTIFIED PLANET 

They watched the WWF Titanprize on the screen in front of them. The WrestleFleet ship had not yet seen through the false sensor readings they had sent out earlier. 

Everything was going according to plan. 

* * * THE SMACKDOWN 

Lieutenant Jericho was busy enjoying his synthehol, watching Triple H wipe down the bar as Terri seemed to be on an extended vacation. 

"So, tell me, Trip! What's it like having a skanky 'ho for a wife?" Jericho asked, face serious. 

Triple H hit the bar angrily and glared at the Y2J Unit, "Don't start up with me, Astroboy!" 

Jericho looked innocent, "No. Really. I want to know! I'm studying human behaviour, remember? I want to see what effect unfaithfulness has on a human relationship!" 

Triple H narrowed his eyes, "Steph is NOT unfaithful!" 

"Then why is she flirting unabashedly with Ensign Angle over there?" Jericho asked, pointing to the other side of the room. 

Sure enough, Stephanie was sitting with Ensign Angle, fluttering her eyelashes and giggling at everything he said. 

HHH snorted, "He wouldn't even know what to do with her! I have nothing to worry about. It's not like they're going to go off and disappear together!" 

No sooner did Triple H speak then Stephanie and Angle shimmered out of existence. 

Y2J jumped to his feet, "What was THAT?!" He turned to Triple H... only to see the DX rebel disappear as well. 

It wasn't long before the Y2J Unit felt his synthetic skin tingle -- and found himself surrounded by a transporter beam. 

* * * ENGINEERING 

Ensign Crash looked up from his station, startled. Something was wrong - and he knew he wasn't being paranoid this time! 

In seconds, Ensign Crash was surrounded by a glittering light -- and Engineering disappeared before his eyes! 

* * * UNIDENTIFIED HOLDING ROOM 

Ensign Crash slowly sat up, his head pounding. He blinked a few times, and saw that he was not alone. 

Commander Stephanie, her husband, Ensign Angle, and the Y2J Unit were trying to shake the cobwebs out of their heads. 

"What the hell happened?" Helmsley began. 

"Looks like they got you jabronies too..." a voice spoke. Everyone turned to see Lieutenant Rock leaning against a wall impatiently, "It's about time your candy asses woke up!" 

"Where are we?" Ensign Crash asked Rock. 

"How the hell do you expect The Rock to know?!" Lieutenant Rock replied. 

"You are on beautiful Smardassia!" Someone answered. 

Everyone turned to the door of the room. A male humanoid stood there. He had fine ridges along his face and neck, and stood about 5'5". 

HHH walked towards the humanoid angrily, but only succeeded in getting pushed back by a force field. He touched the field, and received a slight shock in return, "Let us out of here!" Helmsley demanded. 

"No. I don't think so...." the Smardassian replied. 

"Do you know who I am? I am THE GAME! Now LET ME OUT!" 

"Trip, shut the hell up..." The Y2J Unit replied. 

Triple H ignored him, and turned back to the alien, "I said let me out!" 

"No..." the Smardassian repeated. 

"Screw you!" Triple H snapped. 

Y2J smirked, "Why don't you just ask your wife to, Trip? Maybe she'll have more luck getting us out of here..." Jericho replied. 

"How DARE you!" Ensign Angle spoke up, "Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley has integrity! She would _never _do such a thing!" 

"Yeah... ok, Kirk. You just keep on believing that..." Jericho replied. 

"Ok, Jabronies! Enough chit chat!" Rock looked at the Smardassian, "What do you want from The Rock and his crew?!" 

"We want to show you how to run a federation! We can do it so much better then you!" The Smardassian went up to the door on the other side of the room. He pushed a button on a nearby wall and the door swooshed open. 

Another Smardassian entered the room, flanked by two body guards. He went up to the force field and spoke to the Titanprize crew, "My name is Smart..." he began 

"It doesn't MATTER what your name is!" An irate Lieutentant Rock replied. 

Smart looked at him, "Ah, Lieutenant Rock!" He looked at the others, "Lieutenant Jericho, Triple H, Ensign Angle, Commander Stephanie... and..." he stopped, and looked at Ensign Crash, "Who the hell are _you,"_

Crash, who had been huddling in a corner, stood up, "Ensign Crash Holly..." he replied. 

"Damnit!" Smart sighed, "I was hoping to get Ensign Show!" 

"He was on duty just before _I_ was..." Crash explained. 

Smart frowned, "Figures! Well, I guess you'll have to do then," he turned to the first Smardassian, "Mark, give me the book!" 

The Smardassian now identified as Mark handed Smart a large leather-bound book and gold pen. Smart opened the book and began to write, "Lt. Rock, you will be battling Triple H in the Arena. Lieutenant Jericho, you will battle Ensign Angle..." he then turned to Crash, "And you..." he studied the smaller man, then looked at Stephanie. He turned back to Crash with a smile, "You are going to battle HER!" 

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Stephanie screeched. 

Smart shrugged, "You're the same size. It's the best I can do with last minute booking!" 

"But... she's my superior officer!" Crash protested. 

The Smardassian smiled, "Yes! Now wouldn't _that_ make for a good story!" 

Ensign Angle stood beside Stephanie protectively, "How dare you ask a fine lady like Stephanie to Wrestle? You have NO integrity... and that's the truth!" 

"HEY!" Triple H snapped at Angle, "She's MY wife! I'LL defend her!" 

Angle turned to the Smackdown waiter, eyes narrowed, "Well... then do it! Don't just stand there! Or do you lack the intelligence to think of something to say to these people?" 

Hunter fumed, "Listen you 30 year old virgin! I will reply in my _own_ damn way!" 

Angle frowned, "HEY! I'm not 30!" 

"OH! This is wonderful!" Smart applauded, "The booking has changed! We will have Angle battle Helmsley... and Jericho can battle Rock!" he smiled, then looked at Crash, "You're still battling Stephanie..." 

"But I'm a super-heavyweight! I can't fight a girl!! Cousin would NEVER let me live it down!" Crash replied. 

"Hey, uh... Smart?!" Stephanie spoke up. She slithered towards the forcefield and turned on the charm. She pouted her lips, and her voice became low, "Surely you don't want to let ALL of us out of here. I mean... for all YOU know, we could escape together!" 

Smart looked at her, suspicious, "Well... that's true... but why are you telling me this?" then he smiled, "Ahh... you don't want to wrestle!" he nodded, "Fine then. You DO have a point. You and the little one can stay here, and the others will be taken to the dressing room!" Smart snapped his fingers, and his body guards held their weapons ready as Mark released the forcefield, "Now if you will all be so kind as to come with me..." he said, and lead Triple H, Y2J, The Rock, and Angle toward the door, "You will all be heading to the Arena!" He looked at Mark, "Supply the little one and Stephanie with a television. I want them to see this!" 

Mark nodded, and set about his task. 

* * * THE ARENA 

Hundreds of Smardassians sat in the stands, waiting eagerly for the show to begin. The Arena was a large circle, not an actual Wrestling ring. The floor was made of white marble, imprinted with symbols and letters. Red spots, which looked a bit like blood stains, could be seen clearly. 

Lt. Rock walked out first. A few moments later, Lt. Jericho followed. They nodded to each other, a show of mutual understanding, and were about to tie up until Smart interrupted. 

"Wait ..." he began as he walked between the two grapplers, "You forgot your weapons!" 

"Weapons?!" Jericho and Rock replied in sync. 

"Of course... oh... did I forget to mention this match was to the death?!" 

"EXCUSE ME?" Jericho asked. 

"Listen, Jabroni!" Rock began, "The Rock isn't killing his fellow crew member!" 

Smart's face grew serious, and angry, "Either you will battle with weapons, or you shall be executed on the spot! One of you will live, or both of you will die. It is YOUR choice!" 

Jericho and the Rock looked at each other. There was a moment of complete understanding, then they held their hands out for the weapons. 

Both men were given silver blades to tie around their wrists. Smart nodded, "Good. Now, you must wear your opponent down before you can draw your blade. Once your opponent is unable to defend himself, then you may strike!" With that, Smart backed away into the crowd to watch. 

Jericho and Rock tied up, "So... got a plan to get us out of here before we're forced to kill each other, Lieutenant?" Jericho whispered. 

"The Rock is the communications officer... not a damn tactical officer!" he replied. 

Jericho sighed, "I'll take that as a _no_ then..." 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE 

"Where the hell are my crewmen and my daughter!" McMahon demanded as he stomped onto the bridge. 

Commander Austin answered, "I'm trying to find your damn crewmen and your daughter! Last I could tell, they were beamed down to the Class M planet our sensors claimed was uninhabited!" 

"Damnit!! Get a shuttle craft down there and FIND them, Austin!" 

"Don't you give me orders, McMahon!" Austin replied. "I'll go find them because I CHOSE to find them... not because you're asking me to! And that's the bottom line!" Austin hit his comm badge, "Austin to Dr. Taker! Meet me and Commander Kane in Shuttle Bay 4!" With that, Austin stepped into the turbo lift, and headed off to the Shuttle bay. 

* * * HOLDING ROOM 

"I know I'm probably wasting my breath ..." Stephanie spoke to Ensign Crash quietly, looking at Mark to be sure he didn't hear her, "But I don't suppose you have a plan to get us out of here?" 

"Uh... no ma'am... sir..." Crash replied. 

"Call me Stephanie," Stephanie sighed, "Everyone else does!" 

"Ok... uh... Stephanie... ma'am..." Crash replied, and smiled nervously. 

Stephanie went to sit beside him, and he slowly inched away. "What's wrong... I'm not going to attack you!" 

Crash's eyes darted around the room quickly, "But someone is... someone always does..." 

No sooner did he say that then Mark lowered the forcefield and leapt at him, shoving Stephanie to the floor in the process. 

Stephanie heard, rather then saw, the scuffle as she tried to get her wits about her. When she finally got back to her feet, Mark was laid out on the floor. 

Ensign Crash had disappeared. 

* * * 

THE ARENA 

Jericho and Rock were now bleeding - or in the Y2J Unit's case, leaking - profusely from the head. They had been cut by each other's blades, still unable to come up with a plan for escape. 

"The Rock is starting to get light-headed," Lt. Rock whispered as Lt. Jericho held him in a sleeper. 

"Tell me about it... I'm losing a lot here too. I haven't bladed this much since my days aboard the ECW Extreme Ship!" Y2J replied. 

"You used to be stationed aboard that roody poo ship?!" Rock asked. 

"Well, I---" 

"It doesn't MATTER where you were stationed!" the communications officer interrupted. 

Jericho sighed, then spoke, "I'm scanning the building for a quick exit. Maybe we'll have some luck..." Suddenly, Lt. Jericho's body jerked as a surge of information downloaded into his positronic brain. 

The Rock let out a shout of pain as Jericho accidentally held the sleeper with his full strength, "LET GO OF THE ROCK'S DAMN HEAD BEFORE YOU RIP IT OFF!" the Commander shouted. Jericho quickly eased up, and Lt. Rock reversed the hold, slamming Y2J to the floor. He put the android Lieutenant in a camel clutch. 

The Y2J Unit kept his voice low as he spoke, wincing from the camel clutch, "I think I found something. It's a WrestleFleet signature coming from the perimeter of this building! They're downloading coordinates to me! I usually don't react like that... but I'm so weak from my energy leak that I couldn't help it..." he paused as more information was downloaded, "It's a shuttlecraft with Commander Austin, Commander Kane, and Dr. Taker!" 

"Well it's about damn time! Now... how do we get out of HERE to meet them?!" 

* * * 

HOLDING ROOM 

Stephanie sat in the holding room, watching Mark drift in and out of consciousness. She hoped he wouldn't fully wake any time soon. The forcefield was down, but she had had no luck getting out the door. It was password protected. 

Suddenly, the door swooshed opened. She jumped to her feet ... but quickly relaxed. 

"Stephanie, ma'am..." it was Ensign Crash, "I found a way out!!" 

Stephanie walked up to him, "How the hell did you get out? I turned around, and you disappeared!!" 

Crash smiled shyly, "Well, ma'am... I'm a Houdinian. My species can take a moment of confusion, and use that to disappear..." he looked behind him nervously, paranoid with good reason this time, "Quick! The guards are coming! We have to go, Stephanie, ma'am! There's a Titanprize shuttle craft waiting for us..." he held a hand out to her. 

She smiled and quickly took the offered hand. Now that she thought about it... the petite Ensign was kind of cute... but then, Ensign Angle was cuter. 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE SHUTTLE CRAFT - RAWISWAR 

Triple H stood up when his wife entered the shuttle craft. He quickly embraced her. 

"How did you get out?!" Stephanie asked, not letting go of her husband. 

He looked towards Ensign Crash, "Angle and I were in the dressing room when Mini-me showed up. He had apparently found the shuttle craft and came back to get us, then went back in to get YOU, saying that he could hide if any of the Smardassians saw him..." 

"I'm glad you're ok, Stephanie..." Ensign Angle said, and held a hand out to shake hers. 

Stephanie smiled, and pulled away from Triple H. Instead of shaking Ensign Angle's outstretched hand, she hugged him. 

Triple H frowned, "OK! Can we GO now?!" he snapped quickly, pulling Stephanie against him and away from Ensign Angle. 

"Wait..." Crash spoke up, "What about Lieutenant Rock and Lieutenant Jericho?" 

Stephanie frowned, "Oh yeah... them..." she replied, not the least bit happy that the small Ensign had remembered the two men she disliked the most. 

"I downloaded our coordinates into Y2J's positronic brain... so he knows we're here," Commander Austin began, "Now it's just a matter of getting those two bastards out of there!" 

"Well, as I was searching the complex for everyone, I found a tunnel that lead right into the arena..." Ensign Crash began, "If all of us barge in there with phasers then maybe we can get them out..." 

Stephanie put a hand to her forehead in a overly-dramatic show of exaustion, "Oh... I can't bear to go in there again..." 

"That's ok, Steph, " Triple H replied, "You and I will stay _here_!" 

"Nu-uh! You ain't sittin' your ass down here and doing nothin', Helmsley!" Commander Austin snapped. "Dr. Taker can stay here with her in case those two sons of bitches find their own way back!" 

Stephanie jumped to her feet, "NO! I'm not staying here with.... HIM!!" she said as she looked at Dr. Taker with fear. 

Dr. Taker's face was unreadable, "Why not, sweet Stephanie?" he replied in his cold, gravelly voice. 

Stephanie snuggled into Triple H, "Go away!!" 

"Oh the hell with it! She can sit on her ass here alone then!" Commander Austin answered, "We don't have time for this!" 

"I'll stay with her..." Ensign Angle spoke up. "I abhor violence anyway..." 

Austin looked at him, "You're a damn WRESTLEFLEET OFFICER, son!" 

Angle looked stricken, "But I never use _weapons!_" 

"Angle will be useless to us..." Dr. Taker spoke up, "Let's just go, Austin!" 

Austin sighed, and looked at Kane, "Get your big red ass in gear! The sooner we get the damned robot and that other S.O.B, the better!" 

Kane, Austin, Dr. Taker, Crash, and a reluctant Triple H left Stephanie and Angle in the shuttlecraft and headed off to save their fellow crewmen. 

Stephanie looked at Ensign Angle, and smiled a more-than-friendly smile. 

* * * 

THE ARENA 

The sounds of phaser fire shocked Lt. Jericho and Lt. Rock out of their stupor. Rock was on the verge of passing out, and Jericho was on the verge of a complete systems shutdown. The Smardassians had forced them to step-up their match... or face execution. 

Unit Y2J was the first to focus on the WrestleFleet crew that had come to their aid. The group had forced their way into the arena, throwing phaser fire... and the audience was quickly running for safety. Finally, Lt. Rock became aware of the crew as well. 

Both men quickly stopped fighting, barely able to stand. Dr. Taker came to their aid and led them out of the wrestling circle. He scanned them with a tricorder, and gave them a shot from a hypospray to sustain them until they made it back to the shuttlecraft. 

"Beam us out!" Austin commanded to the Shuttlecraft computer. 

Before the Smardassians had a chance to return fire, the Titanprize crew was gone. 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Now that Lt. Jericho and Lt. Rock were healed and back on duty, Dr. Taker decided to visit the Smackdown briefly - something he did not usually do. The less people around him, the better. He preferred it that way. 

Dr. Taker watched Stephanie. She was by the bar being extremely affectionate with her husband, Triple H -- which incited quite a few whistles and cat calls. 

The cold doctor could care less about Stephanie ... but Stephanie was the Captain's daughter ... and that meant Stephanie had power! 

Captain McMahon had made a grave error when he had assigned Dr. Taker as his Chief Medical Officer. But after all, it was just business. 

Unfortunately for Miss Stephanie and her father, business was about to become VERY personal for Daddy's little girl. 

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	17. Season 3 Episode 6 These Dreams, Pt 1

  
**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON THREE**

**EPISODE 6: THESE DREAMS**   
**PART ONE**   
By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 66613.13. All is well aboard the Titanprize. The last nebula we passed through left us unharmed. My wife and I are are preparing to celebrate our anniversary... End log.." 

The Captain turned to the dark-haired woman behind him, and offered a chilling smile... a smile that would freeze hell itself. It was the smile of a man long-since void of emotion. His cold black eyes and long red hair stood out against his deathly pale face. He held an icy hand out towards the woman, "Come now, my Bride of Darkness.... it is time to celebrate..." 

* * * MCMAHON-HELMSLEY QUARTERS 

Commander Stephanie McMahon's eyes flew open as she bolted upright in bed, screaming. 

"Steph?!?! What the hell is wrong?! STEPH!!" a voice spoke. 

Stephanie stopped screaming and turned to the man beside her, relief filling her body. She grabbed him tightly, "It's ok, Hunter... I'm fine now..." she answered, "I just had a weird dream... that's all..." she replied, "_yes..._ she thought to herself, "_just a dream... just a silly little dream..._" 

* * * THE SMACKDOWN 

Stephanie watched as her loving husband tended to the Smackdown's patrons, tray in hand. She smiled, realizing how lucky she was to have him in her life. 

Suddenly, Stephanie felt a chill at her back. She turned to see Dr. Taker entering the establishment. Without offering her a glance, he headed to the table at which Nurse Bearer sat. The two began to converse about medical procedure and equipment. 

Commander Stephanie could not take her eyes off the frightening doctor as her dream the night before replayed itself in her mind. 

Dr. Taker turned away from Nurse Bearer for a moment, and looked at the Chief Engineer, "Commander..." he spoke, "May I help you?" 

Stephanie blinked quickly, and shook her head, "Help me?? What makes you think I need any help?!? No no.. don't need any help.. no help at all.. uh... I'm fine... just fine..." she sputtered nervously. 

"You were staring at me somewhat intently, Commander..." Dr. Taker replied, his voice cold and grave as usual. 

Stephanie quickly stood up, knocking her chair over, "No I wasn't!! Just stay away from me!!!" she shouted, and ran out the door... ignoring the questioning glances from the patrons. 

Ensign Angle had just walked into the Smackdown, almost getting knocked over by the Chief Engineer. He went up to Triple H, "What's wrong with Stephanie?" 

Triple H ignored Angle's question and handed him the tray as he ran out after his wife. 

Angle looked at the tray in his hands, then looked in the direction Triple H had gone, "Hey, does this mean you want me to wait tables?" he called out, but the man was long gone. 

* * * TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Steph!" Triple H shouted as he grabbed Stephanie in the corridor, "What the hell just happened?" 

Stephanie looked up at him, "Nothing happened, Hunter..." she smiled nervously, "Everything is fine... honest..." 

Helmsley didn't seem convinced, "Maybe you need some sleep..." he offered. 

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP!!" she snapped, then her voice became softer, apologetic as she realized who she just yelled at, "I'm sorry, Hunter... you know, maybe you're right. Maybe I DO need some sleep..." she smiled, and blew him a kiss, "See you later tonight..." she winked, and headed on. 

* * * MCMAHON-HELMSLEY QUARTERS 

Commander Stephanie was on the Holodeck... or... at least, that's what she THOUGHT. 

Wherever she was, it was night time. She was in a town. A ghost town. 

Commander Stephanie began to walk around, taking in the damaged houses. "Computer," Stephanie commanded, "What program is this??" 

"Unable to comply..." the computer replied. 

"You can't answer a simple question?! Maybe daddy should buy a new computer!" Stephanie snapped. 

"Unable to comply, " the computer repeated. 

Commander Stephanie sighed, and continued walking. Soon... the houses began to disappear. The asphalt beneath her turned into an uneven grassy field. A fog was hovering a few inches above the ground. She saw something up ahead, and walked towards it. It looked like a stone of some sort. 

She quickly walked to the stone, and crouched beside it. Underneath ancient layers of dust, something was written. She brushed the dust off, and read: 

**HERE LIES DOCTOR U. TAKER**   
**BORN STARDATE 062619.63**   
**PERISHED STARDATE: 062619.85**

A small inscription was at the bottom: 

**A DEVOTED WRESTLEFLEET OFFICER**   
**WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY**

Stephanie jumped away from the stone, "DIED??" she gasped. "But... that's impossible!!" 

"Is it?" a voice said behind her. 

Commander Stephanie turned around... only to the see the man whose tombstone she had just read, "What the hell is this?!" she shouted. 

Dr. Taker looked at her, "My tombstone..." he replied. 

Stephanie shook her head, "But you're not dead!!" she snapped. 

"Are you sure of that now, my bride?" Dr. Taker asked. 

Stephanie shook her head and began to back away, tripping over the tombstone, "I'm NOT your bride!! I'm NOT! I'm NOT! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!!" 

Dr. Taker began to laugh a cold laugh. 

Stephanie screamed. 

* * * 

Commander Stephanie McMahon bolted upright in bed, and took in her and Hunter's own quarters. She shook her head, "This is ridiculous! I have to do something about these dreams... and SOON!" 

* * * 

COUNSELOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

"Commander Stephanie!" Counselor Snow quickly stood up as the Chief Engineer entered his office. He took in her appearance. It was obvious she had been having a few uneasy nights. He furrowed his brow, "What's wrong?" 

"I was hoping you could tell ME, Counselor!" Stephanie replied, and made herself comfortable on Counselor Snow's couch. 

"Uh... looks like you haven't been sleeping!" he replied. 

Stephanie frowned, "Gee... you're sharp!" she replied, then sighed, "I've been having weird dreams..." 

Counselor Snow sat in the chair across from her, H.E.A.D. on his lap, "Really? Well... would you like to tell me about them?" 

"No..." 

Counselor Snow blinked, "No? Then... why did you come here if you don't want to talk?" 

"Because I felt like it, ok?!" Stephanie replied. 

"Uh... all right then...." Snow answered. 

Stephanie looked at the ship's counselor, "I just want to know how to stop these stupid dreams!" 

"Are they nightmares?" Counselor Snow asked. 

"Duh!" Stephanie replied. 

"And you won't tell me what they're about..." Snow said. 

"It's none of your business! Just give me something to sleep, and I'll be fine!" 

"Well... I can't prescribe you anything to help you sleep. You'd have to ask Dr. Taker---" 

Stephanie jumped to her feet, "NO!! I am NOT talking to Dr. Taker!" 

Counselor Snow was about to say something, when he turned to H.E.A.D. "Yes... you think so??" he asked it. "That could be... judging from her reaction..." he continued to mutter to H.E.A.D. 

"What are you doing?? What is that THING saying about me?" Stephanie demanded. 

"H.E.A.D. says you've been having dreams of..." he paused, then crinkled his nose, "DR. TAKER?! Ewwww...." 

"Hey! I SAID they were nightmares, ok!?" Stephanie replied. 

"All right, all right!" Counselor Snow said, then looked up at her, "I don't know how to help you with your dreams, Commander. Maybe there's something in your subconscious that..." 

"Oh never mind!!" Stephanie interrupted, "You're totally useless!" with that, she turned on her heel and walked out. 

* * * 

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Commander Stephanie entered the ready room without waiting for permission, "Daddy!!" She started, "I want you to fire Dr. Taker!!" 

Captain McMahon looked up from the comm pad he was working on, "Fire him?? Why?!" 

"Because... I don't like him!! Get him off the ship!" 

"You know I would do anything for you, honey.. but I can't fire Dr. Taker..." Captain McMahon replied. 

"Why not?" Stephanie asked. 

"Just because, Stephy honey," he answered, "Now Daddy's busy. Go play with Hunter or something..." 

Stephanie didn't seem happy, but left her father in peace. 

McMahon watched the door close behind Stephanie, and took a deep breath, "_Heaven knows what Dr. Taker would do to me if I DID fire him...._" Captain McMahon shivered slightly, then went back to reading the padd in front of him. 

* * * 

\STEPHANIE'S DREAM 

"Ok... if you died in the line of duty, how come you're HERE?" Stephanie asked Dr. Taker. 

Dr. Taker looked at her, "I am more powerful then you can imagine," he replied, "A simple corporeal body is nothing to me!" 

Commander Stephanie McMahon looked at him, and raised her eyebrows, "Really? Your THAT powerful?" 

"Yes! And I shall make you my Bride of Darkness and share with you that power!!" 

Stephanie shook her head, "I said LEAVE ME ALONE!! I am NOT marrying YOU! You're ... like... 15 years older then me!! Ugh!" she shouted... then paused, "Wait... did you say you would share your power?" 

Dr. Taker said nothing as he disappeared into thin air. 

* * * 

THE SMACKDOWN 

Triple H was becoming increasingly concerned for his wife. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting alone at a table nursing a drink, and staring nervously at Dr. Taker as the pale doctor spoke to Nurse Bearer. 

Stephanie had woken up countless times screaming. Helmsley wondered if the good doctor had anything to do with the nightmares she had been victim to. 

Suddenly, the lights on the Titanprize flickered out. Screams echoed throughout the Smackdown. All was pitch black. 

Finally, when the lights came back on, everything was where it should be... ALMOST. 

Three things were missing. 

Nurse Bearer 

Dr. Taker 

And Commander Stephanie McMahon. 

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	18. Season 3 Episode 7 These Dreams, Pt 2

Wrestle Trek: Season 3, Episode 7 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON THREE 

****

EPISODE 7: THESE DREAMS   
**PART TWO**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, stardate 98562.20. Stephanie, Dr. Taker, and Nurse Bearer disappeared from the Smackdown at 18:30h. I don't know _where _they've disappeared too. Is it a new enemy? We are checking all avenues... End log..." Captain McMahon closed his log book. 

He sat back in his chair and stared at the wall on the other side of the room, not really seeing it. 

So what if he distorted the facts in his log? No one at Wrestle Fleet needed to know the truth. 

After all... if Wrestle Fleet found out what the Titanprize's Chief Medical Officer was capable of, there's no telling what would happen! 

* * *

SOMEWHERE 

Commander Stephanie McMahon sat up carefully. She looked around. The room was dark except for the glow of stars through the window, "Where am I?" she asked. 

"You are in my quarters... " a voice replied. 

Stephanie gasped and turned to see Dr. Taker leaning against a wall calmly. 

Commander Stephanie looked around. The room was bare! The walls were painted black, and there wasn't even a bed! 

Stephanie shook her head and tapped her comm badge, "Commander Stephanie McMahon to Daddy..." There was no reply. 

"A dampening field prevents communication. Sensors will not be able to find our location either..." 

Stephanie turned to Dr. Taker, "You're wrong! The sensors will pick up a dampening field!!" 

"Only if the dampening field is computer generated..." Dr. Taker replied. 

"IF? So what are you saying? It's magic?" Stephanie asked, not convinced. Dr. Taker didn't reply. Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Yeah... ok... you want me to believe that you have magic powers?" 

"Look out the window..." Dr. Taker said. 

"Why?" 

Dr. Taker frowned, "Just do it..." Stephanie quickly turned to the window without hesitation, "Good. Now watch..." 

Dr. Taker snapped his fingers... and suddenly the stars began to blur. Stephanie felt the Titanprize go into warp, "Whaaaaaa!" she gasped. "Commander Stephanie McMahon to Engineering!!" Stephanie shouted. Still no reply. 

"I told you... we are covered by a dampening field!" 

Stephanie turned to Dr. Taker, "Where are you taking us?!" 

"I am taking the Titanprize into the Omega Quadrant." 

Commander Stephanie furrowed her brow, "Omega Quadrant? That's UNCHARTED! I mean... it's like.... trillions and trillions of light years away!" 

"This is true..." Dr. Taker replied. 

"There is no way we could ever reach the Omega Quadrant in our lifetime..." Stephanie continued. 

"This is also true..." 

"So how are we possibly going there?" 

Dr. Taker didn't answer as he nodded towards the window, "Look out there..." 

Stephanie sighed, and did so. Her eyes went wide! 

The ship had come out of warp in a system that looked like nothing she had seen before! 

Instead of the blackness of space, a strange red mist surrounded the stars. Gaseous anomalies were in abundance here, and pieces of partially formed planets floated like dead weight. The red sky ... if you could call it a sky ... flickered with electricity, and the numerous asteroid fields moved quickly -- almost as if an impossibly strong wind were pushing them 

"Where are we...?" Commander Stephanie asked. 

"At the end..." Dr. Taker replied. 

She looked at him, "The end? The end of WHAT?" 

"The end of the line. Surely you know all things must have an end." 

"I don't understand," Stephanie replied. 

Dr. Taker seemed impatient, "Had we continued in a straight line from our earlier coordinates, THIS is where we would have eventually ended up... in an incalculable number of years, mind you... " 

Stephanie stepped away from the window and looked at Dr. Taker, "You're kidding me!" Stephanie said, but one look at Dr. Taker told her that no... he was NOT kidding. 

Commander Stephanie looked at the pale man before her with a new respect. Such power! 

Perhaps being his bride wouldn't be so bad after all... 

* * *

THE BRIDGE 

Everyone was in awe at what lay before them. 

"Where are we, pops?!" Commander Shane McMahon gasped. 

"Damned if _I_ know..." McMahon replied. "Wherever we are, I want us the HELL out of here!! NOW!" 

Almost as if someone had heard him, the red mist and white stars began to blur once again. 

* * *

SOMEWHERE 

Commander Stephanie watched through the window as they returned to their original coordinates, then looked at her captor... "Why did you do this?! I mean, ALL of it. My dreams, my kidnapping, the end of the Universe thing...?" 

"Because," Dr. Taker replied. 

"Because WHY?!" Stephanie asked. 

Dr. Taker looked at her, "Because..." he repeated, "I was bored..." 

Stephanie stared at him, blinking in disbelief. "Bored? You tormented me because you were BORED? You entered my dreams because you were BORED? You brought us to the Omega Quadrant because you were BORED?!!" 

"Yes." Dr. Taker replied simply. 

Stephanie suddenly smiled, "I love a man with power who isn't afraid to abuse it!" 

* * *

BRIDGE 

"Where is my daughter? Where is Dr. Taker?? Where is Nurse Bearer?!" Captain McMahon demanded. 

Almost as if on cue, Lieutenant Commander Austin spoke up, "Sensors have found the big dead bastard, his big fat nurse, and your big slutty daughter on Deck 6, section 6, room 6!" 

McMahon looked at Austin angrily, "_What _did you say about my daughter??" 

"She's on deck 6, section 6, room 6..." 

"Oh..." McMahon replied. "Then let's get our asses down there!!" 

* * *

DECK 6 - SECTION 6 - ROOM 6 

"They're coming..." Dr. Taker spoke. "Your dear sweet daddy is coming to save you, little girl..." 

Stephanie sidled up to Dr. Taker, and took his arm, "And what if your bride doesn't want to be saved?" she asked with a smile. 

Dr. Taker quickly pulled his arm out of her grasp and stepped away. He turned to Nurse Bearer, "Tell me she's not saying---" 

"Oooooooooooh yeeeeeeeeeessss.... she is..." Nurse Bearer replied. 

Dr. Taker frowned, and motioned to Stephanie, "Come here..." Stephanie did so. "I do not want you to be my bride..." he replied. 

Commander Stephanie furrowed her brow, "But... the kidnapping. The dreams. The whole 'my bride of darkness' stuff. If you didn't want me to be your bride, why?" 

"I told you. I was bored. I wanted to scare you. That is all. I truly have no interest in you..." 

Stephanie pouted, "But... but...." she began to sniffle, "You and I! The unimaginable POWER we could wield!! How can you stand there and say you're not interested?" then she grew angry, "How DARE you play with a woman's lust for power that way!" 

Dr. Taker turned to Nurse Bearer, who simply shrugged. Dr. Taker turned back to Stephanie, "You will forget you saw my power. You will forget I mentioned you being my bride..." 

"No I won't!" Stephanie insisted. She looked up at him, "I want to be your Bride of Darkness!! Together, our power will---" 

Dr. Taker took a step back, almost... _frightened?? _IMPOSSIBLE!"No!" He snapped quickly, "You do NOT want to be my Bride of Darkness!! You will forget all that has happened here!" 

"I told you---" Stephanie began, but was interrupted when Dr. Taker snapped his fingers. She blinked for a moment, then looked around, disoriented. "Huh?" 

Suddenly the doors opened, "STEPHANIE!" Captain McMahon shouted to his daughter as he ran into the room with Austin, and Kane. 

"Daddy!!" Stephanie replied happily. She ran to her father and hugged him, then looked around, "How did I get here? Why is Dr. Taker and Nurse Bearer here? What happened." 

Captain McMahon looked at Dr. Taker. Dr. Taker glared at him, eyes holding an unspoken warning. That one looked told McMahon everything. The Captain turned to his daughter, "Uh... you were looking for Dr. Taker to prescribe some medication for your headaches..." he replied quickly. 

Commander Stephanie thought for a moment, then winced. Yes. She DID have a headache. Funny how she didn't notice that before. 

Commander Stephanie turned to Dr. Taker, all business, "Have that prescription waiting for me in my quarters after my duty shift!" she commanded. "And next time, you'd better STAY in sickbay so I don't have to run around the whole ship looking for you!" 

Dr. Taker nodded, and Stephanie headed out with her father. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

Commander Stephanie was once again admiring her husband at work when her eye caught Dr. Taker entering the Smackdown. 

Stephanie watched him... unable to explain why she suddenly felt an attraction to his power. 

She shook her head, and turned back to admiring Triple H. 

Power?? How ridiculous! 

After all, what power could a lowly doctorpossibly have? 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	19. Season 3 Finale Episode 8 When the Wall...

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON THREE**

**EPISODE 8: WHEN THE WALLS COME CRUMBLING DOWN**   
**PART ONE**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log. Stardate 060820.00. We are now leaving Starbase Deep Space 13. Lieutenant Jericho has brought aboard some nan... nano-something-or-others to study that had been left behind. He has been given permission, provided he keeps the nano-something-or-others contained. End log." The computer complied, and the Captain took his post. 

* * * RESEARCH LAB 3 

Unit Y2J looked at the screen in front of him. He put his hands under the micro-camera and moved the sample around, careful not to touch it. On the screen, the computer studied it from all angles. He made a note in his positronic brain, and continued his study. 

Suddenly, the door behind him burst open, "JERICHO! YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR ASS KICKED NOW!" an angry voice shouted. 

Unit Y2J turned around to see Triple H stalking towards him with purpose, "Hey, Trip. How can I help you?" 

Triple H was in no mood for nicknames, "Shut up! What have you been calling my WIFE, you metallic bastard?" 

Lieutenant Jericho shrugged, "I've been calling her a skanky, filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding, trashbag ho. Why? Is there a problem with that?" 

Triple H threw Lieutenant Jericho onto the research table angrily, "Don't you DARE call her that again, or I'll rip out your wires one by one!" The DX rebel began pounding fiercely at the Lieutenant's face, but only succeeded in hurting himself. "DAMNIT!" 

Unit Y2J smiled smugly, "No-selling titanium metal," his face then grew serious, "Now would you get the HELL off me?" 

Triple H did so, but was still furious. He grabbed the closest thing he could find -- the micro-camera -- and tossed it, sample and all, at Jericho. 

The Y2J Unit's super-fast reflexes kicked in as he caught it... at least, _most _of it! The sample slide crashed to the floor, shattering. He threw the micro-camera back at Triple H, who didn't have much luck catching it, and ended up having an imprint of it on his face. 

Unit Y2J knelt on the ground, carefully using his own built-in microscopic camera to find the nanites. He swore as he felt a prick in his finger from the broken glass on the floor. He looked up at Triple H, "Great going, Trip! I lost the nanites! There's no telling WHERE they are now, and how much damage they'll cause to our computer systems! 

"You think I give a damn?!" Triple H shouted, "You think I really give a damn about your stupid experiment... or whatever the hell it was you were doing!" 

Lieutenant Jericho stood up, arms crossed, "We'll see how much you care when the nanites begin to mess up our systems!" 

"Screw the damn computer systems!" Triple H snapped, "And screw you too!" he then spun around and headed out the door, fuming. 

* * * TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Lieutenant Jericho made his way to the bridge. He had to inform the Captain of the possible danger to the ship. 

As he walked, he paused for a brief moment. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he just didn't want to move. 

"For those with the benefit of flash photography, take your pictures now! Only ten credits a shot!" a voice shouted. 

Jericho blinked, and turned to see Ensigns Edge and Christian posing beside him. 

A group of his fellow crewmen were standing in the corridors, staring at him, "What?" he asked, then noticed Dr. Taker. He was scanning the Y2J Unit with a tricorder. "What the... where'd YOU come from?" 

"I've been scanning you for two hours..." Dr. Taker answered, and shut the tricorder off. "You seem to be functioning normally now..." he said, then took his leave without another word. 

Unit Y2J turned to everyone else, "TWO hours?" 

"Well, that's how long Dr. Taker's been here. Christian and I found you about FOUR hours ago!" Ensign Edge spoke. 

Lieutenant Jericho turned to him, "Have you been posing beside me for FOUR hours?" he asked. 

Christian nodded, "You were SO not moving!" then he smiled, "But you made us some good money!" he held out a handful of credits, "People wanted to take pictures of the triplets. Can't imagine why they thought the three of us looked so much alike..." he shrugged, then nodded towards Edge, "Let's go," the two Ensigns headed off to their quarters to count their credits. 

"HEY! Shouldn't I get some of those credits too?" Jericho shouted. The two Ensigns ignored him and went on their way. Lieutenant Jericho shook his head, and tried to recall the last 4 hours in his memory bank. Everything was a blank. 

So... what HAD happened to the Y2J Unit? 

* * * THE SMACKDOWN 

"So, I heard about you spacing out earlier today!" Terri began as she leaned on her bar, "What happened?" 

Unit Y2J shook his head, "I have NO idea! I need to run a complete systems diagnostic on myself," he sighed. 

"Poor guy!" Terri spoke, "Maybe this will cheer you up. I heard this great joke..." 

"Joke? I heard a great one the other day myself!" he said. 

Terri smiled, "You go first...!" 

"Ok.... 1010011011101110111001101111001110101100001100101110011101!!" he said, then smiled, "Funny, isn't it?" 

Terri looked at him, confused, "I have NO idea what you just said..." 

"Don't you get the joke? You see, he WANTED them to take his wife!!" 

"Chris, honey... all I heard was a bunch of ones and zeros from your lovely mouth. I didn't hear any joke!" Terri explained. 

Now it was Lieutenant Jericho's turn to be confused, "No... I said the joke... didn't I?" 

Terri shook her head, "Maybe you should go run that diagnostic now..." 

"Good idea!" he said, then quickly headed to his quarters. 

* * * LIEUTENANT JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

Jericho ran a self-diagnostic, but detected no anomalies or irregularities in his system. He suddenly felt very tired... "Tired?" he asked himself. Since WHEN did he sleep? 

Perhaps he had simply been hanging around humans so long that some of their habits had rubbed off on him. Oh well, it couldn't hurt to shut his eyes for a few moments... 

* * * TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsely headed towards engineering. She stopped when she saw Unit Y2J wandering aimlessly along the corridors. "Hey bytes for brains, are you lost or something?! Don't you know your way around this ship yet?!" 

Lieutenant Jericho quickly walked up to her... a little to close for comfort. He stared down at her, his eyes looking somewhat wild... studying her. Stephanie took a step back, "What's wrong with you?" 

Suddenly, Unit Y2J grabbed Commander Stephanie... and _kissed_ her! 

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE!!" Triple H shouted as he came upon the scene. He quickly pulled Stephanie away, and looked at the Lieutenant, "That's it! I'm going to kick your ass right here, right now!!" 

The Y2J Unit suddenly fell to his knees, and grabbed his head. He let out a loud, high-pitched screech... much like that of a 21st century fax modem. 

Triple H backed away, pulling Stephanie with him, "What the HELL is wrong with the damn bot!" Stephanie didn't answer, still in shock, "What did he do to you?" 

"Oh! Hunter!" she started, "It was HORRIBLE!" She glared at Unit Y2J, "That perverted robot took advantage of me!" she said, then furrowed her brow as Y2J's face started twitching something fierce, "What the...? He's like... malfunctioning!" 

Suddenly, Unit Y2J jumped to his feet and blinked quickly. The twitching stopped. He seemed confused, "How did I get out HERE?" he asked, then looked at Steph, "What did YOU do to me?" 

"What did _I_ do....??" Stephanie started, then began to fume, "YOU'RE the one who kissed me!" 

"I did WHAT?!" 

"You kissed me, you stupid, dumb, blonde JERK! How DARE you?!" 

"Now why the hell would I go and do THAT?" He asked. 

"I don't know! You tell ME!" Stephanie replied, "After you kissed me, you started making some weird sound..." she smiled slyly, "Guess I was too much woman for you..." 

"You're too much of SOMETHING alright..." he muttered rudely, then shook his head, "Excuse me... I have to go lock myself in my quarters now and be sick..." with that, he spun around and left. 

* * * LIEUTENANT JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

"_What's wrong with me? I was sitting here... then I closed my eyes... and the next thing I know, that skank 'ho insists I KISSED her!_" Unit Y2J thought to himself. He frowned. Perhaps he would have to take drastic action. He tapped his comm badge, "Lieutenant Jericho to Dr. Taker... I'm coming down to sick bay. Get a containment field ready for me... and make sure I DON'T get out!!" 

The doctor's grave voice came over the comm, "Why?" 

"Because... I think I'm infected with something... and it's messing up my systems! I'll be down in a few moments..." 

With that, the Lieutenant ran out of his quarters, and headed to sickbay. 

* * * 

SICKBAY 

Unit Y2J lay on the diagnostics table as the dark doctor leaned over him and scanned him. "You have a bug in your system..." he said. 

"A bug? What do you..." he paused, then remembered, "The nanites!!" he gasped, "You HAVE to get them out of me! I'm not compatible with the programming and I'm losing control of my cerebral functions! I mean... REALLY losing control!" he finished, then shuddered involuntarily. 

"What happened?" Dr. Taker asked. 

"NOTHING!" Jericho said quickly, not wanting to explain what had happened with Stephanie in the corridor. He would be the laughing stock of the ship if that ever came out! 

Dr. Taker raised an eyebrow, "That bad?" 

Jericho turned his head, "Just... make sure I don't get out!" 

"Very well..." he replied, then turned one of his assistants, "Give him one of these now, and again in two hours..." Dr. Taker said, and handed the assistant a hypo. "It will slow down the nanites' attempt to control his cerebral functions..." 

"Yes sir..." the assistant, Nurse Saturn, went up to Lieutenant Jericho's diagnostic table. He looked at Unit Y2J. The android had somehow fallen asleep in the last few minutes, "Odd... I didn't think android's slept..." 

A voice emerged from Unit Y2J, and it was NOT the Lieutenant's, "They don't..." it said, "But it's the only way WE can explore your ship freely..." 

Nurse Saturn furrowed his brow, "What the....?" Unit Y2J turned his head towards him. His eyes were now solid black. 

Saturn took a step back and called for Dr. Taker, but his call was quickly interrupted as the Y2J Unit's hand shot up, and tightened around the nurse's neck. 

Within moments, Nurse Saturn blacked out. 

* * * ENGINEERING 

Lieutenant Jericho entered engineering quickly. He brushed roughly past Commander Stephanie, and headed to the warp core. "Watch where you're going!" Stephanie snapped. 

He didn't reply. Instead, he broke into the core panel and began to detach and reattach various wires. He studied each wire carefully, and made mental notes. 

Stephanie went up to him and grabbed his arm, trying to pull it away from the sensitive controls, "WHAT do you think you're DOING?" she demanded. 

He turned to her, "Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley... Chief Engineer aboard the WWF Titanprize..." 

Commander Stephanie looked at him. His voice was strange... and his EYES... "What's wrong with you?!" she asked, annoyed. 

Suddenly, Unit Y2J grabbed Stephanie's arm, and pulled her out of Engineering... kicking and screaming. 

* * * SHUTTLE BAY 5 

Lieutenant Jericho shoved Stephanie in the passenger seat of the Shuttlecraft HEAT as he took the controls. 

"Are you kidnapping me?! I'll have you know, my daddy---" 

"We are going to coordinates 56893!" the strange voice spoke through Lieutenant Jericho. 

"Listen. I don't care WHERE the hell you go! Just leave me out of it!" She stood up and headed towards the door of the shuttlebay. 

"You are coming with us!" he said. 

"US? Who's US?" Stephanie asked. 

Lieutenant Jericho didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out a phaser, and fired. 

Commander Stephanie collapsed to the ground, unmoving 

* * * TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Dr. Taker to Captain McMahon. Unit Y2J is malfunctioning. He has left one nurse severely injured, and was last seen heading towards shuttlebay 5." 

"McMahon..." Lieutenant Rock began, "Shuttlebay 5 just reported that Unit Y2J has taken shuttlecraft HEAT. 

Captain McMahon looked towards Ensign Christian, "Any lifesigns?" 

"Only one..." he replied. 

"Open hailing frequencies..." Captain McMahon demanded. "This is Captain McMahon to shuttlecraft HEAT. Halt and return to the ship!" The shuttlecraft didn't respond, "Lieutenant Jericho, we are locking you in a tractor beam and bringing you back ourselves..." 

The tractor beam was sent out... but the was quickly deflected by the shuttlecraft shields, "Sir... the shields of the HEAT have been modified to reject the tractor beam!" Ensign Angle replied. 

Finally, a voice spoke from the shuttlecraft... but there was no image, "Lieutenant Jericho is our host now. We will do with him what we wish... and there is NOTHING your pitiful species can do about it..." 

Captain McMahon frowned, "PITIFUL?" he snapped, "We'll show you how _pitiful_ we are! Mr. Austin..." he began, "Fire a warning shot!" 

"I ain't firing on the damned android!" Austin spoke. 

"Fire a warning shot! Do it NOW... or I will force upon you the ultimate torture..." McMahon looked towards Ensign Rikishi, and Austin immediately knew what the Captain was hinting at. 

"Damn you!" Austin muttered. 

Within seconds, the Titanprize fired upon Lieutenant Jericho's shuttle. 

A flash of light from the Titanscreen briefly blinded everyone on the bridge. 

When all was clear, the shuttlecraft HEAT was no where to be seen, "What the hell happened?" the Captain demanded. "It was just a warning shot!" 

"I'm sorry, sir..." Ensign Jeff spoke up as he checked the sensors, "but ... sensor's indicate the shuttlecraft HEAT had been destroyed..." 

**END OF SEASON 3**


	20. Season 4 Premiere Episode 1 When the Wa...

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 1 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 1: WHEN THE WALLS COME CRUMBLING DOWN   
**PART TWO**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 060920.00. Lieutenant Jericho's shuttle seems to have been destroyed. My aim was merely to damage the ship, not destroy it. It was a waste of a good shuttle... but I'm sure Wrestlefleet will understand. End log." 

Captain McMahon sat back in his chair, and briefly wondered where his daughter was. 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT HEAT 

Commander Stephanie slowly came to, "What happened?" she asked, then remembered. She looked towards Lt. Jericho, who was sitting at the controls, "YOU! Are you kidnapping me?! I'll have you know, my daddy will---" 

"We care nothing for your DADDY!" Unit Y2J began, his voice frightening, his eyes black. 

"How could you NOT care? He is Captain VINCE McMAHON!" 

"We have left a surprise for your Captain McMahon aboard his ship." 

"What do you mean?" Commander Stephanie asked. 

"In T-minus 2 hours, the WWF Titanprize's warp core will explode..." 

Stephanie remembered Lt. Jericho messing around in Engineering earlier, "So THAT'S what you were doing! But... WHY did you do it?" Stephanie asked. 

The thing that had Y2J's face turned to her, "Because we wish to multiply and must find a planet to do so. Aboard the Titanprize, there would not have been enough room. " 

"Multiply or not, you have NO RIGHT to destroy my daddy's ship!!" 

"We have _every_ right. They would have destroyed US! As it was, our host was attempting to restrain us from taking over his systems!" it answered. Yes. IT. Stephanie couldn't consider Unit Y2J a HIM anymore. 

Suddenly, the thing grabbed its head, and let out the high-pitched modem scream that Stephanie had heard once before. It's eyes returned to normal. 

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BEAUTIFUL BODY!" Lieutenant Jericho shouted. He seemed to have regained control of his systems for the moment. 

"Oh... you're back..." Stephanie replied, feigning disappointment, "The nanites were a lot more interesting..." 

"Then maybe you'll be happier when they totally take over my systems!" he snapped. 

"When the Titanprize comes after us, they'll get them out!" she stopped, "WAIT! The nanites told me they set the warp core to explode! We have to warn the Titanprize!" 

Lieutenant Jericho turned to Stephanie, "No can do! The nanites set the shuttle to go into emergency warp the moment your dad fired on us. The engines need time to recharge!" he shook his head, "That wasn't exactly the NICEST thing your dad ever did! " 

Stephanie frowned, "Hey, you kidnapped me! What did you expect him to do?" 

"First of all, it wasn't ME who kidnapped you! And secondly, if your dear sweet daddy KNEW you were aboard this shuttle, he WOULDN'T have fired!" 

"Oh... " she replied, then began to pout, "But then that means he won't be coming for me!" she turned to him, "The Titanprize is going to explode, and I have no way to tell my daddy!!" 

Jericho swore under his breath, "If I can get to the HEAT's engines..." he stopped and looked at Stephanie, "Hmmm... maybe I CAN make you useful after all!" 

* * *

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

"Where is my daughter?! I've been paging her for the last twenty minutes!" Captain McMahon snapped as he walked through engineering. 

"Sir..." Ensign Crash, who was at his usual station, spoke up, "Don't you know?" 

"Know WHAT?" McMahon asked. 

"The Y2J Unit took her, sir!" 

"WHAT?!" McMahon shouted. 

"If you find the Y2J Unit, you'll find your daughter, sir..." Crash offered. "Uh... what happened to his shuttle anyway?" 

McMahon went pale, ignoring Ensign Crash's question, "No!" he gasped. "NO NO NO!!" He let out an agonized shout, "DAMN YOU, JERICHO! DAMN YOU! My Stephanie! My precious Stephanie...!" 

The Captain left engineering, muttering to himself incoherently. 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT HEAT 

Commander Stephanie stared at Lieutenant Jericho, "What do you mean you can make me useful? WHAT, exactly, are you planning on doing?!" she asked, and backed away, thinking the worst, "I mean, the nanites DID seem interested in me..."

Unit Y2J looked at her, and frowned, "Oh you only wish!" he replied, then sighed, "What I mean is that YOU are the Chief Engineer! And if you actually have the training to go with the title, then you can fix the engines, AND get these nanites out of me!" 

"Of COURSE I have the training!" Stephanie replied, relaxing. "Daddy may favour his family, but do you honestly think he would hire someone as Chief Engineer who DIDN'T know what she was doing? HMPF!" she sighed, "But to fix the engines, I'm going to need your help! You're totally useless when those stupid nanite things take over!" 

Jericho quickly put the ship on autopilot and opened up the shuttle's tool kit. He handed it to Stephanie, "First things first, then. Get these damn things out, and we'll get back to the Titanprize and fix whatever damage they may have done! Now I'm going to shut myself off..." he stopped and shook his head, "And I can't believe this, but I'm actually going to TRUST you to turn me on again..." 

"I can turn ANY android on!" Stephanie replied, "Now lie down and let me get to work!" 

Lieutenant Jericho looked at her, trying not to analyze her last statement too much. It sounded WRONG somehow. 

He sighed, "Ok. Let's just get this over with..." He lay down on the floor of the shuttlecraft, and looked up at her, "Oh... and _don't_ try to tamper with my programming. I have my Walls of Jericho on. Any tampering will be detected, and my body will automatically restart -- though whether it be the nanites in control or myself, I don't know. So I suggest you DON'T mess with my lovely head, got it?" 

"I got it. I got it! No shut yourself off already!" Stephanie snapped. 

Unit Y2J closed his eyes... and within seconds, his body was lifeless. 

* * *

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Commander!" Ensign Jeff spoke as he looked at the current occupant of the Captain's chair. All the McMahon's had gone off duty to morn for the loss of Stephanie. The crew, however, didn't seem too torn up about it. "Sensors just detected a faint warp signature where Unit Y2J's shuttle was! I think they went into warp just as we fired and the nanites managed to trick our sensors!" 

"So?" Commander Austin replied. 

"SO? That means they didn't get destroyed!" 

"Oh hell no! That means that damned 'ho is alive!" Commander Austin sounded disappointed. 

"But the good news is that it means Lieutenant Jericho is alive too, sir..." Ensign Jeff spoke, noticeably relieved. 

"Yeah... him too. Whatever." Commander Austin replied. 

"Think The Rock should inform the McMahon's?" Lieutenant Rock spoke up. 

"Naw. Let the bastards sweat it out a bit more..." Austin replied. 

Rock nodded, and turned back to his post. 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT HEAT 

Stephanie ran the tricorder along Unit Y2J's body, trying to locate the nanites. 

There they were! 

She took the next tool out of the bag, and began to reconfigure it. The nanites would be pulled right out from Lieutenant Jericho's body. 

She was only disappointed he would sleep through the painful extraction... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Where is the shuttlecraft!" Captain McMahon demanded as he shoved a lounging Ensign Edge out of his Captain's chair. 

Someone had apparently informed him of the latest situation. 

"We don't know, sir..." Ensign Jeff explained, "Unit Y2J has managed to avoid our sensors." 

"Well, find my daughter, damnit! Find her NOW!" 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT HEAT 

Commander Stephanie read the readouts on the instrument in her hand. Apparently, all the nanites had been cleared from the Lieutenant's system. She quickly restarted his program... and waited. 

Slowly, Unit Y2J sat up. He looked around, somewhat dazed. 

"Come on. The nanites are all gone! Now let's fix this shuttle and get back to the Titanprize!" Stephanie commanded. 

Lieutenant Jericho jumped to his feet, and followed her. 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT HEAT- ENGINEERING 

Stephanie looked over the engines in the small back room of the shuttlecraft. There was barely enough room for both her and Unit Y2J. Shuttlecrafts were notably smaller then the Titanprize. 

Unit Y2J stood behind her. She handed him some tools and told him what needed work. "Now go over to the other side. Good. Together we can override the engines and speed up the recharging. Now, see that handle there? Get ready to pull it when I say so." 

"And...?" Lieutenant Jericho asked. 

"AND... make sure you pull that handle the moment I say so, that's all!" she replied. 

"That's it? It was just a matter of pulling a handle?!" 

"Hey, smartass... I need to do my part at the same time! I only have two hands you know. Now get ready. 1... 2... 3... PULL! " 

Within seconds, the engines powered up. "Great... now let's get out of here!" 

The shuttlecraft HEAT quickly made its way back to the Titanprize 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

Stephanie burst into engineering with Y2J, the shuttlecraft HEAT safely docked. She tapped her comm badge, "Engineering to Daddy! There's a bomb aboard the Titanprize! I'm going to to attempt to disarm it!" 

Without waiting for her father's reply, she headed to the warp core, and removed the panel. There before her was the most complicated smart bomb she had ever seen. 

"Here... let me do this!" Lieutenant Jericho said, and knelt in front of the exposed panel. He touched one of the wires. 

"Careful! You touch the wrong one, and we're all gone!" she shouted. 

"I know what I'm doing..." he replied, and began to unhook and rehook the wires before him. 

"How do you know so much about bombs?" Stephanie asked. 

There was a pause, then Jericho spoke again, his voice somewhat different, "I know many things..." Lieutenant Jericho stepped away from the panel, "All finished now..." 

Suddenly, the ship jerked, and after a moment of confusion, everything returned to normal... except... "All ship operating systems rerouted to engineering, station 5," the computer voice spoke. 

"What??" Stephanie gasped, "But I didn't do anything!" 

"No..." Lieutenant Jericho began as he stood up, "_I_ did..." he turned to face Steph, and smiled a cold smile. 

Stephanie looked at him, and saw his eyes. There were BLACK, "NO!" she gasped, "I extracted all the nanites! What's happened!?" 

"You missed one..." Unit Y2J replied, his voice strange and distorted. 

Stephanie tapped her badge frantically, "Commander Stephanie to securi---" 

Unit Y2J grabbed her, clamping a hand over her mouth, "I am afraid I just cannot let you do that!" He pulled a phaser from his pocket, and threw Stephanie down. He turned to the other crewmen in Engineering, "Now... I suggest you all work with me... or things may get a bit messy..." he brought the phaser towards Stephanie, "That includes you too. If you make one false move, I will give your lovely little face a free facial... and it will be quite painful, that I can guarantee..." 

Unit Y2_Nanite_ opened the comm systems throughout the ship, his strange distorted voice void of any emotion, "This is your Captain speaking...." it began, "The Engineering crew is currently at my mercy. Should anyone chose to play hero, there will be great suffering in all of Titan land!"

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	21. Season 4 Episode 2 When the Walls Come ...

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 2 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 2: WHEN THE WALLS COME CRUMBLING DOWN   
**PART THREE**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, stardate 061120.00. Lieutenant Jericho... no... the nanite within Lieutenant Jericho's body has taken over Engineering. He is has rerouted all navigational systems to Engineering and now has complete control over the direction of our ship. We are currently making plans to right this... _problem..._. End Log." 

Captain McMahon closed his log book and headed to the bridge. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

Unit Y2J... no... Y2N_anite... _looked at the group sitting on the ground in front of it. They were cowering in fear. Good. 

It held the phaser on Commander Stephanie. The others knew that should they make one wrong move, their commanding officer would be killed. Now while many of them did not value Stephanie, they valued their _jobs_. If Stephanie was killed due to their actions, their careers would go with her. 

Y2N looked around and counted heads. Twenty, including Stephanie. 

It then turned to the warp core controls and entered in the coordinates for home. It would use the crew aboard this ship as hosts for the others on his planet. Nanites had not the physical ability to create warp cores and ships! These bodies would work nicely. 

The Y2N Unit turned back to group, and stopped short. 

Someone was missing. 

* * *

BRIDGE 

"Captain!" Captain McMahon turned to the turbolift only to see a small, blond Ensign rush through the doors, "He's got 'em all! He threatened to kill Ms. Stephanie if anyone did anything to make him mad! I don't know if he's noticed I'm gone yet... but... someone's gotta get down there! Someone's gotta help them!" 

Captain McMahon stared at the out-of-breath Ensign, "How the hell did YOU escape then, Mr. Crash?" he said. 

"I'm a Houdinian, sir..." Ensign Crash replied, as if that should explain it, "But the others... " he shook his head. 

Captain McMahon turned to Commanders Kane and Austin, "Any plans, men?" he asked. 

"Hell no," Austin replied. 

"Well..." Kane began. Everyone turned to him, but he said nothing more. 

"Speak up, Commander! If you have a plan to get into Engineering, let's hear it!" 

"We need... to know... what is.... happening.... in.... Engineering...." Kane replied, "At all times." 

"And how the hell do you propose we go about doin' that, ya big red bastard?!" Austin asked. "We don't even control our own systems...!" 

"A spy.... in the air ducts..." Kane replied. 

"And who the hell do you think is small enough to fit in those damn things?" Austin replied... then paused. He turned to Ensign Crash, "How big are you, son?" 

Ensign Crash put his hands on his hips and smiled proudly, "6'6", well over 400 lbs!" 

"Bull, kid... I've had _beer kegs_ bigger then you!" Austin replied. "Either way, you're going in the air ducts!" 

Crash didn't look very proud anymore, "ME?! But... but... I CAN'T!" 

"Don't you stand there and claim you're too big! 'cuz I'll kick your ass if you do!" Austin threatened. 

"No... it's not that... it's just…" Ensign Crash swallowed, "I… don't like enclosed spaces..." 

"You claustrophobic?" The Rock spoke up, "That's the funniest damn thing the Rock has heard all day!" he said, "Now stop whining, and get your candy ass up there!" 

Kane climbed up on the Captain's chair and removed the grate from the air duct in the ceiling. Austin pulled Ensign Crash over to the Chief Security officer. 

"Hey... HEY!! What are you doing?! I ain't going in there!!" Crash protested. Austin picked him up and handed him to Kane, "NO!! LEMME GO!! I'll tell my mommy and daddy on you!! NO FAIR!" 

Within moments, Kane had successfully stuffed Ensign Crash in the air ducts. 

* * *

TITANPRIZE AIR DUCTS 

Ensign Crash took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. He had finally crawled to the air ducts over Engineering. 

He swallowed nervously, then looked down through the grate, and spoke. 

"The nanite just stunned a crewman with his phaser," Crash began, his voice as quiet as possible. "The crewman is lying unconscious..." he paused for a moment, then his voice became startled, "It's COUSIN!" he gasped. 

"Keep your voice down!" Austin replied through the comm, "You want the damned thing to hear you?" 

"Sorry..." Ensign Crash replied, lowering his voice again. "Now he's... wait... what's happening?!" 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

The thing that used to be Lieutenant Jericho collapsed to his knees. The loud, air-shattering modem sound returned. He closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, they were normal... as was his voice. 

"You know, that thing is REAAAAAAAAAALLY starting to piss me off!" Lieutenant Jericho spoke. 

The crew eyed him warily. 

"Hey..." he started, "Don't worry! It's _me_! Well... for _now_." he sighed, "That THING is overrunning my defenses, and I don't know how much longer _I'll_ be in control!" Yes, this was Jericho speaking now. He stood up and went over to the control panel. He noticed the coordinates the nanite had set, "Well this can't be right! It takes us to the middle of NOWHERE!" he quickly tapped in a few things, and turned to the others, "Listen, guys, gals.. I'm sorry! I can't control it! I---" he stopped... and his eyes turned black again, his voice strange and distorted. 

"I am sorry. I am sorry..." Unit Y2J mocked himself, then shook his head. He turned back to the warp controls, "Was he trying to change my coordinates?" what _used _to be Unit Y2J asked. He looked over the display, and smiled coldly, "Ahhh... no coordinate changes! Looks like I returned just on time!" 

_It_ turned back to the crowd, "We are all going on a little trip... " it said. "Are you not excited? You get to see my family! I am sure they will have MUCH use for you!" It smiled, then laughed cruelly. 

It was truly enjoying this. 

* * *

AIR DUCTS 

Ensign Crash tapped his comm badge, and spoke to the Captain, "Sir, Lieutenant Jericho is trying to fight the nanite... but he's not having much success. I think Jericho did something to the computer when he was in control... but the nanite doesn't seem to know what it was. And... just to be on the safe side, check our coordinates. I have a feeling we're going somewhere we DON'T want to go..." 

"Thank you, Ensign," 

"You're welcome, sir..." then he paused, "Uh, may I get out of here now?" 

"NO!" McMahon snapped, "Stay there until I give you further orders!" 

Ensign Crash pouted, his voice meek, "Yes, sir..." 

* * *

BRIDGE 

Captain McMahon turned to Commander Kane, and nodded his head. A silent order. 

Commander Kane tapped his comm badge, and spoke. "Bridge to Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq. Get to Engineering. IMMEDIATELY. Phases set to KILLLLLLLLL." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Now what fun can I have with this ship?" Unit Y2N asked Itself. It looked at the controls, and lifted Its hand. Suddenly, Its hand froze in mid air. "What the....?" It seemed confused, and willed Its hand to move. 

No such luck. 

Slowly, Its fingers went towards a button on the left, but IT wasn't the one in control, "STOP!" it shouted, and tried to move Its hand away. 

It couldn't. 

Y2N's fingers hit the button. 

Y2N let out a scream as an electrical surge shook Its body. Within seconds, It collapsed to the ground. 

A few feet away, a hologram took form. 

The hologram looked very much like Unit Y2J... yet Its hair was as black as Its eyes. 

The original Unit Y2J slowly got to his feet, and took in the hologram before him. 

The hologram spoke, "What...?? What did you do??!" 

Unit Y2J smiled, "I've gotten my beautiful body back!" he said, then his smile quickly faded as he glared at the hologram before him, "And now, you'll wish you had never eeeeeeeeeeeever tried to control me in the first place!" 

* * *

AIR DUCTS 

"Captain! Lieutenant Jericho has … doubled!" 

"He WHAT? HOW?" 

"I don't know how, sir... but... Unit Y2J is back in control of it's own systems!" 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"I do not understand!" the hologram spoke. "HOW?!" 

"Simple!" Unit Y2J spoke, "When I gained control a few moments ago, I programmed the computer to remove your unwanted presence and place it in a holographic body. Then, when you THOUGHT you were in control, I simply made you enter the command with the press of a button!" 

Y2N frowned, "Well then... perhaps I should place YOU in this body instead!" 

Lieutenant Jericho held himself in a ready position, "Come on, baby! You and me, one on one!" he smirked smugly and waited for the hologram to make the first move. 

He didn't have to wait long. 

The hologram lunged at Unit Y2J, and the quick-thinking Lieutenant jumped out of the way. Y2N ended up kissing the bulkhead. It spun around and ran back towards Y2J, only to be stopped with a stiff clothesline. 

By this time, the Engineering crew were cheering on their fellow crewman... except for one crewmember who had started a lone Y2N chant -- Commander Stephanie McMahon. 

Y2N jumped to Its feet, and whipped Y2J into the protective railing around the warp core. It then began to kick Y2J repeatedly in the ribs. It attempted to toss the Lieutenant over the edge of the rail, but Y2J refused to go down. He pelted Y2N with body shots -- forearms to the chest, kicks to the stomach and, to pour salt on the wound, an open-handed slap across the face. 

Y2N took exception and shoved Y2J down. Y2J quickly jumped back up and speared his opponent (a move he had learned from Ensign Edge). 

Y2N quickly got to Its feet. It grabbed the Lieutenant's legs, and attempted to turn him over. 

"You're not using MY finishing move on ME!" Lieutenant Jericho snapped, and kicked Y2N away. 

Y2N hit the railing and fell on Its face. Y2J dragged Y2N to a wall, and began to smash Its face against the metal repeatedly. 

The engineering crew counted with each impact. 

Y2N was now unsteady on Its feet... but before Y2J could take advantage, It gathered enough sense to grab him around the neck, and squeeze. 

Y2J slowly slid to his knees as the nanite compressed his oxygen processor. 

Suddenly, the doors to Engineering opened and Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq burst in. They raised their phasers, and fired continuously on Y2N. 

Y2N fell to the ground in a messy, smoking heap. 

Lieutenant Jericho stood up and turned to the two Lieutenants, "Thanks," he said, "Took you long enough!" 

"Be lucky we came at all! It ain't like you're payin' us!" Lieutenant Bradshaw spoke. 

"Damn straight!" Farrooq continued, "Besides, we had to finish our beer! Would be a damn waste to let it just sit there half full!" 

Unit Y2J thought for a moment, then nodded, "Well... that makes sense." he tapped his comm badge, "Lieutenant Jericho to Maintenance. We've got a little mess for you boys to clean up in Engineering, " Unit Y2J then turned to Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq, "Tell you what... I'll treat you two to drinks at The Smackdown and we'll celebrate my victory...!" 

Bradshaw furrowed his brow, and spoke, "YOUR victory?? But WE'RE the ones who--" 

"Free beer, Bradshaw..." Farrooq interrupted, "Free beer!" 

Bradshaw looked at Farrooq, confused for a moment, then nodded, realizing what Farrooq was saying. 

LET Lieutenant Jericho gloat. THEY were going to get piss drunk on his bar tab! 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

Bradshaw and Farrooq slammed their cards down on the table angrily. Unit Y2J was beating them at poker. They were not pleased. 

Lieutenant Jericho smiled, and gathered up the credits on the table. 

A few seconds later, the doors to the Smackdown swooshed open, and Commander Stephanie entered, arm in arm with her husband. She went up to Unit Y2J angrily. "It never happened!" she snapped. 

He furrowed his brow, "WHAT never happened?" he asked. 

"In the corridors the other day! It never happened! Did you know that my mouth tasted like static for the rest of the day! It was DISGUSTING!" 

"Oh... THAT! I had forgotten all about that already!" he shrugged, "Not like I remembered it in the first place..." he replied, then began eagerly counting Farrooq and Bradshaw's lost credits.

Stephanie looked at him, and frowned, "What do you mean you had forgotten already?! How could you forget kissing ME!" she asked. 

He turned back to her impatiently, "One usually tries to forget the most painful moments in one's life!" he replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy…"

"How DARE you!" Stephanie fumed, "You force a kiss on a beautiful woman like ME and---" 

Lieutenant Jericho burst out laughing, interrupting her, "BEAUTIFUL?" he repeated, "A skanky 'ho like YOU? I've seen ROAD KILL more beautiful!" 

Stephanie glared at him, and pulled away from her husband. She stepped closer to Unit Y2J, grabbed his uniform tunic, and kissed him so suddenly he nearly fell out of his chair. 

Triple H's eyes went wide, "STEPH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" 

After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away. She looked at Unit Y2J and smiled smugly, "Let's see you forget THAT, wires-for-brains!" she snapped, then flipped her hair as she laced an arm around a fuming Triple H and walked away. 

Lieutenant Jericho stared after her, shocked and horrified. 

Farrooq and Bradshaw noticed Lieutenant Jericho's distraction, and took advantage of it. 

The two security lieutenants quickly gathered their lost credits, and left Unit Y2J to his own little unpleasant world. 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	22. Season 4 Episode 3 The Gift, Pt 1

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 3

Creator's Note: With Season 4, I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! 

This is X_C's first episode. 

We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 3: THE GIFT   
**PART ONE**

By: [X-C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061134.00. "Much to my relief, Lt. Commander McMichael has beamed the Ja'Ret trade delegation away at the appointed rendevouz coordinates. This...bizarre species has agitated several crew members with its heretical and fanatical views on the female gender. I am especially concerned about Ensigns Devon and Ensigns Buh Buh, and have sent them to Counselor Snow for further evaluation..." 

Captain McMahon moved to close his log book, but frowned and continued his observations on the recent economic summit that had taken place aboard his ship. 

"While it is certainly a noble cause...to make contact with and study the many species of the universe, I cannot help be troubled by the behavior of the Ja'Ret. My years of experience at the helm of this ship tells me that they may prove difficult to integrate into the fabric of Wrestlefleet. Their views on women are primitive compared to our standards, although tradition dictates they be led by a dominant female. Their technology is far from primitive, and their advances in holographic sciences and virtual reality would make them excellent and productive Wrestlefleet members. Still, I am concerned by a report from Lt Commander Austin stating that the..."silly bastards" seemed just a little too fascinated in my daughter Stephanie's presentation on Wrestlefleet Engineering Advances." 

Captain McMahon sighed and closed the log book. He picked up a pad featuring personnel reports and scanned the data. 

"Hmmm... it appears that Ensign Lita has managed to solve the problem with the plasma conduits on Deck 7. Perhaps Stephanie can be convinced to give her the promotion she deserves...." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"With all due _respect _Commander, I feel this excess monitoring is completely unnecessary! I transferred the Nanite Entity into a holographic body days ago, and they will never eeevvvvvveeeer invade this gorgeous body again!" Lieutentant Jericho protested, eyes darting back and forth rapidly as the computer in engineering performed an advanced diagnostic on his muscled android frame. 

Commander Stephanie McMahon's smile was cold, ruthless, the act of licking her lips gleefully seeming reptilian to the blonde bot, who simmered angrily as she stroked the wires and tubing connecting him to the mainframe. "Why Lt. Jericho!" She batted her eyelashes. "You heard Dr. Taker! He insisted on a full diagnostic everyday for the next several earth standard weeks until the threat of the nanites could be completely discounted!" 

"Yes, but he never said anything about a dirty, flithy, skanky, nasty, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho performing it." Unit Y2J mumbled. 

Stephanie's eyes snapped with a raw anger as she wrenched several of the tubes from Jericho's flashing interfaces. "It's better than being crammed in an isolation module isn't it, you ungrateful heap of hardware?" 

Lt. Jericho remained cool and calm as the Commander ripped wires from his body. "I'm not sure Stephie. The environmental controls inside engineering seem unable to filter out the skankites in the atmosphere." 

Stephanie's finger twitched inside an open port on the side of Jericho's neck, causing him to shout in pain and crumble in a heap before the engineering console. Commander McMahon grinned. "It is truly... fascinating what these tests can reveal about your android body Lt. Jericho. Pardon me, would you? I have a personnel meeting I must be fashionably late for." 

The Y2J Unit lifted himself up with some difficulty and stretched out his metallic joints, more embarrassed that Stephanie had gotten the better of him than anything else. He carefully brushed off his uniform and watched with a lazer-like light in his eyes as she met Ensign Lita near one of the unmanned engineering stations. "One day little girl, you will receive a Y2J beating you will never evvvvveeeeerrrr forget." he murmured quietly. 

"Sir? Should I contact Dr. Taker?" Ensign Jeff had appeared at the Y2J Unit's side. 

"Ensign Jeff, I suggest you mind your own business!" Lt Jericho knew he had been too short with the young ensign, but the mere presence of Stephanie did not put him in the mood to apologize. 

"So... Ensign Lisa is it?" Wearing a bored expression on her face, Stephanie lazily punched a few buttons on her pad across the room from Lt. Jericho. "Daddy tells me I should promote you or something." 

Ensign Lita awkwardly cleared her throat. "Ensign Lita, Commander McMahon." 

Stephanie rolled her eyes. It did not impress her to have this Aerialian nobody correcting her. "Whatever. Look, it's real... special that you were able to tinker with the conduits on Deck 7, but honestly, there's only room for one high-ranking female in engineering, and I'm it. Maybe you should spend less time socializing with Ensigns Matt and Jeff and focus on your work as well." 

Lita's face flushed hot crimson. "With all due... due respect Commander, I cannot see how my relationship with any ensign should have any bearing on my chances for a promotion. The captain-" 

Stephanie sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "So it has no bearing on anything? So what? Captain Daddy-I mean McMahon is wrapped around my little finger and if I don't feel like giving you a shot? Tough nuggies! I hear there might be some openings in the Smackdown for a junior waitress-perhaps you should get your butt in gear and apply." 

Stephanie spun on her heel and left Lita open-mouthed at the engineering station, her dreams of an illustrious Wrestlefleet career dashed, at least for now. 

"Er... don't worry Lita, I think she's just upset at Lt. Jericho again." Ensign Jeff spoke soothingly to his fellow Aerialian shipmate. 

"Er... Jeff, not now please." Ensign Lita stalked out of engineering, red hair flaming behind her, scenes of catty revenge playing out in her mind. 

It was not a good day in engineering for Ensign Jeff. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"My Wrestlefleet career will never go anywhere." despaired Ensign Lita as she sat at a table between Ensigns Matt and Jeff. "All because Commander McMahon is a spoiled brat!" 

"I am sure once you prove your worth to the ship-" Ensign Matt began. He and his brother had been attempting to console their distraught friend for some time now. However, it wasn't easy trying to convince her or themselves that Stephanie would come around. 

"She is unreasonable!" Lita wailed. "If only The Y2Nanite had been more trigger happy!" 

"Geez, Lita," Ensign Jeff was always cautious about criticizing his superior officers in such a public place. 

"You don't understand Jeff!" Lita polished off another tasty strawberry-flavored synthohol, trying to drown her sorrows. "As a little girl on Aerialia, it was my dream to explore space, to fly high! It's all I ever worked for darn it! It's all going to be destroyed because of the whims of some pampered little rich-" 

"Ensign Lita?" A blonde waitress with a disarming smile had approached the table. "A concerned friend couldn't help but notice how upset you were and sent this special Aerialian cocktail to you to lift your spirits!" 

"You're Tori, right?" Ensign Matt inquired with a welcoming smile. 

"That's me, and thanks-oops oh my gosh!" Tori gasped in mock horror as her tray tumbled and thick blue liquid stained Lita's uniform. "I am soooo sorry Ensign Lita! Looks like you'll have to change that uniform before your next shift in engineering!" 

Tori scampered back to the bar, and the three Aerialians heads were turned by the peels of laughter eminating from Stephanie and her husband's table. 

* * *

BRIDGE OF THE TITANPRIZE 

"Lieutenant Rock says, and he guaran-damn-tees that we are being hailed by a Ja'Ret passenger ship off our starboard bow!" The communications officer's proclaimation put a stir into an otherwise quiet shift on the bridge of the TitanPrize. 

"The Ja'Ret?" Captain McMahon's gut told him this was not a routine hail. "I don't like this. Commander Kane-I want this ship at yellow alert! The Ja'Ret should be in the Nytron System by now!" 

Commander Kane silently complied with the command, golden lights flashing on the bridge, a siren blaring in a steady rhythm. 

"You silly son of a bitch!" Lt. Commander Austin was never one to mince words. "The Ja'Ret are throwing some sort of scrambling blanket over our weapons scans! Intentions are damn well hostile! I say we launch the photons and blast a mudhole up their deflector dishes!" 

"Not so fast Austin!" Captain McMahon barked. "Put the Ja'Ret ship's commander on the viewscreen. I want an explanation!" 

The disconcerting image of the Ja'Ret Captain filled the viewscreen. Their hair was extremely short and stiff, an icy frosted yellow. The color of the eyes was hidden by high-tech visors that revealed the entire command center of the Ja'Ret ship in a holographic image for the captain to see and control by blinking his eyes. Captain McMahon knew about this powerful tool from the summit held on his ship just a few days before. The Ja'Ret wore a uniform of gleaming silver and red that featured blinking patches, patches that Captain McMahon knew all too well regulated the health of the Ja'Ret crew who wore them. There was not even a need for holographic doctors on Ja'Ret ships, as a simple, slender patch could medicate and heal. For some reason, Captain McMahon vaguely remembered, Dr. Taker had not been captivated by this approach to medicine. 

"Greetings Captain McMahon." The Ja'Ret captain had an ingratiating smile. "Please don't be alarmed by the static blanket we have placed over your weapons scans. You see, Ja'Ret ships carry many valuable pieces of technology and therefor must have their weapons powered up at all times. We simply wished to begin this exchange peacefully, and that may not have happened had you realized our quantum lasers were at the ready." 

"DTA-Don't trust anyone, McMahon," warned Lt. Commander Austin gravely. 

"Ja'Ret Captain..." Captain McMahon quickly recalled that the species had considered themselves above individual names. "You should be in Nytron space at this time. Why have you hailed the Titanprize?" 

"As I said before, an exchange Captain McMahon." the Ja'Ret's smile remained frozen in place. "Most federations and alliances have turned away from us, due to our inherently superior level of technology. Our strides in virtual reality and holograms intimidate some. Your hospitality was exemplary. We wish to beam aboard a thank you gift for Commander McMahon in engineering to study." 

"Finally... the Rock has smelled a trap! Look here-Ja'....Broni! There ain't no way on god's green earth you are gonna send something over here for that two credit slut to study! This has just become an A to B sector of space, and you're gonna C your way out of it!" Lt. Rock had a habit of blowing up like that, and the Ja'Ret captain seemed amused. 

"Assure your communications officer that what I plan to send over is actually a benign toy. You can even scan the object. I will send over the coordinates." Ja'Ret Captain seemed supremely confident. 

"Indeed we will." Captain McMahon gestured curtly with his head and the exchange of information commenced. 

"Sir, I cannot detect a security threat from the object." Commander Kane looked up from his station, his deep voice rumbling with disappointment. "In fact, it appears to be a self-contained holographic toy of some sort." 

"You'd trust the analysis of a big red retard, Captain?" Lieutenant Rock demanded. "Why he couldn't detect a monkey's ass if it was right in front of him!" 

"Quite enough, Lt. Rock!" Captain McMahon said firmly. "It is the job of the TitanPrize to study any technology that might benefit Wrestlefleet, and I have complete confidence in Commander Kane's focus! Stephanie, darling?" He spoke after tapping his communicator. "Assemble a team and prepare to receive a Ja'Ret device for study." 

"Oh boy" Stephanie squealed. "A new toy!" 

Unit Y2J, who had been silently scanning the Ja'Ret ship, rolled his eyes in flawless motion, and in doing so, missed a faint fluctuation in the read-out that scrolled down his screen. The ship's computer logged it, but did not deem it a significant enough anomaly to alert the crew. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

Stephanie had already barked at Ensign Lita to prepare a containment field that would shelter the crew from the mysterious device, just in case it did pose a threat. Lita complied, her responses to the orders cold and professional. 

The engineering team that had been assembled gasped with delight as a gorgeous, pink, shimmering orb appeared in the containment field. Little bolts of pink lightning raced across it's sleek, spherical surface; a soothing pink light glowed in its glassy core, waves of purple, powder blue, and mercurial silver cascading out from the center. Even Lita's seething seemed calmed by the beauty. 

Stephanie jumped up and down and clapped her hands together. "Oh goody! It's pink! We'll have it transported to my quarters as soon as you people find out its safe." 

"Only widdle Stephie Mac would consider a brilliant piece of technology a bauble for her private collection." Lt. Jericho said scornfully, pursing his lips together as his eyes processed the seamless surface of the globe. "Don't be alarmed dearie-your father sent me here to observe-as a robot there is less chance of me being harmed by this...thing if it goes haywire or has evil intentions." 

"As your commanding officer, I demand you don't call me dearie ever again!" Stephanie snapped. But for once, she was more distracted by the task at hand than by Jericho's annoying hovering in her territory! 

"Should Dr. Taker perform a medical scan of this object?" Ensign Lita asked, her tricorder recording minor fluctuations at the sub-atomic level. 

"Should ensigns make suggestions to someone more experienced than they are?" Stephanie retorted. "A bio-scan was already performed before this magnificent pink object was beamed aboard. Ensign Lita, please raise the containment field. I'm satisfied here." 

"Hard to believe, considering you're standing up." Lt. Jericho muttered. 

"Care to spend some time in the brig for insubordination, circuit face?" Stephanie asked sweetly. 

"You're speaking to me.," Jericho answered. "Isn't that punishment enough?" 

Ensign Lita stabbed at the buttons that would raise the protective barrier that stood between Commander McMahon and the pink orb. Her screen revealed bizarre readings that didn't gel with any of her training, but they seemed harmless enough...and wouldn't it be a humbling experience if Stephanie were to be.... mildly burned by her own arrogance? 

"Everyone back off!" Stephanie ordered. "I want to be the first to touch it!" 

"That should be your new catchphrase." Jericho could not resist. 

Stephanie ignored the sarcasm, closing her eyes as her hand made contact with the orb, a warm sensation flowing from her fingertips to her shoulderblade. A blissful, dreamy smile softened her features, and Ensign Lita arched an eyebrow as she watched the Y2J Unit study the Commander from under a curtain of blonde hair. 

"Commander McMahon!" Ensign Jeff's voice cut through the silence, ringing through engineering with alarm. "These readings-remove your hand now!" 

Stephanie did not listen-her mind was spinning with glorious scenes, pleasant childhood memories from the Planet Earth flooding her mind, sedating her like a drug. The orb was telling her everything would be alright...it had a... a voice! Wait, Stephanie's mind struggled under the heavy weight of the sugary sweetness that was being pumped through her brain cells. How could it talk to her. Her mind began to feel feathery light, like it was disappearing, fading away...being drawn out of her body... did she have a soul? Was she dying? Her body had started to feel like a shell that was losing its essence. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and the engineering team cried out in horror, despite some of the hostile feelings that some harbored for the commander-her eyes were wide with pure fear, then they became flat, emotionless, like mere panes of glass reflecting....nothing. Even the color had drained from them, leaving them watery gray. 

Ensign Matt, with unbelievable velocity that separated Aerialians from the rest of the species aboard, caught Stephanie's limp form before it struck the floor of engineering. He could not bring himself to stare into the soulless eyes. "Dear sweet...." he whispered in disbelief. 

"Dr. Taker." Lt. Jericho's voice was as flat as Stephanie's eyes. "Medical emergency in Engineering. Commander McMahon has been attacked by the Ja'ret orb. I repeat, Commander McMahon has been attacked by the Ja'ret orb and is non-responsive." 

Ensign Lita tapped the containment field back on, pretending she did notice Lt. Jericho turn his emotion chip off before he had used his comm badge to alert Dr. Taker. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"I have never seen anything like these brain scans Dr. Taker." Nurse Saturn shook his bald head. "Her heart is beating at a normal rate, her pulse moves normally, her body chemicals are in perfect balance! Yet there is no neural activity in the parts of her mind that control thought, memory, decision-making, only the most basic bodily functions are working here! It's like....whatever makes Stephanie _Stephanie_ is simply not there." 

"What the hell do you know?" Triple H sprang to his feet, veins bulging in his neck as he launched out of his seat. "Look at your damn eyes! You're probably seeing two different scans ya freak!" 

"Sit down Hunter." Dr. Taker's words hung like ice in the air, and HHH was chilled enough to sit, though his face was still burning with a mixture of rage and helplessness. Taker injected another hypospray into Stephanie's neck, but he was still met with the lifeless stare. 

"Is she...is she brain dead Doctor?" First Officer Shane McMahon did not like sickbay. As second in command of the TitanPrize, he had slain many giants, but he knew he could not cope with an invisible enemy, one that he could not cheat or cheap shot. One that did not appear to have a weakness. "Is my sister...gone?" 

"Brain dead is not the appropriate term." Taker was stone-faced as he gazed over to where brave (or perhaps foolish) Ensigns Lita and Jeff had hooked the orb up to one of his medical computers. The containment field had to be removed for anything to be accomplished, as whatever powered the orb had set up a shield against scanning, a shield that would only fade when containment faded as well. Lita and Jeff wore protective cargo suits, and thus far it seemed as if the orb could only assault someone if they pressed actual skin to it. Still, Taker could not help but feel that the two Aerialians had volunteered for a suicide study. He shrugged. People lived and died by their own choices-if the pair succeeded, it would be glorious, if they did not? They would die honorably enough in the eyes of most of the crew. 

"I am that damn angry right now!" Triple H's emotions exploded again. "If brain dead is not the proper term, you big dead bastard, then what is?" 

Dr. Taker let the anger roll over him. "Ensign Lita and Ensign Jeff have discovered something very troubling. A bio-scan of the orb has revealed that many of the neurons from Stephanie's brain have appeared in the core of the device. In other words, while Stephanie's body is on this bed in sickbay, she is trapped inside that glass. To use an example from earth's ancient religions, you might say Stephanie is in limbo." 

The first officer's eyes narrowed, though they were wild with fear beneath the surface. Dr. Taker seemed to be taking a ghoulish pleasure in the paradox. "You will bring her back Dr. Taker." 

"I can make no guarantees, sir. This is the first example of this condition in Wrestlefleet history." 

"I don't believe you heard me." Shane McMahon's voice reached an almost feverish pitch. "That was an order! YOU WILL BRING HER BACK!" 

Dr. Taker merely nodded his head briskly as he ran another tricorder over Stephanie's prone figure. Grief manifested itself in such varying ways, he would not take offense to Shane's outburst...this time. 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 061136.00. I hope I can forgive my own weaknesses here. I have turned over command of the Titanprize to Lt. Commander Austin as I do not feel I am adequately able to lead my crew under these circumstances. Why Austin? He was the one who warned me, the one who was wise enough to question... I will not retake command of the Titanprize until the fate of my daughter, Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley has been determined one way...or the other." 

Captain McMahon stared blankly out the small port window, at the stars and galaxies and comets streaking by at stunning speed. Suddenly he did not feel like the small, insignificant one, all that space and cosmic debris ceased to matter in his world. 

"I visited my daughter in sickbay today...but the flesh and blood laying on the bio-bed, that was not Stephanie. I cannot think of those eyes without becoming ill. I would like to take this moment to commend Ensigns Jeff and Lita on their courageous, albeit, foolhardy efforts to defeat the Ja'ret orb. If by some miracle they do unlock its secrets, they will never want for a promotion again. I would also like to thank Ensign Matt for agreeing to take the ShuttleCraft Jakked out on another suicide mission, to locate the Ja'ret ship which has failed to appear on our long range sensors and whose homeworld has disappeared from all stellar maps in the computer's memory banks...." 

Captain McMahon closed his log book, his voice now a whisper.... 

"Tonight, on this very ship, I know I have lost my baby girl...." 

* * *

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker sat in his glassed-off personal area in Sickbay, his eyes not blurring as he examined the tri-corder for what seemed like the millionth time. He had forced Ensigns Lita and Jeff to at least rest for a few hours, but he suspected that they were not sleeping, but fortifying themselves in the Smackdown for another marathon session with the soul-stealing orb. Fascinating that...a mere object that could take a soul like Earth's old-fashioned primitive notion of a grim-reaper. 

The lights had been dimmed in Sickbay, not that the patient's eyes knew the difference. Dr. Taker's ears had become used to the quiet humming of the machines, and he took on the alert pose of an animal ready to strike when a new sound filled his senses. He spotted a shadow near Stephanie's bio-bed. Would a Ja'ret be so foolish as to board the ship? Taker removed a phaser from among the instruments he kept in his office and stepped into SickBay, aiming it at the intruder. 

"And just who's stank ass might this be?" Dr. Taker demanded in a steely whisper. "Flinch and I'll burn a hole in your chest wide enough to pilot a shuttlecraft through. Identify yourself or rest..in...peace." 

"It certainly has been a while since I heard that _rest in peace_ bit, doc." replied Jericho's cocky voice. "I thought I'd spell those two crazy kids and show that orb who's boss. You can put the phaser down, Taker, I was just being quiet so I didn't wake the dead." 

"Fine" Taker holstered the weapon and returned to his office. There was something grating about a robot with that much smugness, and he didn't want to lower himself to deal with it. Unit Y2J would no doubt be as effective as possible, if only to gloat to Commander McMahon that he had saved her life.... 

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	23. Season 4 Episode 4 The Gift, Pt 2

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 4

Creator's Note: With Season 4, I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! 

We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 4: THE GIFT   
**PART TWO**

By: [X-C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061144.00. My daughter has not recovered from the attack by the Ja'Ret orb. There is nothing Dr. Taker can do to heal her body...that is in perfect health." 

Captain McMahon laughed, a short unpleasant bark. 

"Stephanie is on a bio-bed in Sickbay with a perfectly functioning heart, lungs... _everything_. Yet I am to understand that what is Stephanie has become a prisoner of that evil Ja'Ret... _toy!_" Captain McMahon spat the word out. 

As his eyes pierced the log book before him, the captain reflected on the decisions he had made in the last few hours, decisions that came with a large price...the lives of his entire crew. They could all die, and he could not offer them the mercy of evacuating the ship they had called their home for so long...._Wrestlefleet_ had read his report on the Ja'Ret orb, a report he would've never sent had he known the chilling judgement they would pass. _The orb has proven to be unpredictable. The orb could be infectious and you have no way of knowing. Your crew could be carriers of an alien disease. They will not leave the Titanprize._

The captain still seethed at the admiral's flat, business-like voice as he was handed the impossible choice. He squared his shoulders and prepared to deliver the final log that Wrestlefleet would receive. 

"Captain's Log, Final Entry. The piece of Ja'Ret technology aboard the Titanprize has been deemed too dangerous for study. I have been ordered by Wrestlefleet to beam the orb outside the ship and destroy it. I have refused to obey a command from a superior officer. I will not be a party to my daughter's murder, not now, not ever. I was reminded that the needs of the many outweigh the few. My flesh and blood outweighs the dictates of Wrestlefleet. I have been told that we will be intercepted and destroyed by a Wrestlefleet warship if we still have the orb on board when we are met and scanned. The Titanprize will not be taken. I have asked Lt. Commander Austin to go to full warp and head for a destination known only to the two of us." 

"Captain McMahon, WWF Titanprize." 

He closed the log book, waiting in silence. He knew he could not visit Sickbay and look into Stephanie's empty eyes.... 

* * *

JA'RET HOMEWORLD 

The floating sensation had stopped. It had all been a dream, Stephanie told herself, as her eyes struggled open. A wonderful, terrible dream, a beautiful, horrible nightmare. She had felt as light as a feather, the air around her had been so warm, a breeze had blown her hair from her eyes...and then the fear had struck like a cold hard dagger in her heart. Commander McMahon had suspected a transporter beam at first. Her simple explanation for the bizarre phenomenon had been dashed as she felt the blackness creep out from inside her brain, as she felt something pulling everything she was out of her pores, as she had watched her own body fall in a heap in front of Ensign Matt... 

Pink. It was everywhere. As the fog in her vision cleared, Stephanie realized exactly where she was. "My room!" she squealed with delight, clapping her hands together as she sat up in her plush pink bed. She happily bounced to her oval shaped window, but her face crumpled as there were no stars, no nebulae, no comets, no asteroid belts. Below, in a courtyard was paradise: lush flowers, turquoise water spraying from enormous marble fountains, and crowds of similar looking Ja'Ret milling about the square, their frosted blonde hair gleaming in the warm, golden sunlight. Women of all species walked through the courtyard as well, but they made eye contact with no one; their heads remained bowed for as far as Stephanie could see them. She shuddered at how all the Ja'Ret males appeared as identical twins; only a handful of other humanoid type men crossed her line of vision. 

"Does this atmosphere not please you, Commander McMahon?" the ingratiating voice of a Ja'ret caused Stephanie to whirl around, bringing a small fist up. The Ja'Ret caught her hand with ease, applying just enough pressure to halt the attack. "Ineffective." 

"I demand you return me to the TitanPrize RIGHT NOW!" Stephanie wailed. 

The Ja'Ret ignored her, his gaze unreadable underneath silver-framed visor-style glasses. "Welcome to the Ja'Ret Homeworld, Stephanie. Heaven compared to flying tin can you call the almighty Titanprize. Here, you will want for nothing. You will be treated like a queen...because you will be our queen." 

Stephanie laughed, and even to her own ears, she sounded slightly mad. "There is no chance in hell of that happening! I would rather die than lead such a backwards, malevolent people! You know what? Fine! Don't return me! Daddy will send every Wrestlefleet officer, he will use every Wrestlefleet weapon available to get me back!" 

The Ja'Ret laughed. "Impossible little one. You see, the technology of the Ja'ret is millennia ahead of that pitiful human endeavor known as Wrestlefleet, and your father will find nothing in his bag of tricks that will ensure your return." 

Stephanie lapsed into a sulky silence. There were no lies, no bluffs in this man's words. He spoke like a person accustomed to flaunting his superiority and never doubting that he could back it up. 

"Now." The Ja'Ret became more serious. "Our former leader met with an unfortunate accident. She came into some rather funny notions about the males and females being equal, and the proper role of a Ja'Ret queen is to manipulate the women on this planet into accepting their inferior roles. Women here are handed virtually anything they could possibly want; they should be grateful that all we ask is subservient behavior. You were chosen because you always get exactly what you want under any circumstances." 

_Not everything_. Stephanie quickly banished the thought. Where had it come from? 

"You will find your wardrobe in the closet. I suggest you wear it without complaint. Your life will be easy, extremely easy here on Ja'Ret. But only if you choose to make it so." He spun on his heel to leave, a patronizing smile plastered across his face. 

Stephanie's lower lip had started to tremble. "I want to go home." 

"You are closer to home than you realize, Stephanie." The Ja'Ret now seemed smug. "You see, your universe is finite, I believe Dr. Taker knows about that. But the Ja'Ret universe is endless, endless and within the pink orb that was beamed aboard the Titanprize this very day." 

"The orb..."Stephanie could not grasp that an infinite world could exist within that beautiful, jewel-like sphere that she was inside it now. "What are you?" she whispered. 

Her eyes grew wider as the color drained from her face, while the Ja'Ret imparted to her the true horror of her new existence. 

"I will die here." Stephanie realized, voicing the words aloud in the now silent chamber that pretended to be her room. "I will never leave here alive." 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-SICKBAY 

"What have you learned about the orb?" the voice of Dr. Taker rumbled like thunder in the otherwise quiet Sickbay. He leaned over Ensigns Jeff and Lita, who scanned the loathsome Ja'Ret "gift" as it shimmered on a medical station. 

Ensign Jeff sighed. "Nothing we didn't already know, sir. It has all the qualities of your typical holographic device. It does indeed contain Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's neural patterns, as well as numerous other patterns that are more subdued." 

"There are other beings in there?" Dr. Taker demanded. He had not counted on this development. 

"Yes, sir." Ensign Lita replied matter of factly. She did not have a personal stake in rescuing Stephanie, a woman who had tried to crush her career on a silly whim. She simply wanted to succeed, wanted to defeat this nasty little device. "There could be hundreds, thousands." 

"I don't dig this at all!" Dr. Taker proceeded to utter an obscenity that startled the two Ensigns. "Can you tell me anything that might help me extract Stephanie's neural pattern from the orb?" 

"We can only confirm what Lt. Jericho's tests from last night told him." Ensign Jeff replied. "The orb is made of an unknown material that can not be penetrated to perform an extraction. It is powered by unknown means. It is also shielded by unknown means." 

"And where is the brilliant Lt. Jericho," Dr. Taker spat on the floor, making Ensign Lita flinch with disgust. 

"He said something about a project in engineering that might be helpful." Ensign Lita offered. 

"I suppose if anyone can free Stephanie, it's that android." Ensign Jeff said, after Dr. Taker had stalked out of Sickbay, leaving Nurse Saturn in charge. "Geesh, can you imagine what she'd owe the guy?" 

"I can't believe we're all risking our lives and having Wrestlefleet track us down like criminals all because that impulsive little tramp couldn't resist playing with her precious new toy." Ensign Lita rolled her eyes. "If it was me stuck inside this ball, do you really think anyone would risk getting the TitanPrize blown to bits to pull me out?" 

"I would." Ensign Jeff said, and then flushed pink. 

"Dammit." Ensign Lita growled. She seemed not to hear her Aerialian shipmate. "It's no use studying this thing from the outside. It won't give up its secrets to us. What we need....we need to know what makes it tick, sort of like getting to the heart of it." 

"You mean...?" Ensign Jeff let his voice trail off, his adrenaline kicking into high gear. Aerialians did not weigh the risks for very long before taking a dangerous plunge. Caution wasn't in their nature. 

Ensign Lita nodded. Ensign Jeff nodded back. 

Several seconds later the frantic voice of Nurse Saturn could be heard crackling over his communicator, echoing throughout Engineering. "Dr. Taker! Dr. Taker! Medical emergency in Sickbay. Ensigns Jeff and Lita have been attacked by the Ja'Ret Orb!" 

* * *

THE BRIDGE 

"Sir, sir!" The young Houdinian, Ensign Crash had been seated at the communications array for two shifts now, as Lt. Rock had taken over Austin's tactical station. "We are receiving an encoded hail from the WWF Shuttlecraft Jakked! It's Ensign Matt! Oh boy-it's Ensign Matt!" 

His boyish enthusiasm might have been infectious, had Lt Rock been that type of person. But, as it was, he wasn't. "Take it easy you little jabroni! Patch it through to tactical and put the Ensign's face on the viewscreen. On the double you piece of monkey crap!" 

"Yes sir!" Ensign Crash's hands trembled a little as he punched the buttons. 

Ensign Matt's face loomed over the bridge, and he grinned broadly from the pilot's seat. "Where is the acting captain? I have some good news." 

"Er...he went to get some beer with the Lieutenants Farooq and Bradshaw." Ensign Crash said. 

"The Rock says...what?" Lt Rock was practically jumping out of his chair. "Does it take three jabronis to get a few cans of beer?" 

"Acting Captain Austin wanted to make sure they got the right brand." Ensign Crash's face was vividly red now. 

"To hell with Acting Jabroni Austin." Lt Rock snapped. "You get McMahon's monkey ass to the bridge Ensign. Just...bring him!" 

Captain McMahon arrived on the bridge within seconds of being summoned. He gazed expectantly at the Ensign's beaming face, and then he realized he had to temper Matt's good spirits. "Ensign Matt...I don't know how to tell you....your brother and Lita have been taken by the orb." 

Ensign Matt nodded curtly. He had already half-expected them to be there upon his return. The Aerialians would take every chance out there before they surrendered; it was in their blood. "I have a means of escape from the orb." 

"What the hell you talkin' about, son?" Lt Commander Austin swaggered onto the bridge, six pac in hand, fresh from the replicator. "Where'd a young Ensign like you come up with a way to stomp a mudhole in that orb?" 

"Did you locate the Ja'Ret homeworld?" Kane's gravelly voice reminded them of his presence. 

"No." Ensign Matt frowned. "There was nothing at those coordinates except interstellar dust...and a young woman claiming to be a Ja'Ret rebel. The only thing she would say about herself was that she was the last one and the only one not to go. And she gave me this..." 

Ensign Matt opened his clenched fist. In the palm of his hand pulsed a small pink oval, as seamless and smooth and full of celestial light as its larger and terrible counterpart. The bridge crew felt a wave of fear wash over it, until they realized that the Aerialian was touching the object and still with them. 

"What does it do?" Captain McMahon asked abruptly. 

"It's supposedly made of the same material as the Orb, so that it can be absorbed through the surface. It has the capacity to transport two neural patterns outside of the Ja'Ret homeworld. It turns out that not everyone was quite happy with the evolution of the Ja'Ret, and she has spent a lifetime developing a means of rescue." 

"Ya silly bastard!" Lt Commander Austin shook his head as he pulled the tab on a beer from the Captain's bridge chair. "What in the hell does that even mean?" 

Ensign Matt smiled faintly. "No idea." 

"We will beam you and the device aboard." Captain McMahon knew he had turned over control of the ship to Austin, but now was no time for the niceties of protocol. "You will set your ship to self-destruct in 30 seconds." 

Ensign Matt's face disappeared from the viewscreen. The young Aerialian initiated the self-destruct sequence and set the timer on it for thirty seconds exactly. Normally the thought of such an imminent explosion sent a shiver of excitement through his body, but not today. His brother had gone into the orb with Lita. Only two would come back. He had seen Lita in engineering, watched her fail to mention a minor anomaly in the Orb to Commander McMahon before she had touched it. It had been revenge, his mind could wrap itself around no other possibility. And now his brother was a living, breathing shell like Stephanie, who, witch or not, deserved better from her crew. If Jeff lived, he would forgive Lita, probably not even blame her. The trouble with Jeff, Matt was beginning to realize, was that he was far too trusting. 

* * *

JA'RET HOMEWORLD 

Three pairs of human eyes, eyes that back on the TitanPrize held no expression, were locked in a staring contest. 

"Well." Stephanie finally cracked. "This is the rescue team. Rainbow Brite and the castrating shrew who won't give him the time of day. I might as well slit my own wrists, except the scars would be so....ugly." 

"I won't stop you." Lita said coldly. The scene was surreal. It was Stephanie's little girl, pink hell of a room, yet it wasn't. And what did Stephanie mean by that? 

"We just felt if we examined the Orb from the inside, the answers would all be there." Ensign Jeff said earnestly, hoping his face wasn't as flaming red as he feared it was. 

"Hah!" Stephanie laughed, a chuckle devoid of any real happiness. "There are no answers, Jeffrey. You've just sentenced yourself to spend eternity on the Ja'Ret Homeworld." 

"She is correct." A Ja'Ret had materialized in the entrance of the room, seemingly out of thin air. "But you musn't be afraid. Stephanie has adapted very well to her role as Queen of Ja'ret, and you will soon find this much superior to your meaningless flesh and blood existence on the TitanPrize. I must confess I didn't expect anyone else to be so stupid as to touch the Orb, but you Aerialians are a very unstable species." 

The Ja'Ret laughed. Stephanie flinched. So many identical Ja'Ret came and went that she didn't bother trying to tell them apart anymore. How many days had she seen these freakish clones parade through her room? There were no days on Ja'Ret, she recalled bitterly-time was irrelevant. 

"I think I should like this spitfire as one of my servants." The Ja'Ret's eyes raked over Lita, and the Ensign could almost feel her flesh crawl. 

"No!" Stephanie bit her lip, shocked at herself. "I need like a....lady in waiting or something." Dear lord...had her daddy's lectures on the value of the crew's lives rubbed off on her? She hoped not. She hoped all it was...was a need to have someone who could help her escape nearby. Yeah, that was it. 

"Then the Aerialian male is free to go." the Ja'ret declared. 

"He would make a fine toy for me." Stephanie leered at Ensign Jeff, who blushed furiously. "Leave him." 

The Ja'Ret nodded and left the room. Lita felt sick to her stomach, watching Stephanie in her royal element. Although watching her drool over her Aerialian shipmate twisted her gut just as much, for some reason.... 

"Don't expect me to be grateful." Lita warned her. 

Stephanie shrugged. The Aerialians felt disoriented as the scene shifted from pink to a bustling, earth-like city. The magnificent ancient city of Greenwich, birthplace of the McMahon family so many eons ago. How many times had the captain described it to all the new ensigns who had come aboard? The two almost smiled at the memory that struck them both at the same time. 

"Neat trick huh?" Stephanie winked at them both as they strolled down a sleek marble sidewalk. "Ja'Ret can be anything you want it to be, if you get your mind trained just so." 

"Oh dear." Lita groaned. "She's now a travel agent for this pit of space." 

"But it's not space." Stephanie explained. "It's a hologram within the orb that my nimrod father beamed aboard the TitanPrize. Of course, in a way, it's much more than a hologram." 

"Fascinating." Ensign Jeff tried to imagine his favorite place in the world, a place on Aerilia, but the world remained Greenwich. 

Stephanie wagged her tongue at him. Ensign Lita felt the urge to rip it out for her. "It won't work for you Jeffrey. I'm beloved royalty and have accepted my life on Ja'Ret, therefore I am worthy to learn how to direct my telepathic powers." 

"You haven't accepted a darn thing." Lita scoffed. 

"True." Stephanie's face clouded over. "I miss wrapping Daddy around my little finger, being everyone's boss in engineering, and Ch-..Hunter. I just thought..." She lowered her voice. "If I could just latch onto something...to get myself out of here, I should try." 

"Er...does that mean you can read our minds?" Ensign Jeff asked. 

"It really is disgusting when two people can't admit they like each other." Stephanie said with a vague wave of her hand, as they entered a mall, no doubt a mall where little Stephie spent so many credits as a child, while little girls on Aerialia had to make due with their paltry allowances, Lita thought bitterly. 

"So this whole planet is just a hologram being generated by the Orb?" Lita demanded, suddenly uncomfortable with Stephanie's last crack. What did it mean? Could the little wench see things in Lita's mind that the Ensign could not? 

"No." Stephanie shook her head, her eyes lingering longingly on the beautiful clothes that hung in shopfront windows. "Not quite. Hundreds of years ago, the Ja'Ret created holographic and virtual reality machines that would make those aboard the TitanPrize seem as cruddy and old as a primitive earth microwave. They became bigger and badder with each generation of machines." 

"And this is the final result?" Ensign Jeff shuddered at the thought of being inside some machine while his body rested in Sickbay. 

"Yes." Stephanie nodded. "One scientist discovered that you could transport neural patterns inside holographic simulations. You could go to any planet, any galaxy, any fantasy world you wanted without having to take your body inside. The first machines like this were unstable, and many people died horrible deaths from various brain injuries, as their neural patterns broke down." 

Lita was silently impressed at the way Stephanie, silly little Stephie Mac could recite this information. 

"Don't look at me like that." Stephanie snapped. "I didn't become Engineer of the TitanPrize for kicks and giggles you know." 

"I can't even imagine a machine powerful enough to generate a virtual planet." Ensign Jeff murmured in awe. 

"Keep up with me here pokey." Stephanie sighed. "The first scientist discovered that once the mind was free of the body, there were no real limitations. It could create any scene it wanted, will any body image it desired. In fact, most Ja'Ret today would prefer to stay in the pure form of neural energy, but it makes the species they lure into the orb feel icky." 

Lita shivered, despite the warm temperature. "So everyone we see is actually just neural energy that has taken the form of a holographic body. They all have bodies like ours somewhere?" 

"Not all." Stephanie did not like this part of the story, the tale of terror the Ja'Ret had told her."The scientist discovered that once free of the body, the mind could actually live forever, the pattern would never degrade inside the orb environment. Many of these freaks don't have bodies waiting for them anymore." 

"I'd rather die." Ensign Jeff said. 

"Me too." Stephanie agreed. "But there is no way out. One century ago, the Ja'Ret scientist who created this helped all the other Ja'Ret develop telepathic skills, so they could create their own paradises within the orb. They made a pact to destroy their actual physical planet and they all touched the Orb. They exist outside the orb through sophisticated holograms that can fool any scan. And once they have your neural pattern, the shielding outside of the world will not allow it to escape. They have taken many species in order to create greater and greater technology to protect their existence." 

"And they let them live even after they take all their knowledge, because there is no escape." The realization hit Ensign Jeff like a rock. He fingered the senton bombs in his uniform pocket, colorful little balls that created blinding and violent explosions. They had been developed on Aerialia and used throughout Wrestlefleet; their dazzling design distracted the intended victim before they were vaporized. He had not been stripped of them, because weapons wouldn't work here...because nothing Wrestlefleet had meant anything here. 

He and Lita exchanged glances-they were going to spend eternity as Stephanie's servants. 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-SICKBAY 

"I never thought I would spend so much time trying to help a dirty, filthy, nasty, skanky, brutal bottom-feeding trash bag ho." Lt Jericho muttered as he stood near the Orb in Sickbay 

"I've heard you've spent hours on a special project." Ensign Matt said anxiously. Now that the time for the rescue had arrived, he was overwhelmed with a case of nerves. He knew his brother would send the two women over and stay behind. "Sounds promising." 

Lt Jericho smiled wryly. "Too bad I had to have this gorgeous body infested with nanites to learn my lesson." 

"I don't trust you." The voice was HHH's. He insisted on being present for the rescue mission. 

"I'm not the one with the sexual morals of a rabbit." Lt Jericho replied calmly. " I wouldn't trust your wife to carry out her end of this." 

Triple H lunged at the android, determined to drive his knee into the bots synthetic ribcage. Ensign Christian, who was standing guard at the doors of Sickbay, grabbed Hunter in the nick of time. "Dude, that is soooo not cool. Like, do you want to get your butt kicked out of here?" 

"Really." The Y2JUnit was poking a long sharp instrument into his wrist panel. "Shouldn't you be doing bootlicking for the higher-ups at the Smackdown?" 

"This is a game you don't want to play Jericho!" Hunter lashed out. 

"Enough!" roared Captain McMahon, as he marched into Sickbay. "Ensign Matt! Something has been troubling me. How will the three know this mini-orb is meant to rescue them? How can we be sure it will arrive in the right place?" 

"We don't." Ensign Matt shook his head. "We can only take the rebel's word for it. She promised..." He saw the wild mix of hope and skepticism on Captain McMahon's face. "Sir...my brother is in there. It's our only hope." 

Captain McMahon seemed resigned. He sucked in his breath and let it out slowly. "Dr. Taker, are you ready?" 

Dr. Taker's gray eyes surveyed the three bodies lying prone on bio-beds, figures so full of life in the most technical sense, yet so dead of everything but the most basic functions. He merely nodded his answer to the captain. 

"Ensign Matt, are you sure you want to do this?" 

The Aerialian didn't reply, merely touched the small pink ball to the larger Orb. He didn't wish to share that the woman who had given him the pink stone had died a painful and excrutiating death after beaming away from his shuttlecraft. This was their only hope... The crew in engineering watched in morbid fascination as the lesser shape morphed with the Ja'Ret device and disappeared like a globule of liquid into a lake. At the exact same instant, the Y2JUnit faded away in a sparkling shower of light. They all held their breaths...and waited. 

* * *

JA'RET HOMEWORLD 

"You ruined all my fun." Stephanie shrieked, as her precious mall went away and was replaced by the impersonal, cold reproduction of her bedroom. A Ja'Ret stood in front of the three, arms folded, a frown creasing his features. Still, he seemed oddly expressionless, and they all had to look away. 

"You have an engagement." The voice was frosty but strangely meek. A lesser Ja'Ret, Stephanie deduced. A servant Ja'Ret, perhaps one with a very untalented mind. Maybe she could.... 

The engagement would have to wait. A glittering pink oval had appeared in a magnificent flash of white light; it hovered in the center of the room. It spoke, but only in the minds of Stephanie, Lita, and Jeff. _Come with me._

The Ja'Ret's mouth opened and closed, reminding Stephanie of a goldfish. He also knew. He pulled a phaser like weapon from his holster; it looked so much like a Wrestlefleet weapon yet it was clear and glowing with a light from an unknown source. Stephanie knew at once it was powerful, beyond powerful, and it would take away their freedom. She stared into his eyes, focused her mind, and felt him start to die, just as the Ja'Ret who'd taught her the trick had promised. 

He did not die fast enough, she realized, as the phaser burst seared her chest and sent her sprawling backwards. Lita watched as Stephanie was sent across the room by the weapon's hot, white beam. She must be dead. 

The Aerialian Ensign grabbed Jeff's hand and wrapped her long fingers around the small pink stone, feeling a warmth flow through her veins and sensing the false bedroom fade from vision and the smell of burning flesh going so far away.... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-SICKBAY 

"I have Ensign Lita's neural pattern on the monitor." Nurse Saturn reported, his eyes fixed on the glowing, flashing, beeping screens above the bio-beds. "I have....I have Ensign Jeff back, but his neural pattern is unstable. He's slipping into a coma, sir!" 

Dr. Taker appeared ghost-like at the Aerialian's side. He positioned a hypospray over Ensign's Jeff neck as Ensign Matt watched, every muscle in his body tense. 

Ensign Lita sat up in her bio-bed and rubbed her eyes. She glanced at Ensign Jeff's bed and gulped. She did not feel fear much-she felt it now. "I touched the stone directly. He was only holding my hand." 

Dr. Taker merely nodded. 

"Stephanie....?" Captain McMahon let the word hang in the air. 

Ensign Lita still could not feel much pity for the spoiled little princess, but she couldn't help the compassion she felt when she saw the pain in the captain's eyes. 

"Commander McMahon received a phaser blast while trying to prevent the stone from being destroyed sir." Ensign Lita spoke as gently as she could. "All evidence suggests she did not survive." 

HHH banged out of Sickbay, knocking over Ensign Christian, who screamed in horror as a hair moved out of place. 

Captain McMahon glared at the struggling body of Ensign Jeff, not caring if the Aerialian lived or died, knowing only that the young man had returned without his daughter, knowing that if the UnitY2J returned, the only thing he would bring with him was his daughter's corpse...

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	24. Season 4 Episode 5 The Gift, Pt 3

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 5

Creator's Note: With Season 4, I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK 

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 5: THE GIFT   
**PART THREE**

By: [X-C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


JA'RET HOMEWORLD   
  
There was a fire burning inside of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. She groaned, rubbing her eyes, writhing in pain as her chest stung, as if being stuck with a million hot needles. She expected to see pink everywhere, but there was....nothing. She was lying on something, yet there was nothing solid beneath her, and she was surrounded by colorless, unscented, dead air. Maybe she was dead. At this point, it would be fine by her. 

A Ja'Ret appeared before her. He did not smile. His manner was not respectful. When he spoke, his voice was lacking in any emotion. "You will be executed for treason within 24 Wrestlfleet hours. I understand how important keeping track of time is to you...humans." 

Stephanie smiled. "For such an advanced species, your system of justice sure sucks." 

This time, the Ja'Ret smiled back. "This will make a nice addition to our museum after you die. It's most primitive." 

The Y2J Unit stumbled into Stephanie's bland little pocket of space, the Ja'Ret staring at him with scorn. 

"Jericho!" Stephanie hissed. 

"Dirty, filthy, nasty, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag ho!" Jericho responded. 

Stephanie slapped him across the face. 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-ENGINEERING 

"That dumb son of a bitch Jericho!" Lt. Commander Austin was on the verge of exploding. "He didn't leave a lick of information about his rescue mission? Why, I'll kick his sorry-" 

Ensign Lita sighed. It was hard accessing records with Austin's beer breath on her and Ensign Jeff still comatose in Sickbay, worrying her more than she cared to admit. Worse yet, Ensign Edge and his insufferable brother had decided that the monitors in engineering gave off the best reflections. She'd had to bring Commander Kane in to chase them off from her station, and they had run away, combs between their legs. 

"Sir, if Lt. Jericho left any facts concerning his mission in here, they are encoded so brilliantly that no one in engineering can snake them out. " Ensign Lita said. 

"That silly-" Lt Commander Austin caught himself. "Most of the time, I don't know what the hell he's talking about. I mean, what's a bad mamma jamma?" 

"Sir-" Lita was cut off by Lt. Rock's voice blasting over his comm badge. A few in the crew chanted his name. 

"Acting Captain Austin, your role - know it. Your ass - bring it! To the bridge, and the Rock means NOW!" 

"Now look here motor mouth!" Austin snapped back. "I'll get there when I am damn good and ready!" 

"Listen up jabroni!" Lt Rock wasn't taking no guff from the so-called captain. "Wrestlefleet has tracked our monkey asses down! They will be within weapons range in 12 hours. What's your orders." 

"You silly-" 

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR ORDERS ARE!" Lt Rock loudly snapped his comm badge off. 

Austin punched a hole in an unused console. No matter how many times Lt. Rock said that, it still made him so damn angry, and that was all he had to think about that... 

* * *

JA'RET HOMEWORLD 

"I can understand why any woman wouldn't be able to keep their eyes off me, but Stephanie...you're shameless." 

Stephanie glowered at Jericho, as she had been for who knew how long. "Trust me, plasmaface, a McMahon would never touch inferior merchandise. I am simply waiting for your brilliant escape plan. Here's hoping your twisted up circuits will figure something out before I die or your fat head starts to smoke." 

Jericho appeared thoughtful. "How do you kill a holographic body, especially one with so much cellulite to protect it?" 

"You don't." Stephanie seethed, anger making every muscle fiber twitch. "They scramble your neural pattern, causing you unbearable pain, for as long as they want." 

"If they can find your brains, they can scramble them." Jericho stretched his legs, walking around the bizarre stretch of empty space, running his hands through inch after inch of thin air. _Depressing place to await your death_, he thought. " All I know is they never eeeevvvvveeeerrrr will put this gorgeous structure in a museum!" 

Stephanie's mouth fell open. "You're more concerned about becoming a tourist attraction than with these holographic mutants snuffing out my precious, wonderful, delicate, young-" 

"Dirty, filthy, nasty skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding, trash-bag life?" Jericho finished helpfully. 

"AHHHHH!" Stephanie just screamed. "Is that stuck in a feedback loop or something? Oh god, what hideous twist of fate brought you here? If I can't get out, how can a bucket of rusted out bolts get in?" 

Jericho could not help but be smug. "You didn't think that anteater husband of yours would actually be your knight in shining armor did you? When the escape device melded with the Orb, the shielding went into a state of flux and I transported through in case something went wrong. Only two could leave and there were three of you, so something was bound to screw up. How odd that it should be you who screwed... up." 

"I was blasted by phaser fire." Stephanie repeated through clenched teeth. "And that opportunist Lita grabbed her little boytoy and ran for it like the coward she is! Nobody wanted her back! Deep down inside, everyone wanted me back! What is so disgusting is that she's too caught up in her career to notice that dope has the hots for her." 

"Thank goodness I wouldn't know anything about that." Jericho mumbled. His internal clock told him that time was running short and Stephanie would be subjected to the most grueling forms of neural torture the Ja'Ret had to offer sooner than she cared for. 

"So why haven't you transported us back out of here?" Stephanie demanded. 

"The shields have compensated for the disruption." Jericho replied, awaiting the eruption from the Commander. "They have been effectively re-sealed." 

"You are useless!" Jericho wasn't expecting Stephanie to launch at him in her tired, injured state, but she did, pounding on his chest. It was painless, but irritating. "All you're going to accomplish is to make neural torture seem fun compared to your company! I hate you so much! I wish you would have just died on your way in!" 

The Y2J Unit blinked in disbelief at the harsh words, and at the discomfort they caused in his robotic chest cavity. He peeled her off, feeling a strange sparking sensation along his skin. _Malfunction_, he told himself, initiating a superficial self-diagnostic. "It's hard to think with you all over me. Save it for your husband and whoever else you like taking into the Jeffries tubes at night for a two credit charge." 

Stephanie swallowed the less than ladylike retort. She would never tell Jericho, but she was too frightened to properly focus on fighting with him. Meanwhile, the Y2JUnit listened as the minutes sailed by on his chronometer... four hours until he would be forced to watch Stephanie's truly graphic death. 

Turning his back to the girl, he casually flipped a fingernail back and eased his emotion chip out of its interface, silencing the swirl of confusion that was screaming in his positronic brain. He became a computer inside a synthetic body, trying to deduce how he could cause a similar disruption to the shields as that amazing pink transmitter had. He had the specs for the rescue device stored, but they might not add up to anything, and the logic that had been programmed into him told Jericho that false hope would be a very cruel thing for Stephanie in her current situation. 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Ideas?" Captain McMahon's voice was strained, and his face looked old and tired. He sipped at a cup of strong black coffee that the ever helpful Ensign Matt had brought to him piping hot from the replicator. He felt bad for the young ensign, depsite his anger towards a comatose Jeff. He was trying to keep the boy busy anyway he could. 

"Ideas? The Rock says you want ideas? How about you go lick a llamas nipple!" Lt. Rock snapped. "How's that for an idea? Wrestlefleet is gonna lay the smackdown on our candyasses in two hours and you don't even know your role?" 

"Silence." Commander Kane needed to say no more. 

"You big red retard!" Lt Rock never listened to anything but the sound of his own voice sometimes. "You're telling the Rock to be silent? Well it doesn't matter what you tell the Rock! The only fun The Rock's had tonight was throwing that jabroni Triple H in the brig for destroying the Smackdown!" 

"That was highly inappropriate Mr. Rock." Captain McMahon sighed. "I don't trust the man as far as I can throw him, but I understand why he's angry right now. He misses his wife. He realizes this isn't a game anymore." 

"He misses a two credit slut?" Lt Rock wouldn't let up. "The Rock will loan him a credit and he can buy himself a better roll in the hay." 

"I have an idea on how to avoid Wrestlefleet sir." Ensign Lita spoke up. If she could just do one good thing for Captain McMahon, maybe he would soften his attitude towards her friend Ensign Jeff. "But....it's not exactly...legal." 

"Legal?" the Captain laughed. "We've disobeyed direct orders from Wrestlefleet. Why stop now?" 

"Well...do you remember our border skirmish with the WCW Thunder?" Lita asked. 

Captain McMahon thought for a moment. It had been a very minor scuffle on the edge of Nytron Space, as the Thunder had tried to encroach on Wrestlefleet territory. It had been amusing actually-the Thunder was an unimpressive, poorly constructed vessel and the TitanPrize had driven it back easily. The only snag had been the cloaking device the Thunder had been using, trying to make itself literally disappear off the map. After the TitanPrize had disabled the ship, they had downloaded the spec for the technology onto their computer. 

"I remember. They attempted to use a cloaking device to evade us." 

"I know I shouldn't have..." Ensign Lita looked down at the Captain's table. It should have been a great honor to sit here in the ready room, at a top level meeting, but so much was at stake..."But I couldn't help studying it. I know Wrestlefleet feels that WWF class ships are so powerful that they don't need disappearing technology, and that it would be an unethical weapon-" 

"So?" Ensign Edge, who had been assigned to guard the door to the ready room, cut in. "All the more reason we should use it." 

"Thank you Ensign Edge." Captain McMahon usually passed off the arrogant behavior to the fact that he was one-fourth Aerialian and had inherited the risk-taking trait only. Insubordination was a huge risk normally. "Can you make it work Ensign Lita?" 

"I believe I can, within the hour." 

Captain McMahon knew he was grasping at straws, but it was better than being blasted out of space by his own federation. "Make it so. Ensign Matt, Lt. Rock, you're with Lita." 

Ensign Matt rose to his feet. He would watch Lita very carefully in engineering this time. 

* * *

JA'RET HOMEWORLD 

One Wrestlefleet hour remaining in her lifespan. Stephanie had not really believed she would ever die in the line of duty. She always figured she would remain safe and cozy on the TitanPrize, happily tucked away in engineering, commanding all the little peasants under her. She had looked forward to returning and making Lita's life a living heck for the rest of her Wrestlefleet career an hour ago, but now she realized it was a pipe dream. Ugh. Triple H would inherit all her credits too, probably attempt to finance another brilliant rebellion with them. 

As for Jericho, he just stood there, his eyes scanning rapidly back and forth, caught in the throes of another diagnostic or something. He had not spoken at all for over sixty minutes, not even after the Ja'Ret had informed her she had very little time to enjoy being pain-free and alive. She wondered what would happen to her body on the TitanPrize, if Hunter and Daddy would have to watch her slip away... 

"Hey! Y2Jerky!" Stephanie was on the verge of exploding. The Ja'Ret had allowed her a change of scenery, much like a last meal. She had selected the Garden Deck of the TitanPrize, where she and Hunter had shared so many wonderful....anyways Jericho had not even noticed the altered surroundings. "Are you going to cross those eyes all day, or are you just playing with me and plan on yanking me out of this gutter at the last minute?" 

Jericho frowned mechanically. "These equations for creating another disruption in the shielding are proving to be too complex for my positronic brain to process in under 60 minutes. 99% chance of failure for this mission." 

Stephanie's jaw dropped. "What? You're supposed to be a great scientific achievement not a lemon! And did you hear me? I said "playing with me" and "gutter"! Do I have to draw you a map to the insults there?" 

Jericho didn't bite. "Once the interruption of your neural pathways begins in 57 minutes, the mission will be deemed a failure. I'll program myself to permanently shut down and experience a cascade systems failure to avoid capture. The mission objective will be lost." 

"Objective?" Stephanie gasped. "That's all I am to you? An...objective!" 

If the android couldn't save her... he couldn't even look beyond his own callous calculations.... She blinked. Of course! She slithered up to Jericho, slipping her hand into his. 

"I hope you don't mind." Stephanie said sweetly, putting just that right note of sadness into her voice. "I need comfort." 

Lt. Jericho's stare was bland. "Comfort will be of no use to you. It can't assist the mission in any way. Of course, you... _people_ are known for such rituals ...." 

"Jericho, if you have nothing nice to say, then please, shut the hell up." Stephanie kissed him on his non-responsive, robotic mouth, knowing that his wires were too busy trying to process what she was doing into something logical, scientific, and mathematical to notice her finger sliding underneath his thumbnail and pushing his emotion chip back into place... 

The Y2J Unit gasped and staggered backwards. "Stephanie! You little wench! You filthy-" He paused to wipe the moisture from his lips. "You had no right to violate me like that!" 

"You weren't getting anything done in your frigid android state!" Stephanie retorted. "All you did was spit out all these statistics about mission failure and my impending doom!" 

"And this changes what?" Jericho was boiling over with rage. He was certain it was because his emotion chip had just been shoved rudely back into its proper interface. "I am scanning myself now, and the odds are still against you. Be a woman and suck it up, because you're going to get the kind of neural torture you will never eeeeevvvveeeer forget!" 

Stephanie's eyes burned with hot, salty liquid. She didn't even feel the phaser burn across her chest anymore, she just felt hopeless. She collapsed next to particularly lovely and completely unreal Houdianian flower that was colored a striking blue and yellow that little Ensign Crash had once brought aboard. He had seemed abnormally pleased when Cadet Eddie had used one to woo that waitress Chyna at the Smackdown. She tried to laugh at the ridiculous memory, but a sob escaped her lips instead. 

"Oh for the love of-" Jericho had seen enough of this. Stephanie was very talented at using her tears to trick someone, and he didn't wonder at all why this nutjob species had chosen her for their leader. "Isn't this where I caught you flirting with Ensign Angle last week?" 

"I don't flirt with Ensigns." Stephanie said with disgust, trying to brush tears from her eyes, but for every one she wiped away, two more fell. 

The Y2J Unit had about a million comebacks burning his wires at that moment, but he held his tongue. 40 minutes. He helped Stephanie back to her feet. "We can try something that has a 10% chance of working, and that's being generous. I'll need you to manually program an unsafe procedure into my system; it won't allow me to make an attempt to ice myself. It could cause a disruption similar enough to the pink stone to allow us a small window of escape." 

"Which panel?" Stephanie tried to be all business, as she listened to Jericho command her to initiate a potentially suicidal power surge into his body. 

"In my neck." Jericho kept his voice cool as well, as Stephanie's fingers eased open the hatch. 

"While this seems like a brilliant idea, I am not sure how I will get back into my own body. You can't transport my neural pattern and expect it to just come out in the wash can you?" Stephanie asked. 

"I wondered when that trademark McMahon selfishness would shine through." Jericho smiled grimly. "I can store your neural pattern in a transporter buffer inside my body. It should remain protected during the power surge, which will be localized." 

"Localized to your life support systems." Stephanie reminded him, her finger resting on a wire in his neck as she eyed him quizzically. "Leaving only enough back-up energy to operate the buffer. Essentially you'd be...dead and acting as nothing more than a transporter device." 

The Y2J Unit tried not to flinch. He wondered if the engineering expert knew what kind of feelings that wire was causing in his neural net due to the pressure she put on it. "You're looking at it all wrong Stephie. If I live, I'll know all your precious little secrets." 

"Well." She snapped the panel closed and grinned broadly. "Here's hoping the surge just fries your circuits then." 

"We'll know in 15 minutes." Jericho said. His emotion chip was making this whole plan seem a little nerve-racking. He wondered how so many humans were able to end it all themselves, because he sure didn't like knowing he might blow all his circuitry in a matter of minutes. "You have twenty minutes to live and I figure we might as well cut this close." 

Twenty minutes. There was a slim chance she might survive, but it was more likely she would die in the buffer or be tormented after being captured by the Ja'Ret. Considering what was about to happen to Jericho's android body, he would never know either way. 

"Chris?" 

"Don't call me that." 

"A McMahon backed into a corner does what she damn well pleases." Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, no motive underlying this embrace. 

"Get your hands off me you dirty, filthy, nasty, skanky...." Jericho's postitronic mind lost the words and might have forgotten the time as well, had he not been programmed to shut down and revert to basic life support systems within a certain amount of minutes. 

Stephanie knew she had little time to waste. She accessed a panel in the back of his neck, and erased the last several minutes from his primary and secondary memory banks. That was the wonderful thing about an android, with just the push of a button or two, some things just never happened! 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-THE SMACKDOWN 

"The Ja'Ret Homeworld has been destroyed?" Stephanie's eyes were wide with disbelief as she held her husband's gaze. A party in her honor was in full swing around her, but she still needed to pinch herself occassionally to make sure her body was real. 

"Yeah." Hunter was polishing off another Degenerate Ale. "Supposedly the thing just blew up in Sickbay. Dr. Taker was the only witness." 

Dr. Taker. Stephanie shuddered. Surely Dr. Taker wouldn't have had the power too... NO WAY! Perhaps it was all an accident, caused by the Y2J Unit's power surge, a surge that had mimicked the pink stone enough to be successful. 

"And daddy is in the clear?" 

You're damn right." Road Dogg assured her. "In fact, what the TitanPrize did to defeat the Ja'Ret is the stuff of legends now. But girl, you know, when I thought you were a goner, it was like...two tears in a bucket you know?" 

"I know." Stephanie smiled. 

"Golly, it must have been so terrible being transported by that disgusting Y2J Unit!" Tori exclaimed, setting a sweet, strawberry flavored drink in front of the Commander. "He called me a ho before he went on his little boy scout mission to save you!" 

"It wasn't exactly a first class shuttlecraft." Stephanie agreed, hiding her smile behind the foam of her drink. 

"I see Ensign Hardly has recovered." Road Dogg said scornfully. "Still can't seem to catch that ice queen Lita's attention. Geesh that girl should at least throw him a bone or something." 

Tori laughed, a nasty, sparkling little laugh. "He may have been put off by those awful pictures that have been circulating of her and Ensign Christian. Of course, it was all completely innocent, but put in the improper context...." 

Stephanie's eyes gleamed. "You may be in line for a promotion Tori. Lord knows that witch Lita will never see the back end of one in her lifetime." 

Triple H leaned over to her and suggested they return to their quarters so she could rest. Stephanie didn't exactly hear him, as her stare was fixed on the roughed up but otherwise alright Lt. Jericho, who had been a miracle patient for Dr. Taker and Nurse Saturn just a few days before. He was laughing it up with Ensign Matt and that tramp Terri at the bar. 

Jericho seemed to be aware of her, and met her gaze squarely, a knowing smirk on his face. Stephanie's stomach sank as she realized that while she had erased his memory of a...certain event, Lt. Jericho had been exposed to every last secret of hers during the transport out of the Orb. And every secret meant every secret, even the ones she'd tried to hide... 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	25. Season 4 Episode 6 Two's a Crowd

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 6 ****

WRESTLE TREK 

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 6: TWO'S A CROWD 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more! 

STARSHIP TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, startdate 061420.00. My precious Stephanie has returned safe and sound. I suppose I must thank the Y2J Unit for that. I am therefore giving Y2J a promotion to Lieutenant Commander, and stationing him in Engineering where his talents will be put to good use. End log. " 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I TOLD you, Chyna ma'am! I AM old enough to be in here! It's not like I'm gonna drink or anything..." Ensign Crash insisted. 

"It doesn't matter. Come on, Crash. Show me your ID. Please?" Chyna replied, holding her hand out, waiting patiently. 

She had said please. He couldn't refuse, "Oooooh... fine, fine!" Crash frowned, then reached into his uniform and pulled out his WrestleFleet ID. 

Chyna took it from him with a smile. The grin grew wider when she saw the picture, "Awwww.... this is so cute! How old were you when they took this?" she asked. 

"The same age I am NOW!" Crash replied, then pouted, "No one ever believes me!" 

Chyna read the name, "Crash Elroy Jetson Holly," she smiled again and handed him back his ID with a pat on the head, "Hey, when you're older, you'll be HAPPY you look younger!" 

"I already AM older!" Crash answered, then sighed. It was no use. 

"Ey, mamacita!" a voice called out. 

Chyna turned around, and positvely radiated happiness, "Hi honey!!" she called out, and waved to Ensign Eddie Guerrero. He came up to them and handed Chyna a rose, putting his arm around her waist. 

"Whas' goin' on, mamcita?" he asked. 

"I was just talking to little Crash here..." Chyna began. 

"I AM NOT LITTLE!" Crash shouted, then blushed, his voice getting softer, "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell," then looked at Chyna, "I'm really sorry, Chyna, ma'am..." 

"Commander McMichael to Ensign Crash. Please report to transporter bay 3," a voice came through Crash's comm badge. 

"Be right there, Commander, ma'am!" he said, then offered Chyna a shy smile and headed out. 

* * *

TRANSPORTER BAY 3 

"Ensign Crash reporting for duty, ma'am!" Crash saluted McMichael. "What can I do to help?!" 

"Get your ass over here, little boy..." A voice spoke. Crash spun around to see Dr. Taker waiting impatiently on the transporter pad with Nurse Bearer. "Here... take this..." Taker handed Crash two bags of supplies. "They're YOUR responsibility! We recieved a distress call from Tacama. They're in the middle of an ion storm. I need someone to help Bearer and myself carry the supplies." 

Crash stepped on to the transporter pad, and waited for the familiar feel of the beam to split his molecules, and stick them together again. 

"See you boys later..." Commander McMichael said. 

* * *

TACAMA 

Crash sat on the cold cave floor as he watched Dr. Taker and Nurse Bearer tend to the injured. Replicated lanterns lit the inside, but they didn't bring much warmth to the dreary place. 

The ion storm reported earlier had swept over this area of the planet and destroyed many homes, leaving the inhabitants either hurt, or dead. The only shelter were the caves jutting out from the mountainside. 

"Man, I hate caves..." Crash muttered to himself. 

"I think they're scary too..." a quiet voice spoke. He turned to see a little girl, no more then 5, sitting beside him. She snuggled against his arm. (The Tacama people were well known for their friendliness, and inexplicable trust towards anyone who helped them. Crash thought they were an excellent society). "Did you find your mommy?" the little girl asked. 

"Uh... my mommy's not here..." he replied. 

The little girl nodded her head, her voice still quiet, "Neither is mine. She's gone. The storm took her..." 

Crash looked at her, "I'm sorry..." he said. 

"My name is Anna..." she said. 

"I'm Crash..." he replied. 

She nodded, then crawled on his lap and buried her face in his shoulder. 

Ensign Crash comforted her as she sobbed quietly. 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - TRANSPORTER BAY 3 

"McMichael to McMahon..." Commander McMichael tapped her comm badge, "Taker, Bearer, and the Ensign won't be able to beam up unless we take them NOW, sir. The ion storm is disturbing the transporter lock..." 

"Tell them, Commander, then beam them back..." Came McMahon's voice. 

"Yes sir..." McMichael replied, then tapped her comm badge again, "Debra to Taker, we have to beam you out now. Your readings are fluctuating..." 

"Very well," Taker replied, "There's nothing more we can do here today anyway. We'll beam back down when the storm passes," 

"Yes, sir. Get ready to beam out," McMichael replied, and within moments, Dr. Taker and Nurse Bearer appeared on the transporter pad. 

But where was Ensign Crash? 

McMichael tried again, "What the...??" she gasped. "Crash's molecules keep disappearing!" _Apparently ion storms are not transporter friendly to Houdinians_, she thought. She gave it another shot... and soon Ensign Crash took form on the transporter pad. 

Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. 

Beside Ensign Crash lay... Ensign Crash! 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"I told you I'm fine, Dr. Taker, sir..." Crash spoke as the dark doctor continued his tests. 

Dr. Taker studied his readings. Everything seemed fine. The Ensign wasn't missing anything in his physical make up. 

He looked towards the OTHER Crash, who seemed to be in a rather foul mood, "Dr. Taker, SIR..." he mocked his original, "Talk about a brown noser," he muttered. 

Crash looked at him, "Hey... show the proper respect to my...er... your... er.. OUR... superior officer!" 

Suddenly, Chyna burst into Sickbay. She looked at Crash... then turned to the OTHER Crash. "CRASH! And.... CRASH!" she gasped, "I just had to see this for myself! WOW!" 

The OTHER Crash noticed her and jumped off his sickbay bed. He looked at her, and smiled, "Yes... you ARE quite _wow_..." 

She furrowed her brow and looked at him, "Excuse me?" 

He eyed her carefully, "You're quite the woman..." he smiled. 

Chyna took a step back, "Ok..." she said, "You're like... a greasy little leprechaun or something!" She turned to the original, "PLEASE tell me _you_ don't act like this!" 

Crash turned to his double angrily, "Stop that! Miss Chyna deserves RESPECT! Not leers! Especially not from YOU!" 

"Oh shut up! You're acting like a little boy! Why don't you start acting like a man!" He snapped, then turned to Dr. Taker, "I'm out of here! Maybe you can give him a better personality or something!" The sickbay doors opened and, just before he walked out, he took a final glance at Chyna's backside. 

He continued down the hall with a smile. 

* * *

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Hey, Elroy! I heard you had a run-in with a transporter!" Unit Y2J started when he came upon the Ensign he thought was Crash. 

"First off, DON'T call me Elroy. If you insist on addressing me, call me ROY! And _I_ am not the one who had a run-in with a transporter. It was the LOSER!" 

Unit Y2J raised his eyebrows as _Roy_ shoved past him angrily. 

Apparently, Ensign Crash's double had issues. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Give me another one!" Roy snapped at Terri, who stood at the bar watching him. 

"I think you've had enough, kid..." Terri replied. 

"I SAID give me another!" 

"Hey hey hey, little boy..." two men came up behind him. "You best be treating ladies with respect!" 

Roy looked at the rude interruption - Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq, "What the hell do YOU guys want? Haven't you given me enough crap in the past?" 

Bradshaw smirked, "Since when did YOU get a potty mouth!? And... an unending thirst for synthehol!" he finished, noticing the empty glasses on the bar. 

Roy offered a small smile, "Since I left my inhibitions in sickbay!" he replied. 

Lieutenant Farrooq looked at him, brow furrowed, "In sickbay...?" then stopped, and realized, "Oh hell! You're the OTHER one!" 

"Yeah, I am!" 

"Well, damn, son... since you drink like a man, lets see if you play cards like a man too!" Bradshaw said. 

"What game?" Roy asked. 

"Poker, boy! What else?" Bradshaw replied. 

"I'll kick both your asses!" Roy answered, and followed them to their table, synthehol in hand. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

Ensign Crash went up to Chyna, who had kindly been waiting for him, once Dr. Taker declared him free to go, "Listen, Chyna, Ma'am... I'm sorry about that other Crash. I mean, that's not me! Well.. that IS me.. but it's NOT me... I mean..." 

"I know," Chyna smiled, "It's ok. Come. I'll treat you to a drink at the Smackdown..." 

"Oh no!" Crash replied. "I don't drink!" 

Chyna looked at him, "Never?" 

"Of course not!" Crash replied. "Why would I? If my parents knew, they'd give me a lecture!" 

Chyna rolled her eyes, "Whatever..." she held a hand out to him, "Let's just go to The Smackdown then..." 

Crash smiled, and took her hand happily. The two walked together to the Smackdown. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Damnit! The little snot beat us again!" Farrooq shouted as he and Bradshaw slammed their cards down. 

Roy smiled, and greedily took his tablemates' credits... and Bradshaw's unlit cigar. "Hey! Those are cuban!" Bradshaw protested. 

"I know! Consider it part of your payment, since I know you won't have much else left after I'm done here..." Roy replied. He put the cigar in his mouth, and shuffled the cards, sneakily slipping an ace up the sleeve of his Wrestlefleet civilian uniform (_civilian_ since he wasn't truly a Wrestlefleet officer). He turned to waitress beside him, "Kitty, get me another drink," 

"Say please..." she said. 

Roy took the cigar out of his mouth, and smiled at her, "Please?" He had Ensign Crash's endearing smile... yet with just that slight touch of danger that only Roy seemed to possess. 

Kitty smiled back, "You're just so cuuuuuuuuuuuute!" she squealed, "I'll go get you another, sweetie!" 

"Thanks, Kitty!" Roy replied, and turned back to his game. Before he could deal the cards, though, the door to the Smackdown swooshed open. He looked up, and frowned, "Oh crap..." he muttered. 

Bradshaw and Farrooq looked towards the door. Ensign Crash had walked in with Chyna. 

Crash noticed his other half, and frowned in return, then he and Chyna joined Ensigns Guerrero, Benoit, and Malenko at a nearby table. 

Roy turned away, and continued with his game. 

Back at his table, Ensign Crash studied his double warily, "Ey, Crash..." a voice snapped him out of his momentary trance. 

Crash turned to Ensign Guerrero, "Yes, Eddie, sir?" 

"You can stop with the _sir_, _ma'am_ stuff! We're all amigos here!" Eddie said. "So, tell me... that OTHER you making you loco?" he asked. 

Crash sighed, "Yeah... he was so rude to Chyna ma'am in sickbay!" 

Eddie stood up, "Ey! He was rude to my mamacita?" 

"It's ok, honey..." Chyna said, "Sit down. I can take care of myself. You know that..." 

Eddie was reluctant, but sat anyway. 

"Listen, I'm sorry Chyna ma'am, Eddie sir... I really am..." Crash replied, and hung his head. 

"Awww... don't worry about it, hun..." Chyna answered, and put an arm around his shoulder. 

Crash smiled, then quickly turned away... blushing slightly. 

Roy watched Crash's immature response to Chyna. _Stupid ass_, he thought, _if he's got a crush on her, why doesn't he just TELL her!_

"Hey... you gonna deal, or what?" Bradshaw's voice interrupted Roy's thoughts. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna deal! Be patient!" Roy snapped, then handed out the cards. 

His hand froze just before he dropped the last card, and he started to shake. 

"Yo, kid... what's wrong?" Farrooq asked. 

Roy stood up, as did Crash a few feet away. The two looked at each other. Both were shaking. 

The two then both fell to the ground, unconscious. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"What's wrong with me, doc?" Crash asked, "Am I gonna die? Am I?" 

"Not at this moment, no... but..." Dr. Taker began. 

"But what? Spit it out, dead man!" Roy snapped. 

Dr. Taker turned to him. How _dare_ this little thing speak to HIM that way! He frowned, his voice cold, "You need each other..." he said. 

Crash furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?" 

Dr. Taker sighed, and spoke to Crash, "While I did not detect any anomalies in your make up, there is something in both of you that the other does not have. It's difficult to explain. You are split in two, quite literally. And unless you rejoin, neither of you may live much longer," He turned to Roy, "You are part of Crash. A part of his personality, albiet a part that he keeps hidden deep within him," 

"You gotta be kidding me!" Crash said, "I can't POSSIBLY have a foul-mouthed, beer-guzzling... big ol' MEANIE within me!" 

"You can, and you DO. He is you, you are him. I do not know how else to explain it." Dr. Taker said, "We need to rejoin you two... or else..." he let the sentence trail. He need not say anymore. 

"Screw that!" Roy spoke, "I'm not going back inside that... WIMP!" 

"I am NOT a wimp!" Crash retorted. 

"Oh no?" Roy sneered, "Then why can't you tell Chyna _ma'am _that you have the hots for her!" 

"I do NOT---" 

"Don't try to deny it!" Roy interrupted, "As the good doctor said, I'm YOU! I know how you feel! How you THINK!" 

"But... she's got Eddie! I'm not going to ruin that!" Crash said, then shrugged, "Besides, I'll get over it..." he finished, though even to himself he didn't sound very convincing. 

"Maybe if you were more of a man, she'd be interested!" Roy snapped. 

"I AM a man!" Crash insisted. 

"Bull! You're nothing but a little boy trapped in a big boy's body! Hell... not _even _a big boy! You're what... about 2 feet tall?" Roy shouted. 

Crash looked at him, and clenched his teeth, "I am NOT..." Crash began, "I'm---" 

"I don't give a damn WHAT you are! You _ain't_ a man, that's for sure!" 

"Be quiet..." he spoke, barely containing his temper. 

"No. I won't! Because you're a pathetic little piece of---" 

"Shut up!" Crash shouted, finally snapping with anger, "Shut the hell up! You have no right to speak to me that way, jackass! And I'll be damned if I'm going to take any more crap from you!" 

With that, Crash lunged at Roy, and the two fought on the floor of sickbay. 

Dr. Taker was surprised. Did the usually polite and quiet Ensign Crash just spew obscenities?! How... _interesting._

__

Roy tossed Ensign Crash off him and, in the blink of Dr. Taker's eye, he disappeared. 

Dr. Taker stared at the spot Roy had been in... but there was nothing. He then turned to see if Ensign Crash was ok... but _he _was gone as well. 

Dr. Taker thought nothing of it, since it was pointless to attempt to find two Houdinians who didn't want to be found. However, something was amiss. The dark one turned to his tray of tools, and noticed one of his hyposprays missing. 

A hypospray that held a poisonous paralyzing agent. 

* * *

TRANSPORTER BAY 3 

"Punch in coordinates 06-54-23 and move away from the console, McMichael!" Roy snapped as he held up a phaser he had _borrowed_ from a nearby security Ensign on the way to the transporter room. Pickpocketing was a talent many Houdinians had. They were quite good with their hands when they needed to be. 

"Roy...?" she asked, recognizing the civilian uniform, "Where did _you_---" 

"Don't talk! Just DO what I TOLD you to do!" he shouted. 

Lieutenant Commander McMichael jumped. His voice was loud and angry. Nothing like the kind, quiet Ensign Crash. The Transporter chief held up her hands, "Ok... ok... just... put the phaser down..." 

Roy eyed her carefully, and jumped on the transporter pad. "NOW!" he commanded. 

Debra powered up the transporter, but just before Roy disappeared, Ensign Crash burst into the transporter room. He jumped on the platform... and disappeared with his double. 

* * *

UNIDENTIFIED PLANET 

Crash found himself lying on his face on the floor of the cave the ion storm survivors had taken shelter in. 

Luckily, he was in an empty cavern at the moment. 

"Bastard! Did you have to follow me?!" Roy shouted. 

Crash felt Roy grab his arm and tug him to his feet violently. Roy spun Crash around to face him, phaser armed and ready. 

"What are you going to do? Kill me?! You heard what Dr. Taker sir said! If we don't rejoin, we BOTH die anyway!" Crash reminded him. 

"I don't give a crap what Dr. Taker said! I'd RATHER die then be stuck inside your body again!" Roy replied, then smiled coldly, "Although I did see a touch of myself in you a few moments ago..." 

"Crash..." a quiet voice spoke. Roy spun around to see a young Tacaman with wide blue eyes and slightly disheveled brown hair. She had apparently been wandering the caverns and come upon them. 

"Anna!" Crash gasped, "Go back to your friends!" 

"They're sleeping..." Anna replied, then smiled, "I didn't know you had a twin brother!" her face grew serious for a moment, "I wish _I_ had a twin too..." 

"No. You don't..." Crash said, "But.. please.. Anna... go back to your people! They'll be looking for you..." 

"Is the scary doctor going to come back?" she asked. 

"Scary doctor? Oh... Dr. Taker? Yeah. He'll be back tomorrow... right now, though---" 

"Just GO THE HELL AWAY, you little SNOT!!" Roy shouted angrily. 

Anna jumped back, scared, "Your brother's mean..." Anna said quietly. 

"Please... Anna...." Crash began, but Roy interrupted him. 

"_Please Anna. Please Anna_..." Roy mocked, "Could you be any more annoying, Crash?" he turned to the little girl, and aimed the phaser at her, "Go away. Before I use this on your pretty little face!" 

"NO! Leave her alone, Roy!" 

Roy looked at Crash, "Why? Is it mean of me to kill her? Too bad, huh! If it will prevent me from returning inside you, then I don't give a damn!" he turned back to Anna. 

Ensign Crash didn't know what else to do. He jumped Roy from behind, and pressed Dr. Taker's hypospray to his double's neck. There was a brief hiss, an angry shout from Roy... and then he fell to the ground, momentarily paralyzed. 

Crash stared at his double. The only thing moving was his eyes now. They looked extremely angry. 

Crash turned to Anna, "Go back to your people. Dr. Taker and I will come visit tomorrow!" 

Anna nodded, and headed off. 

Crash grabbed his paralyzed double, and tapped his comm badge. "McMichael ma'am... beam me up. You will notice a 2nd set of DNA. Simply merge it with mine," 

"Sure, sweetie..." Debra replied, and Crash waited for the comforting sweep of the transporter beam. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Damnit!" Bradshaw swore angrily as he threw down his cards, "Didn't know you were so good at Poker, kid! If you win one more hand, I'm gonna have to beat the living crap out of you!" 

Crash shrank back, "I... I'm sorry Bradshaw sir... guess some of Roy rubbed off on me..." 

"Speaking of which... you were telling me that little bastard tried to hurt a kid down on the planet?" Farrooq asked. 

Crash nodded, "Yeah..." he was quiet for a moment as a thought disturbed him... _if Roy was capable of hurting that little girl, does that mean I...._

"Hey Crash..." a voice spoke, interrupting his thoughts. Chyna had come up to the table, "You look kind of down..." 

"Uh..." Ensign Crash started, then smiled, "I'm fine, Chyna. Really..." 

"What... no Chyna _ma'am_?" she asked. 

"Sorry... would you prefer if I called you _ma'am_?" 

"No no..." She smiled, "Just Chyna is fine..." 

"Fine Chyna then..." he replied, then winked at her. 

Chyna was surprised, and offered an amused smile, "Cute, Holly... very cute... but I'm taken!" 

Crash shrugged, "Had to try..." he replied with a smile. 

"And it was a good try. Maybe if I was single---" she let the sentence trail, and walked off to the next table. 

"Since when did YOU get so brave, kid?" Farrooq asked. 

Crash furrowed his brow, and shrugged, "I don't know... I really don't." The small Ensign sighed. 

Perhaps rejoining with Roy left the double's personality a bit closer to the surface. 

"Since he thinks he can beat ME at poker!" Bradshaw replied, not hiding his anger. He glared at Crash, "You take any more of my beer money, and you'll know what getting beat REALLY means!" 

Crash took a deep breath... but suddenly felt brave enough to challenge the angry security Lieutenant to yet another hand of poker. 

It seemed Ensign Crash was living a bit more dangerously these days. 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	26. Season 4 Episode 7 Contagion

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 7

Creator's Note: With Season 4, I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK 

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 7: CONTAGION 

By: [X-C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061255.00. It's promotion time on the Titanprize again, but this year I have decided to let my daughter, Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, put the ensigns through their paces. Only one can win the title of Lieutenant, and I have perfect faith in her abilities to make the right choice. " 

Captain McMahon closed his log book and rested his feet on his desk. _How nice_, he thought, _to be free of such personnel headaches_. Ambition on his ship tended to have very ugly results, though he was certain his darling little angel could manage it. 

She was, after all, a McMahon.   


  
  
* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Chief Engineer's Log, Stardate 06155.00. Daddy has placed little ol' me in charge of this year's special promotion. That means I have the very career, the very fate of some lowlife, snivelling ensign in my hands!" 

Stephanie laughed wickedly. "Oh my, so many noses are going to be brown after this week. That is, they better be brown if someone wants to get somewhere on this ship!" 

Stephanie's eyes danced at the mere thought of all the worshipping the ensigns would have to perform in order to impress her. She started as someone cleared his throat behind her. 

"Lieutenant Commander Jericho? Frog in your throat? If so, I hope it's a poisonous Aerialian toad." 

"Knowing you, you'd want to kiss it to see if it turned into a prince." Lt. Commander Jericho said dryly. 

"Can I help you?" Stephanie demanded. She was not in the mood to be around Jericho... ever. Now that he knew all her secrets...

"Your father had a very wise change of heart." the Y2J Unit wore his smirk well. "He requested that I assist you with this year's testing of the ensigns. As an android, I'd be 100% objective." 

"Objective my-" Stephanie swore softly as an alarm sounded at her engineering station. "Damn you Shane!" 

"A McMahon mistake?" Lt Cmdr Jericho arched an eyebrow. "How utterly rare." 

"Shove off slimebot." Stephanie's eyes were fixed on a fluctuating line that zig-zagged across her monitor. "Shane was supposed to fix the corruption in the bridge navigational sub-routines by sending a retro-virus in, the big dummy." 

"And?" 

"And," Stephanie said impatiently. "His little giant killer virus is messing up the diagnostic ports inside of the engineering mainframe! Honestly, for a 'droid, you're totally slow on the uptake." 

"And what _you_ know could be shoved inside a common...trashbag." Jericho spat, nudging Stephanie out of the way and running his fingers over the engineering pad. 

"You-you shoved me!" Stephanie gasped, pushing him back and punching in an anti-virus code into the computer. 

"Stop pushing me, you spoiled brat!" Jericho gave Stephanie a hard tap on the shoulder, his android strength knocking her on her behind. He hastily halted the progress of Shane's wacky little computer menace. 

"I think the warp core needs a diagnostic run on it." Stephanie brushed her uniform off, eyes hard, muscles quivering with barely concealed rage as she struggled to maintain her temper in front of the crew. Jericho would pay for that. Perhaps she would talk to Daddy about having the engineering crew switch to those pink uniforms she so adored.... 

"I'm on it hotlips." Jericho winked at her, his mechanical heart full of malice as he approached the warp core. Secretly, he was relieved that Stephanie was back to her loathesome, shallow self, so that he could return to thinking of her as.....well...the devil. During his recent rescue mission to an evil alien world, he had actually started to _ugh _respect the little wench, but thank the stars that was over!

_Hotlips_? Oh yes. Jericho was going to pay and pay dearly! 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I just know I am going to be your next Wrestlefleet Lieutenant! It's true, it's true!" Ensign Angle beamed at his fellow ensigns. 

Nobody at his table beamed back. Ensign Lita couldn't believe she had just heard the arrogant young American order non-alcoholic synthehol. He was really such a prissy, virtuous, self-righteous- 

"I don't know." Ensign Christian was studying his reflection in his synthehol glass. He adjusted a golden lock of hair. "You soooo don't have any common sense." 

"Don't get us wrong." his brother, Ensign Edge was quick to add. "You'd make a totally cool Communications officer." 

"I do have the intensity, intelligence, and integrity for it." Ensign Angle agreed. 

"Yeah, but you always defend Commander McMahon-Helmsley's...uhhhh.....honor," Christian was barely able to get the words out without laughing. 

The entire table exploded with laughter. Ensign Jeff nearly choked on his Aerialian cocktail. Ensign Angle looked vaguely confused. 

"With all due respect, fellow ensign, you're going to face some stiff competition from my brother and I," Ensign Edge said. "We think that all species from all reaches of the galaxy will seek out the Titanprize when they realize they can look at our beautiful faces on their viewscreen." 

"We have some first contact poses all ready to show Lt. Rock." Ensign Christian said proudly. "Care for a 5 second preview?" 

"Er, maybe later." Ensign Lita frowned. "I know I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of earning an engineering promotion. I think Stephie accessed my personal logs last night and heard the part about my dream of becoming Chief Engineer. She already hates my guts, and now she'll feel threatened." 

"She invaded your privacy like that?" Ensign Jeff was indignant. "She had no right!" 

"She is a Commander, Jeff." Lita sighed and shook her head. "She can override the lock on all our personal logs." 

"Don't worry, Lita." Ensign Jeff assured her. "Lt Commander Jericho has some influence over the decision and he's always had praise for your work." 

"Forget it Jeff." Lita sometimes found her fellow Aerialian a touch naive. "The thing about Jericho and Commander McMahon.....never mind, it's over your guys' heads." 

Ensign Matt frowned. He was really starting to dislike the way Ensign Lita treated his kid brother, who was so clearly smitten with her. 

"I hear that now Ensign Crash is in one piece again and has discovered a bold streak, he's in the running for a career boost as well." Tori said casually, as she set a round of Aerialian ales in front of the ensigns. It was hard to hide her glee, watching Lita sip from the glass she had just spit in. 

"Thank-you." Lita's voice was as chilly as her drink. "The next time I want gossip about crucial Wrestlefleet happenings, I'll make sure to ask a lowly waitress." 

Tori just smiled pleasantly as she moved onto Lt. Commander Austin's table, with three earth-style beers for him and Lieutenants Farooq and Bradshaw. She'd just mention that little crack from Ensign Lita to Stephanie.... 

* * *

  
  
THE BRIDGE-COMMUNICATIONS 

"The Rock Says....pretend the Titanprize is being hailed by some steaming, stinking pile of alien monkey crap! On the double jabronis!" 

Ensign Edge stepped up to the Communications station and smoothed out his hair as he faced the viewscreen. When he spoke, his voice, was deep, rich, and damn near theatrical. "Greetings, fellow space travellers! This is Lt. Edge of the Wrestlefleet Starship Titanprize, and I would like to welcome you to this sector of space with a special Wrestlefleet pose." 

Lt Rock didn't hesitate to slap the ensign across his smiling face. "You come to the Rock's station and you run your mouth like a damn jabroni? Get the hell off this bridge before I slap the rest of the taste out of your mouth!" 

Ensign Edge sulked his way off the bridge. 

"Ensign Christian, let's hear what your candy ass has to say." 

Ensign Christian seemed sulky as well. "Lt Rock! That was SO not right! You know, as they say in the business, that promo was a little stale! And as they also like to say, tired little catchphrases have no place in Wrestlefleet!" 

"And your monkey ass has no place on this bridge!" Lt Rock exploded. "Your career in Communications has just hit rock bottom! Ensign Angle?" He whirled around to face the eager young man. "Just bring it!" 

"Of course, Lt Rock." Ensign Angle said. "Aliens-this is your Wrestlefleet hero, Lt Angle! Hopefully, you possess intensity, integrity, and intelligence, otherwise, we will be forced to use photon torpedos on your inferior, morally deficient vessel. And that is true!" 

"Impressive Ensign....." Lt Rock paused. "The Rock is sorry. He appears to be having a brain freeze. What was your name again?" 

"Ensign-" 

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Lt Rock had reached his boiling point. "Now get the hell off this bridge and don't ever, and the Rock means _ever_, show that ugly face of yours on it again!" 

He never did like Ensign Angle. For some reason the stupid kid was always singing the praises of that cheap, two credit slut down in engineering.... 

* * *

HOLODECK 7 

"Ensigns, you are here to demonstrate that you have the fighting and combat skills necessary to crack Wrestlefleet's Lieutenant rank." Stephanie made a grand, sweeping gesture with her hands as she walked back and forth past the row of young wanna-be's, including three Aerialians she strongly disliked. One had big pipe dreams about becoming head engineer, and it would be a cold day on Mercury before Lita stole Stephanie's power.... 

"As you can all see, Commander Kane from security is here to watch the battles." Lt Commander Jericho stated the obvious. It was hard to miss the imposing figure in the red and black uniform that loomed above them all. "Who knows?" The Y2J Unit had a disarming smile. "Maybe one of you youngsters will get a promotion to his team." 

Ensigns Matt and Jeff exchanged hopeful glances. Being on Kane's team also meant being asked to participate in secret intelligence operations for Wrestlefleet. The near-silent commander's exploits in Wrestlefleet Intelligence were the stuff of legends, and the risk-loving Aerialians hoped to have the chance to put it all on the line for some daring mission. 

"Let's see...." Stephanie's eyes travelled down the line. She smiled warmly at Ensigns Edge and Christian. "Would you two boys like to demonstrate your fighting prowess for me?" 

"We would sooo love to Commander McMahon." Ensign Christian replied. "But first, we'd like to show off some defensive poses we've been working on that could revolutionize Wrestlefleet hand to hand combat technique." 

The blonde Ensigns struck several exaggerated karate-style poses. Ensign Angle seemed sufficiently awed by their skills and began to mimic the defensive posturing. Commander Kane stepped forward and with a few lightning-quick movements, left the three with bloody noses. 

"Useless." Kane muttered. 

Commander McMahon muttered under her breath with frustration. Did they have to act like such dopes? By no means did she want to be left with those two dorky Aerialian brothers, Matt and Jeff, to choose from when it came decision time. And Lita was already out of the picture. "I guess I'll set the scene for a real test of skills then." 

Stephanie went to the Holodeck's touchpad and manually punched in her own special program for this very moment. It was a holographic representation of Aerialia's version of hell, a place of nightmares and fire that she had planned for just such an occassion. She held back a smug smile as she watched the uneasy expressions start to form on the young ensign's faces. Lt Commander Jericho eyed her quizically but remained mercifully silent. 

"Ensign Lita?" Stephanie's tone was pure sugar. "Ensign Jeff? If you would, please?" 

"You want us to fight each other?" Ensign Jeff's was blinking rapidly, reminding himself that the black sky and scenery and rivers of liquid fire were a mere illusion. He wondered if Commander McMahon would be so callous as to turn the safeties off, but quickly banished the disloyal thought. 

"Uh-huh." Stephanie nodded. 

"Perhaps Matt would be a better opponent-" 

Ensign Jeff was clearly not prepared for the swift kick that nearly caved in his chest. Lita was taking advantage of his shock and had a handful of his rainbow-colored hair gripped in her fingers, her expression was as grim as their fake surroundings. Ensign Matt sighed and shook his head, watching Lita as she impressively flipped his brother around in mid-air with a dazzling Aerialian fighting maneuver. Jeff could be such a fool.... 

Stephanie could hardly stifle the giggle that was building in her throat. Having ringside seats to Ensign Lita smacking Ensign Jeff silly, knowing about his putrid little infatuation-it was just so...so exciting! 

"You're a cold little witch, you know that don't you?" Lt Commander Jericho apparently didn't enjoy her little puppet show. 

"Anything to further the cause of young love." Stephanie replied, her grin wicked, her fingers twitching over the touchpad again. 

The two Aerialians fell to the ground with a painful thud as the gravity inside the holodeck went into severe flux. 

This time, Stephanie laughed freely. 

* * *

DECK 4 

"Ensign Crash, reporting for duty sir." 

"One minute please." The newly promoted Lt. Benoit spoke from behind a cage containing Tarielite Dragons, a particularly nasty brand of fire-breathing, aggressive wildlife. 

The young Houdianian glanced around at the numerous cages in Interstellar Zoology, where an exasperated Dr Taker had sent him after his fumble fingers had caused an injured ensign more pain than necessary. Before his excursion to Sickbay, Lt Rock had declared him too friendly to be in Communications, with the order to go lick a monkey's nipple. Commander Kane had appreciated his amazing speed and escape skills, but felt his small size might have been a disadvantage against larger aliens. Captain McMahon finally had sent him to the research deck. 

"You're a more action-oriented type of ensign." Lt Benoit did not waste time with a friendly greeting. "You might not enjoy the methodical strategies we employ here. It's a very technical job." 

"Sir, I'm eager to learn, and I have a soft spot for animals." Ensign Crash assured him. 

"Such as the waitress species?" Lt Benoit did not crack a grin. 

_What_? Ensign Crash's face felt flaming hot. Was he referring to Miss Chyna? He didn't have a crush on her, merely respected the strong, capable, beautiful waitress. And how could Lt Benoit know anything about anything that went on in the Smackdown? The only thing Ensign Crash knew about Benoit was that he was icy, had been promoted due to being a favorite of the Captain, and was too darn anti-social to even _visit _The Smackdown! 

"Your duties are simple!" Apparently Lt. Benoit's moment of levity had passed. "You will do the legwork on my sea life experiment. The directions are on this padd." 

Ensign Crash expelled air as the pad was shoved stiffly into his chest. 

"If you mess anything up, I will choke you." 

Ensign Crash did not doubt for one minute that the frigid scientist wasn't kidding. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"I have never in my life seen such an undeserving parade of losers in line for a promotion!" Commander McMahon-Helmsley whined, tapping a perfectly manicured fingernail against her padd. "The only one worth a single credit is Ensign Angle!" 

"Ensign Angel is still having tabs from beer cans removed from places he didn't even know he had." Lt Commander Jericho reminded her. "He couldn't exactly cut it with Austin in tactical. Gave him some grief for being a swearing, cursing, alcoholic who wasn't a good role model for all the little ensigns." 

"That filthy drunk should change his behavior." Stephanie shivered, wondering again what hold Austin must have over her daddy to remain in his current position. "I suppose you like those prissy little Aerialians." 

"Ensigns Matt and Jeff have been very successful." Lt Commander Jericho said. "Despite your painfully obvious attempts to sabotage them. I don't suppose this has anything to do with Ensign Jeff's failure to rescue you a few weeks ago?" 

"I am not vengeful." Stephanie said defensively, her fury mounting as she saw the doubtful smirk on Jericho's face. "The only thing that is painfully obvious is your failure to recognize quality in an ensign." 

"Oh I am an expert when it comes to quality." Lt Commander Jericho told her. "I know the difference between a high-priced ho and a common gutter sl-" 

Stephanie's hand was raised when a drop of water splashed on it. She and Jericho both looked up at the ceiling of engineering as a slow trickle of cold liquid began to drip down on their heads. 

* * *

INTERSTELLAR ZOOLOGY 

Ensign Crash had fallen asleep at his station after administering the necessary formulas to the appropriate creatures, setting the atmospheric controls in various cages, and punching in the data for Lt Benoit to view in the morning. Life had become very tiring for him aboard the Titanprize recently, as many crew members still had not forgiven him for the acts of his evil double. Despite the fact that he was not directly responsible for "Roy's" crude and nasty behavior, there were some less than understanding people willing to extract payment from Crash, and that kept him on the run. 

His eyes fluttered open as he felt an unnatural warmth against his cheek. Did Lt Benoit have bad breath or something? Couldn't he trust the ensign with a simple experiment, darn it? Ensign Crash didn't need babysitting, contrary to popular opinion! 

One Houdianian eye met a very large, bloodshot yellow eye. Crash's other eye slid sideways to take in the rest of the Interstellar Zoology. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. 

"Lt Benoit?" Ensign Crash's voice was a shaky whisper. He used only the most sparing movements to tap his comm badge. He didn't want to upset...whatever this was. "Emergency on Deck 4...we have a situation here...." 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I think you could use this after the day you've had." Terri oozed sympathy as she pushed a non-prescription hypospray across the bar to Ensign Jeff. 

"Thanks." Ensign Jeff didn't like to give into pain, but after being dropped to the ground by Stephanie's malicious little gravity prank, he didn't hesitate to push the healing spray into his neck. He felt the soreness in his joints start to ease. "Lita will need one of these too when she shows up. I feel so terrible for her. Commander McMahon has it in for her so bad." 

Terri's face hardened. Was Jeff really that much of a twit? Ensign Lita had been willing to maul him to advance her career, and the Aerialian was playing a role in the red-headed spitfire's sob story. Maybe he didn't have the testicular fortitude to be Wrestlefleet Lieutenant, as their fearless captain might say. 

"Ensign Jeff!" Stephanie's sing-song voice reached his ears, just as the commander perched on the barstool next to him. Her smile was angelic, but Ensign Jeff knew their was a demon behind it, if Lt. Commander Jericho was to be believed. 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley." he said politely, remembering to call her by her married name, just in case Hunter was lurking or she was in a bad mood. 

"Ensign Jeff, I hope you understand about today in the Holodeck." Stephanie said, gesturing for Terri to bring her a synthehol. "My intention wasn't to injure you. It was simply to test your psychological strength and see how you reacted to a sudden change in the dynamics of battle." 

"I understand," Ensign Jeff shifted uncomfortably on his barstool, as Stephanie's lips lingered on her straw, her eyelashes fluttering in his direction. Good lord, was the commander... flirting with him? 

"You were just incredible, really." Stephanie went on. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tori nod at her. 

"Thank-you, Commander." Fortunately, Stephanie couldn't see his ears turning pink underneath his blue and purple hair. "That promotion means a lot to me." 

"Oh you should definitely be rewarded." Stephanie's mouth was touching his before he knew it, kissing him in a fashion that merely proved the rumors about her...experience. 

"Commander McMahon!" Lt Commander Jericho barked over the comm system. "We have an emergency in Engineering. We have some readings here that require your attention!" 

"I'm on my way!" Stephanie tapped her badge and winked at Ensign Jeff. She greeted Ensigns Matt and Lita merrily on her way to the turbolift, wishing she could savor the hateful expression on the female Aerialian's face for just a few moments longer. So jealous, yet so out of touch with her feelings...silly, silly Lita. 

Ensign Jeff was mortified, his face becoming as red as his hair. Lita was glowering at him, and across the room. 

So was Hunter. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Twenty minutes ago, Ensign Crash sent a distress call to Lt Benoit from Interstellar Zoology." Lt Commander Jericho didn't mince words as Stephanie breezed into Engineering. "Since then, we have heard nothing but silence from Deck 4." 

"So?" The commander looked bored. "Send a security team up there or something." 

"Deck 4 has been sealed off." Lt Commander Jericho reported grimly. "Phasers cannot penetrate the force field. Commander Kane is unable to initiate an emergency override." 

"Well this just sucks!" Commander McMahon whined, as something splashed on her head and trickled down her nose, landing on her tongue before she could close her mouth. It was slimey and salty. She gagged. 

"Exactly how I felt when you kissed me." Jericho muttered. 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley! Lt Commander Jericho!" A crew member waved at them frantically. "The warp core!" 

Stephanie and the Y2J Unit sprinted to the pulsing blue gem that powered their ship through space.The sapphire colored light now glowed through a thick coating of mossy fungus. Commander McMahon's face screwed up in disgust as she whipped out her trusty tricorder. 

"It's just plain old Flareite moss." she said as the readings poured out of the tricorder's data chips. "It's decaying at a rapid rate and yet expanding twice as fast as it dies." 

Lt Commander Jericho was scanning with his own two manufactured eyes and his internal computer. "This isn't plain old anything, Stephie. The organic compounds in the moss are using the warp energy as a food source. They are absorbing the energy and slowly choking the core to death." 

Ensign's Matt and Lita had blazed into engineering, having been summoned by a crew member who felt the situation required as many helping hands as necessary. 

"What the hell is that?" Lita asked breathlessly. 

"Flareite moss." Lt Commander Jericho replied. "Only it's alive, going through rapid life cycles, and using the warp core to fuel itself." 

"Effect on the warp core?" Ensign Matt asked. 

"Well, it will either strangle the life out of our precious core and bring the ship to a screeching dead halt, or..." Jericho took a deep breath "....Or the fungus could dissolve the barriers between the matter and anti-matter chambers, triggering a swift, powerful explosion that would blow all our DNA right out of existence." 

"The constant flux in energy could also cause a breech in the containment field, flooding the deck with lethal plasma radiation." Ensign Matt said, his face darkening. "If that happens, the deck would have to sealed off from the rest of the ship." 

"Where did this yucky stuff come from?" Stephanie wailed. 

Ensign Lita didn't bother to hide her eye-rolling as she accessed the ship's information on her tricorder. "Interstellar Zoology on the deck above us. I am getting bizarre bio-readings from that deck, Commander." 

"You don't worry about the zoo upstairs!" Stephanie turned on Lita, hissing like a rattlesnake. "You fix this problem!" Commander McMahon poked a finger in the direction of the molding core. "Lt Commander Jericho and I will attempt a more in-depth scan of Deck 4!" 

All eyes in engineering turned to the metal doors as some...things, heavy and alive, threw themselves against the thick steel, creating massive dents in material that would not normally yield to intense phaser fire. Every single member of Commander McMahon's team drew their weapons as growling straight from the depths of hell set their spines rigid. Whatever it was, it sounded angry, possibly hungry. Lt Commander Jericho was the first to unleash a beam of poisonous light as the metal groaned and splintered apart. Stephanie screamed. Even fearless Ensign Lita screamed.... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"This is exactly why McMahon should let us have weapons." Hunter muttered, one hand braced in a death grip on a lead pipe. He was pressed behind the bar; actually there was a full house behind the bar, as the Smackdown had been...taken over. 

"God I hate spider!" Tori shuddered, pouring fiery Houdinian brandy down her throat to numb her mind to the horror show that was taking place in the ship's "fun spot" It certainly wasn't fun anymore. 

"Spider isn't the damn word for those." Road Dogg said, shaking his head in disbelief. 

Road Dogg was right. It had been a typical night in the Smackdown, drunk guys laughing it up, young couples flirting on the dance floor, until the world had come crashing down around their ears, literally. If it hadn't been real, the Smackdown patrons would have thought they were fully engaged in a bad dream. 

The ceiling had split open like an egg, with human-sized spiders hatching out of it. They were truly grotesque, six feet in height, each with long legs that ended in razor sharp talons. X-Pac had already had an arm pierced and bloodied by one of the arachnids in their successful attempt to drive the crew behind the bar. The appearance of these monsters was not the most frightening part of the whole freakshow… it was the intelligence and purpose behind their behavior. One spider clattered back and forth in front of the bar, as if standing guard, while three other spun gorgeous shimmering webs across the Smackdown's spacious interior. 

"I really regret my no-phaser policy for the Smackdown." Terri said, biting her lip. 

"You should, you skank." Hunter snapped. 

"Er... where did Ensign Jeff go?" Tori's eyes darted back and forth. "Gosh, you don't think those... _things _ate him do you?" 

"I really don't give a damn where Happy Pants Hardy is!" Hunter lashed out. "He should be lunch after the way he tried to play tonsil hockey with my wife! And if those bugs don't snack on him, I will freaking eat him alive!" 

"He really did violate your wife's virtue," Ensign Angle nodded vigorously. "It's true, it's true." 

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so worried about where your wife's lips have been," Terri advised her disgruntled worker. "I'd be more concerned about what those mutant insects plan to trap in those webs..." 

* * *

JEFFRIES TUBE-ABOVE DECK 5 

"And to think, I thought _you_ were the biggest pig alive." Stephanie muttered as she crawled through the Jeffries Tube above Deck 5, which was adjoined to Deck 4, source of the horror that was now taking over the Titanprize. Sweat dampened her hair and pushed a path down her face. The environmental controls had long since gone nuts. 

"Let me repeat this." Lt Commander Jericho moved behind her in the narrow crawlspace. "That was not a pig. That was a mutated Carellian panther with a thirst for blood and some very unfortunate genetic flux going on. And speaking of biggest things, what I've got a view of right now-" 

Commander McMahon twisted around as far as she could and shoved her phaser in Jericho's face. He smiled. 

"Save it for Deck 4 sweets." he told her. 

"If we get there." Stephanie muttered, slithering forward. She pushed at a hatch at the end of their Jeffries tube, cursing in a most unladylike manner when it refused to budge. 

"Damn, you humans are weak." Jericho sighed. "Move it or lose it, and believe me, you could stand to lose 10 or 15 pounds of it." 

Stephanie didn't argue as Jericho manuevered his body around hers; she just sucked in her breath as he brushed against her. It was just so repulsive it took her breath away.... 

"Piece of cake." Jericho carefully slid the metal disc aside, peering into the darkness of the Jeffries tube that stretched out beyond him. He did a visual scan. "Stay on Deck 5 Commander. Don't even think about moving." 

"What?" Stephanie tried to glance over Jericho's shoulder as he plunged into the blackness. "Dammit Chris don't leave me here! You shouldn't go without back-up!" 

Jericho eased himself all the way in, and with reflexes faster than any humans, re-sealed the hatch so Stephanie could not open it. She kicked it in frustration. 

"I hope you get that peach fuzz eaten right off your face." Stephanie muttered spitefully, crawling back towards Deck 5. She froze as she heard a scuttling sound nearby. It sounded animal and it sounded high-velocity as well. Was it in the Jeffries tube with her? She thrust her the beam of her plasma light deep into the void ahead, but could pick up only faint and distorted shadows, shadows that began to take hideous shapes as the fear built up in her blood. 

A scratching noise perked her ears and made the hairs on the back of her neck straighten; an ominous tingling sensation raced down her spine-Oh god, it was in here with her... 

Stephanie dropped her body down a ladder and kicked open a hatch, free-falling to the corridor floor below in her panic. Deck 5 was bathed in pure darkness except for the occassional random pulse of the emergency lighting, although all the commander could see was stars from her tumble. She staggered dizzily to her feet, and shrieked in terror as she came face to face with it! 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"The containment field will break down in 15 minutes if the moss continues to absorb energy at this rate." Ensign Matt declared, glaring at his tricorder. "Bombarding the fungus with highly-charged gamma particles just isn't working. The core won't respond to our power down command. Dammit!" 

"The warp core is too unstable to eject." Ensign Lita shook her head. The frustration was killing her. Either the damn ship was gonna blow or they were all going to be dinner for mutant alien animals shortly. No parts of the ship had been able to sustain communications with another section. Scans worked occasionally, if at all. "We could vent the leaking plasma to an empty deck." 

"It may be our only choice, if the ship doesn't get vaporized first." Matt's smile was downright morbid. 

"Deck 5 is empty." 

"Fine." Ensign Matt glanced at the ship map that was blinking madly along one wall. "Forget Deck 5! Commander McMahon's bio-signal is located there according to this!" 

Ensign Lita looked up. "I didn't see that before." 

Ensign Matt had his doubts. 

* * *

DECK 5-CORRIDOR 

Stephanie was torn between the urge to throw up and the need to pass out cold. Her back was arched against the sealed door between Decks 5 and 6, massive claws impaling the steel behind her. She could have been the star of some primitive Earth horror film, but this was not blood-curdling entertainment-the giant, aggressive chunk of Aerialian sea life that was poised to swallow her in one bite was vividly alive. 

Of course, it would be Aerialian, she thought, peeking out at the hard black eyes that were inches from her face, eyes that possessed a scary amount of expression and intelligence. She swallowed-maybe it was getting revenge on behalf of those slug-like Aerialian ensigns she enjoyed torturing. Wild thoughts raced feverishly through her brain as the thing opened its mouth, revealing long, thin, sword-like teeth hooked together with oozing strands of saliva. The bile rose in her throat. 

"God, just please let Jericho die a death ten times more horrible." she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut and praying it would be a quick end for her. Of all the indignities to suffer through, to be digested by this piece of ocean crud.... 

She waited and waited. She dared to lift an eyelid, only to see the thing be shredded by a disruptor beam. It was a heck of a lot more unpleasant than squishing a bug under one's feet, Stephanie thought queasily. She stepped around the mess and looked up into the hatch she had just exited. Ensign Jeff was hanging precariously from a ladder, though his agile body didn't seem stressed by the contortions it had to go through to get into firing position. 

"Where did you get that weapon?" Stephanie demanded. 

Ensign Jeff sighed as he sprang from the hatch and landed on his feet, cat-like. "The Titanprize seized an alien cargo ship a couple days ago. Commander Kane found it was loaded with illegal weapons. You asked me to bring them to engineering for study after my break today." 

"Oh. " Stephanie frowned. "Well, then why did you disobey my orders and end up in the Jeffries tube?" 

"I figured since my brother and Lita were busy blasting a Carellian panther to bits, it might not be the safest place to be." he replied seriously. 

"You ran like a little chicken then?" Stephanie pressed him 

"I thought I might be more useful somewhere else." Ensign Jeff was beginning to see the light behind Lt Commander Jericho's perpetual hostility towards the Commander. "They had things under control." 

"Well, if you think this sort of blatant sucking up is going to get you anywhere near being a Lieutenant..." Stephanie tossed her hair in a dismissive gesture. 

"Your welcome." Ensign Jeff said with a sigh. 

Commander McMahon wasn't going to waste time trifling with some ensign plagued by a hero complex. She jumped high enough to get a hand around the bottom rung of the ladder and started pulling her body back up into the tube, the only safe place on this damn ship turned zoo. 

Ensign Jeff wrenched at one of her ankles, bringing her back to solid ground in a painful hurry, at the same time firing his disruptor into the black, the stream of deadly radiation flaring so close to her head that she could feel scorching heat on her scalp. Stephanie doubled over and gagged for real as something wet and sticky creeped down Deck 5's wall. 

"Did I mention I was followed?" Ensign Jeff asked, watching his weak-stomached superior officer with amusement. 

"You left that part out." Stephanie groaned, her face chalk-white. "In fact, you left a hell of a lot out." 

Ensign Jeff did not have to ask what she meant, as hissing, writhing snakes that seemed to stretch for a mile into the shadowy hallway moved slowly, lazily towards his feet. Why should they hurry? he thought, reading the empty charge alarm light that winked at him mockingly from the side of the weapon. They have all the time in the world to devour us. 

"Maybe they're not hungry." Stephanie suggested sarcastically, as she kicked her damaged phaser towards the slithering beasts. It didn't even make them flinch. 

Ensign Jeff stepped backwards as more snakes dropped from the hatch, like it was raining these disgusting things, keeping his body between the creatures and his commanding officer... 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Ensign Crash, you better damn well have a good explanation for this, right here, right now!" Captain McMahon was ready to snap, as he stared at the fresh-faced, naive, incompetent little ensign that quivered before him. 

"Sir-I-uh." Ensign Crash was silenced by Lt Benoit slicing his hand across his own throat. 

"It's very simple Captain." Lt Benoit said flatly. "Ensign Crash did nothing wrong. In fact, though I hate to give the boy credit for anything, he saved the ship and the lives of everyone on it." 

"Oh yeah?" Lt Rock stood behind the Captain for this meeting. "Well Lt. Benoit, you got an excuse for this little jabroni, you just....bring it!" 

"I also thought that Ensign Crash had mistakenly introduced a mutating agent to the animal population," Lt Benoit did not seem bothered by Rock's attempts to intimidate him. "However, we were able to sedate a fairly small earth mouse and discovered that a man made genetic virus was the culprit." 

"But who..." Captain McMahon's suspicion was written all over his face as he glared at the two men. 

"I have no idea sir." Lt Benoit's face was usually an impenetrable mask, but a slight twitch revealed his anger at being betrayed. "The virus had been dormant for several weeks, and Interstellar Zoology is not a secure area. In fact, it is an area frequented by alien visitors." 

"And how did your candy asses cure this mickey mouse virus?" Rock demanded. 

"It was simple to engineer another virus that would reverse the effects of the original once we were able to study it." Lt Benoit explained. "However, if we had not been able to catch that mouse, the ship may not have survived. The mutated animals were fortunately more possessed by escaping Deck 4 than with attacking me and the ensign." 

"And once Lt Benoit developed the cure, I was able to sneak into a Jeffries tube and release it through the ventilation system in a spray form." Ensign Crash said proudly. "All the animals have returned to normal and show no ill effects from the disease!" 

"Even the llamas and monkeys?" Rock asked, raising his eyebrow. 

"Ummm....yes sir Lt Rock, sir." Ensign Crash replied. "Even the llamas and monkeys." 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM-3 DAYS LATER 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061258.00. The animal ordeal is over, much to my relief. There were no fatalities among my crew, although there were injuries to many patrons and employees of the Smackdown. Commander Kane is investigating the sabotage with grave seriousness, after all, the virus could have been made to infect humans.... 

Captain McMahon re-read the data from the padd that had been dropped off to him earlier that day, as if trying to convince himself he was seeing correctly. 

"Stephanie has recommended that Ensign Jeff Hardy be given the promotion to Lieutenant. I must admit, this does not gel with the evaluations I had been given all week by my daughter, which described the ensign as a lazy, lecherous Aerialian lout. I suppose the fact that Ensign Angle, her pet ensign, is in Sickbay recovering from a particularly nasty spider bite might have some bearing on the decision. Lt Comander Jericho was pleased by this information, although I couldn't judge whether he smiled more about Ensign Jeff's good news or Ensign Angle being bit on the backside as he had tried to run away from an over-sized arachnid..." 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	27. Season 4 Episode 8 Mirror, Mirror

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 8

Creator's Note: With Season 4, I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra 

****

WRESTLE TREK 

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 8: MIRROR, MIRROR 

By: [X-C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061275.00. This message is to be encrypted, Priority Command McMahon, Vincent Kennedy, Security Level Alpha 7. En route from Starbase 50549 following an investigation of the recent sabotage attempts on the TitanPrize, Commander Kane and the ShuttleCraft Tombstone have disappeared from Federation space. Long-range scans by Lt Commander Jericho have picked up a slight quantum flux at the last known coordinates of the Tombstone." 

Captain McMahon looked into the vastness of space that stretched beyond his oval window, wondering where among the stars and cosmic debris his Chief of Security might be held. It had to be a criminal attack; people simply didn't blink out of existence.... 

"I have appointed Lieutenant Bradshaw to Kane's post. I have also been instructed to assemble an away team consisting of my daughter, Commander McMahon-Helmsley, Lt Commander Jericho, and the newly promoted Lieutenant Hardy. They will take a shuttlecraft to the last known location of the Tombstone and conduct an in-depth search and scan of the surrounding space." 

Captain McMahon's face darkened like a storm cloud.   
  
"Wrestlefleet has told me of their suspicions, suspicions I am not at liberty to repeat on this frequency. If they have any merit whatsoever, God help my daughter, god help us all..." 

He closed his log book and prepared a brief for the top secret Wrestlefleet Mission he was about to sacrifice three of his finest young officers to, a brief he would deliver in a few short hours. Two words rang ominously through the captain's mind. 

Suicide mission.   


* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT- DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL 

"It's rather ironic, when you think about it." Lt Commander Jericho kept a perfectly straight face as his fingers flew over the navigational controls of Stephanie's prized and prissy pink shuttlecraft. 

"What's rather ironic?" Stephanie looked bored as she blew on freshly painted fingernails. 

"Well...last week you were almost killed." the Y2J Unit reminded her. "By a giant crab." 

Lieutenant Hardy started choking violently, his efforts to suppress laughter at his commanding officer's expense wholly unsuccessful. 

Stephanie whipped her head around, her eyes like phaser fire. "Do you have something to add Ensign Hardly?" 

"Er, no ma'am." 

"He's a lieutenant by the way." Jericho said. "You recommended his promotion after he saved that sizeable backside of yours from an angry Aerialian....did I mention that was a crab?" 

"You are hereby ordered to stow it, Lt Commander Jericho." Stephanie sulked. Idiots. She was forever being surrounded by idiots. Not even attractive idiots. "And you Lt. Hardly-if you even breathe loudly, I will demote you so fast your rainbow head will positively spin." 

Jericho turned and winked at the young lieutenant. "PMS you know." 

Lt Hardy had to admit, he marvelled at the blatant disrespect Jericho showed for Commander McMahon-Helmsley. What was even more startling was that the Y2J Unit never spent any time in the brig, nor had he been stripped of rank, despite Stephanie's constant threats to do both. 

"I wish I knew what this whole mission was about." Stephanie said with a sigh. "I wasn't even allowed to tell Hunter about it, and all we're doing is rescuing that big red retard Kane." 

"You don't tell Hunter about the young ensigns you break in either." Lt Commander Jericho said dryly. "What's the big deal?" 

"I think Commander McMahon-Helmsley is right." Lt Hardy piped in. "If this is a simple retrieval operation, why can't I even give my own brother a single detail? I think I hurt his feelings." 

"My word, you are a twit Hardly." Stephanie shook her head. "Rule number one-if you wanna rise to the top of Wrestlefleet, you can't concern yourself with insignificant details like people's...feelings." 

"And Stephanie Rule Number Two." Jericho added. "You can always get more work done on your back." 

Stephanie suddenly felt overheated, her blood boiling in her veins. "YOU WILL NOT INSULT ME IN FRONT OF AN INFERIOR OFFICER, YOU LOUD-MOUTHED, FOUL, SMIRKING-" 

"Commander McMahon-Helmlsey!" Jeff's voice shrilled in her ear. "There is a severe quantum flux off our starboard bow! It's increasing in intensity by a factor of ten every second!" 

"Ensign Hardy, I suggest you shut that damn trap of yours!" Stephanie snapped, unable to reign in her fiery temper. 

"He's right." Lt Commander Jericho's eyes were riveted by the screens in front of him. "The amount of quantum flux being read by our scanners indicates an incredible temporal distortion." 

"A wormhole?" But even as she was reading the bizarre data being spit out at her, Stephanie knew a mere wormhole could not tear space-time apart like this. 

"No." Lt Hardy shook his head. "The gravitational pull is too powerful. I cannot reverse the direction of the shuttlecraft-we're going in." 

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Stephanie murmured in awe, as the fabric of space-time began to unravel before all their very eyes. Pale blue streams of liquid light flowed outwards from a glittering violet cloud that seemed vibrant with an infinite amount of stars and translucent all at once. The sky itself began to bend and roll in massive waves towards the shuttlecraft, crests of yellow radiation splashing in the blackness. 

"Clearly, the viewscreen is not a mirror." Jericho commented as he diverted all non-essential power to the shields. The reverse thrusters simply didn't contain enough power to battle the immense gravity that was sucking them towards the distortion's event horizon. 

"Will we be destroyed?" she asked, ignoring his comment... for now. 

"Possibly the shuttlecraft will be crushed by the intense pressure of gravity." Jericho replied matter of factly. "Possibly we will be thrown into a temporal loop that we'll be stuck in for eternity." 

"Do you have any _good_ possibilities?" Stephanie demanded. "Because the last thing I want is to spend forever with you two losers." 

Dizziness washed over the three, preventing Jericho's sarcasm from seeing the light of day. The shuttlecraft was pulled into a tight death spiral as the gravity of the distortion claimed it, Lt Hardy's head banging against the metal wall and knocking him cold as the ship lurched violently. Stephanie felt a sharp dagger of pain slice through her ribcage as the internal gravity failed and she was impaled on a shard of steel that was torn loose from the control panel, her lifeblood oozing out as the blackness creeped into her head... 

* * *

UNKNOWN SHUTTLECRAFT-UNKNOWN SECTOR OF SPACE 

"Captain Jericho?" 

The voice, coated in a slow southern drawl, seemed to be coming from a million miles away. Stephanie's hand moved slowly to her chest, where just seconds ago she had felt a piece of the ship pierce her heart, allowing her one last breath to realize she was going to die... 

"Captain Jericho? Are you asleep?" 

A hand touched her shoulder. She flinched awake and stared into the concerned eyes of Ensign Matt Hardy. Ensign Matt Hardy? Where was Lt Commander Jericho, who had been at the helm with her? Where was that damn rainbow-haired lieutenant? 

"Matt?" Stephanie blinked in disbelief as she gazed out the viewscreen. The shuttlecraft, which was curiously un-pink, was being drawn into the TitanPrize shuttlebay by a tractor beam. The pearly gray skin of the mighty ship was streaked with black burn marks, mangled strips of metal dangling from various decks. The forward nacelles were blown wide open, Wrestlefleet personnel hovering around them in open space, tethered to the ship with thick black wires. It looked like a war-torn relic, and it was clamped to a Starbase to boot. 

"The TitanPrize...." 

"I can assure you Captain, repairs are going as quickly as greased lightning. The TitanPrize needs to be at the front in a matter of days." Lt Commander Hardy said. 

The front? Stephanie rubbed her eyes. The front of what? And dear lord, how far had the standards of Wrestlefleet fallen? The stars on Hardy's uniform indicated he was a fully decorated Lieutenant Commander. 

"Did you just call me Captain Jericho?" she asked, suddenly realizing what had just come out of the young man's lips. 

"Aye sir." Matt grinned. "I know you and Commander Jericho argued your heads off about whether _you_ should be Captain Jericho or _he_ should be Commander McMahon, but in the end, you were just an old-fashioned girl." A quizzical frown flitted across his features. "You do remember that, don't you? You took an awful bump during the battle at Carrelia 8. Maybe you should have your head examined again." 

Stephanie waited for Jericho's witty retort, but there was silence. Where was he? 

"I'm fine Lieutenant." she mumbled. Stephanie was totally unsure as to whether she should play along in this twisted little drama. She looked behind her-young Jeff was crumpled in a heap, a scar across his forehead, his hand gripping an injured side where his uniform was soaked with blood. "Jeff? Tell me you're going to live." 

"Jeff?" Matt eyes doubled in size. 

Lt. Hardy groaned and pulled himself into a sitting position, cringing as burning pain seared his gut. He almost fainted as the interior of the shuttlecraft spun around him. "Matt?" 

Lt Commander Matt Hardy promptly passed out cold. 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-UNKNOWN SECTOR OF SPACE 

"We don't need a babysitter, Ensign Hardy." Stephanie's exasperation was mounting as Matt lead her and Lt. Jeff through Deck 9, which housed the crew's quarters. "Jeffrey and I know this ship like the backs of our hands." 

"I'm sorry." Lt Commander Matt didn't sound too darn sorry. "But you did try to impersonate Captain Jericho, right up until a bio-scan revealed your quantum signature didn't belong to our little pocket of space-time. Hard to trust someone who does that." 

"Well pardon the hell out of me." Stephanie hissed at him. "I've never been to a parallel universe before-I'm not familiar with the etiquette!" 

"It's not a parallel universe exactly." Lt Commander Hardy corrected her, as he stopped before one of the doors, opening it with a few taps on a control panel. "This is just one of the many multi-verses that inhabit the fabric of space-time. It happened to be connected to yours through a temporal distortion, and it also happens to run parallel to the universe you originated from." 

Jeff felt comforted that his "brother" seemed to know so much about the complex subject of space-time travel. Surely it meant he and Stephanie could be sent back to their own universe. "Can you transport us back to our TitanPrize?" 

"These will be your quarters." Matt gestured to a basic, nearly spartan room, his eyes avoiding Jeff almost willfully. In fact, he seemed to cringe whenever Lt Hardy opened his mouth. "You will not leave until further notice. I hate to do this but....not all the visitors that come through the temporal distortion are friendly." 

Stephanie refused to budge from the hallway, a hallway that was eerily quiet. "You didn't answer Lt Hardy's question." she said quietly. "Can you send us back?" 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley." Lt Commander Hardy clearly had trouble turning the phrase. "I'm sorry. We can't spare the ships to even attempt to send you back. Furthermore, we don't have possession of the technology. If your people have it, fine, let them come and get you. As of now, you will remain here until the acting captain determines whether you would be fit to join the crew." 

"Where is this Captain Jericho?" Stephanie asked, not exactly eager to confront this double of hers, a double which had apparently attached itself to that freakish bot. 

"I fear she became trapped in the distortion when the arrival of your ship created a massive flux in space-time." Matt explained calmly. "And no, we don't have the means to free her either. If she gets out, it'll be luck. Captain Rikishi will brief you when he's ready." 

"Wait!" Commander McMahon-Helmsley wailed. "Can't I at least have my own quarters?" 

Jeff rolled his eyes. Only Stephanie. If only Jericho had been here to appreciate the little tantrum. A pair of crewmen brushed by him, the blood draining from their faces, their stares so open it was disconcerting. Their eyes lingered on Lt. Hardy until they disappeared into a turbolift. 

"Considering how many soldiers we have living aboard the TitanPrize, that is not an option." Lt Commander Matt cracked a smile at the frivolous little commander. "You're lucky you're not staying in one of our fine suites in the brig." 

Stephanie wanted to weep as the doors swept shut, sealing her and the Aerialian Liuetenant even deeper inside this horrible, completely luxury-free little universe from hell. "You're sleeping on the sofa, Hardly." 

"What do you know?" Jeff grinned at her. He'd taken about enough of her abuse, and if they were now on equal footing here...."The Stephanie from this universe has made all your secret fantasies about Lt Commander Jericho come true!" 

Stephanie wiped the grin of Lt Hardy's face, punching him in his sore stomach, thankful that the Sickbay in this universe did not have such powerful painkillers... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN-PARALLEL UNIVERSE 

Lieutenant Hardy could have heard a pin drop as he entered the Smackdown, and not because it was half-empty either. Eyes locked with his and then dropped to the floor quickly, whispers dropped a notch in volume, faces paled. He and Stephanie had been freed days ago and been given the rank of ensign, but there were few TitanPrize officers that would speak to Jeff unless they absolutely had to... 

"I really should thank Captain Rikishi for letting me out of that hellhole." The now-Ensign Jeff dropped into a chair across his "brother", smiling. As usual, Matt would not smile at him. "Sharing a bathroom with Stephie was like torture." 

Lt Commander Hardy stared into his drink, as if the foam held some deep secrets about the meaning of life. "Captain Rikiski would like to know about your universe's encounters with the Nytron." 

"Nytron?" Ensign Jeff laughed. "They're incompetent little rebels on the border of federation space. They have no sense of organization, no sense of direction, and lack the weapons to do any damage to Wrestlefleet, as they so desire. They mounted a revolution not too long ago, but were driven back by the WWF TitanPrize, their ships seized and stripped. Several Nytrons were executed as an example to anyone who might attempt such a rebellion in the future." 

"My god." Lt Commander Hardy shook his head in disbelief. 

"You're fighting a war with the Nytron, aren't you?" Ensign Jeff asked bluntly. 

"I'm afraid so." Matt replied sadly. "Guess we're a little transparent here." 

"I just know you big brother." Ensign Jeff explained, with a wistful smile. 

"I am not your big brother." Matt's voice grew rock hard and frigid. "You ain't nothing but a Wrestlefleet officer from another universe who just happens to share my brother's DNA." 

Ensign Jeff could only blink. 

"Our battles with the Nytron have not been as successful as yours." Matt continued on as if the awkward exchange had not happened. "This is the last free sector of Wrestlefleet space left, and we are in danger of losing it." 

"How could the Nytron dominate like you this?" Ensign Jeff nodded gratefully at the waitress who set an Aerialian cocktail in front of him. 

"To make a long story short, one day they discovered how to create artificial temporal distortions more powerful than wormholes." Lt Commander Hardy said flatly. "After all, wormholes can only take you from Point A to Point B in space. A temporal distortion of a certain magnitude can send you to other multi-verses." 

"Wrestlefleet couldn't steal the technology?" Ensign Jeff could not grasp the reality of his federation having such incompetent intelligence. 

Matt shook his head. "You have to understand, my Wrestlefleet considers it unethical and dangerous to tamper with space-time; we would never even approach such an anamoly if we came across it. The Nytron kept their discovery a secret, as well as their discovery of how to manipulate distortions and wormholes already in existence." 

What did they use them for?" Ensign Jeff was starting to feel ill, as he already knew the logical answer. 

"They travelled to other universes, stealing advanced technology, pressing citizens of unprepared worlds into military service." Lt Commander Hardy explained. "By the time they began the war against Wrestlefleet, their power was so awesome, there was little or nothing we could do to stop it. When we found a counter for one type of attack, they either compensated quickly or had another little gem of a weapon up their sleeve." 

"This final stand then..." Ensign Jeff frowned. "It's a losing battle right?" 

"Certainly." Matt shrugged the impending doom off, but then for him, it was an everyday fact of life. "If they catch you, you will either be summarily executed or, if you're a good enough soldier, pressed into service for their side." 

Ensign Jeff was certain he was inside a nightmare. "I guess if you're lucky, you get the chance to turn your phaser on yourself." 

"Right." Matt smiled, but it was a forced one. "Official Wrestlefleet policy is to now kill yourself before you allow Supreme Commander Russo to get his hands on you." 

Supreme Commander Russo? Jeff pushed his drink away. Wrestlefleet, _his_ Wrestlefleet had imprisioned that snivelling, traitorous bastard months ago, after yet another failed Nytron coup. "Matt?" 

Lt Commander Matt was rising from his chair. "I suggest you start referring to me as Lt Commander Hardy, Ensign. This is still Wrestlefleet." 

"Lt Commander Hardy then." Ensign Jeff sighed. "What happened to me...here?" 

"Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Hardy, Special Ops, died in the line of duty six months ago." Matt said, keeping his voice neutral, although his eyes glistened underneath a thin layer of moisture. "The Nytron had tried to blow up our Warp Core with a specially made explosive device-a bomb that was triggered by the mixing of matter and anti-matter. It couldn't be transported out of Engineering without exploding, so my stupid noble brother took it aboard a shuttlecraft. The device blew before we could transport Jeff out of the ship, and....well....he didn't suffer." 

Ensign Jeff remained silent as Matt walked away from the table. No wonder everyone reacted to him as if they had seen a ghost. They had. 

* * *

COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTER'S-PARALLEL UNIVERSE 

Stephanie was chilled as she stood outside of Commander Jericho's quarter's on Deck 9, literally. Due to the war, the TitanPrize powered down at nightfall, diverting energy away from the environmental controls and funneling it to Shields and Weapons. The civilian pajamas that everyone wore were also dreadfully plain-she was thankful nobody in her universe could see her so unfashionably dressed. 

She took a deep breath and fingered the button on the control panel that would announce her presence. She had to know....had to meet this Jericho... 

"Come!" Same cocky voice anyways. 

Stephanie stepped inside the room, and breathed a sigh of relief. Now this, this was more like it. Superior officers, even in a time of war, had well-decorated quarters with soft lighting, plush furniture, and little personal touches that made it seem like home. Her eyes fell on a picture of her, no not her, this universe's Stephanie and Commander Jericho on what was clearly their wedding day. Dear Lord. 

Commander Jericho was seated on a sofa, working at a padd that rested on a glossy, marble-topped table. "Stephanie?" His smile was amused. "Where did you get those unfortunate pj's?" 

"I-uhhh" Jericho wore more stylish, silvery colored sleepwear, his top left open down to his navel. Stephanie shivered. _Even the fake Y2J Unit disgusts me to no end_, she told herself. 

"Well I guess it never hurts to try something...new." He studied her intently. "Though I don't get why you felt you had to knock." 

Stephanie heart sank to the bottom of her slippers. He thought she was Capatin Jericho. His wife. But how.....Then she remembered what Captain Rikishi had told her. Chris had been away at another Starbase repairing Wrestlefleet warships, called away because he was the brilliant Chief of Engineering on the TitanPrize. Rikishi had no intention of briefing anyone he didn't have to about the arrival of the parallel universe Wrestlefleet officers, in a time of war, they were lucky to get any soldiers they could get. Besides, the arrival of people through the temporal distortions that plagued this universe was no longer shocking. 

And she had also been warned to stay away from Commander Jericho when he arrived that night, at least until Rikishi had found the appropriate time to inform him of his wife's fate....after all, this Jericho also tended to be highly emotional and hot-tempered, and the acting captain didn't want to send Chris over the deep end. 

"Credit for your thoughts, Stephie." Jericho was arching an eyebrow at her. 

"How did the repairs go?" she asked casually, pushing her hair out of her eyes and sinking onto the couch next to him. She wasn't going to toy with him of course. This wasn't the Jericho that had enraged her for so long.... 

"Fine." Jericho pushed the padd aside. "Now I can worry about getting the TitanPrize back into battle. Where have you been? I thought you would've been waiting here with open arms." 

"Uhhhh..." Stephanie blushed furiously. This was getting out of hand. "I was on a walk. You know, thinking about things." 

"I see." He grinned, touching her hair. She froze, not wanting to seem rude by just jerking away. "Not only are you a Jerichoholic, you're also a workaholic too." 

"You must be tired." Stephanie inched backwards, until her back hit a pile of cushions. Where was that dopey twit Lt Hardy when a girl needed him? A few days ago, he was tagging after her like a puppy dog to keep her out of trouble, at Lt Commander Hardy's request. Apparently, Matt wasn't as dumb as he looked. 

Jericho laughed, and not that mocking, snide little laugh that used to set her teeth on edge. "Not that tired, Steph. What is it with you and this little game of playing hard to get?" 

Game. Oh man, if Hunter could see her now, he'd toss Jericho out an airlock, parallel Y2J or not. She did have a husband after all, although he seemed like such a distant memory when Jericho's lips were so agonizingly close to hers.... 

"What's the matter with you Stephanie?" The way Jericho was looking at her, it made her almost want to laugh out loud, wondering what the real Y2J would look like in this cozy situation...almost. "You kiss me like it's our first kiss or something." 

"I'm sorry." Hunter was far away, everything real was possibly lost in an unreachable string of space-time. "I've just waited for this for so long." 

"I've only been gone three days Stephie." 

What Jericho didn't know wouldn't hurt him. 

* * *

ENGINEERING-PARALLEL UNIVERSE 

"Ugh, how tacky." Stephanie muttered, as she took her seat at an engineering console next to Ensign Jeff's. "I'm wearing the same outfit as you Jeffrey." 

"We're stuck in a war we can't win, and you're worried about a little social mistake?" Jeff just shook his head and focused on his data, or at least he tried to focus. Stephanie was grinning like a fool next to him, and his eyes were seeking out something, someone that he had no reasonable right to expect to be there. 

"Looking for Lita?" Stephanie's goofball smile took on a nasty edge. 

"No." Jeff's face flushed crimson. "Just seeing who else from our TitanPrize has a parallel. Would you believe Christian is our superior officer here?" 

"Truly I wouldn't." Stephanie frowned at her monitors. "This sucks. I should be running this place, not analyzing teeny tiny little fluctuations around the disruption like a common ensign." 

"God forbid you should work at something that could get us home rather than be in a position of power." Jeff said, his tone dry. "And newsflash Stephanie-you are a lowly ensign." 

"Captain?" 

Stephanie's neck snapped up so fast she thought for a moment she had given herself whiplash. Commander Jericho was gawking at her, at her lowly ensign's uniform. She wished a black hole could have opened up beneath her station and swallowed her whole. 

"Chris..." 

Lt Commander Hardy had followed on Jericho's heels and was glaring at her so hard his gaze could have burned a hole through her chest. "That is not Captain Jericho, sir. That is Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, a visitor from a parellel universe. She and Ensign Jeff there came through the temporal distortion a few days ago." 

Jericho eyed Jeff uneasily as he scanned Stephanie with his tri-corder. Indeed, her quantum signature did not belong here. His hand was trembling so hard he could barely holster his tri-corder. "Where is my wife, Lt Commander Hardy?" 

Matt gulped. "I'm-I'm sorry, sir. Your wife became trapped in the distortion when their shuttlecraft came through. As far as we can tell, she's caught in a temporal loop and will probably only be freed if their people come to rescue them." 

Commander Jericho stared at his wife's double, but his eyes flared with such fire that it was hard to rate his level of anger. Matt could only guess at what damage Ensign McMahon had caused impersonating Captain Jericho. 

"Shall I have her placed in the brig, sir?" he asked. 

"No." Jericho's voice was icier than a glacier. "We can't afford to have someone with engineering experience out of commission, even if that person is a filthy, dirty, nasty, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho." 

Stephanie felt a pang of homesickness. 

Jericho wheeled out of Engineering. Lt Commander Matt glowered at her. 

"Damn," Ensign Jeff shook his head at her. "You _are_ a slut, aren't you?" 

Stephanie pouted and stared straight ahead, disappointed that Jeff Hardy wasn't quite as naive as he looked... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061283.00. It has been four days since my daughter and her away team were pulled into the temporal distortion. Lt Commander Jericho re-emerged on this side of the anamoly in Stephanie's shuttlecraft, apparently due to a bizarre quantum flux during entry. Truth be told, I don't care why he ended up here, my only concern is bringing my little darling home to the TitanPrize." 

Captain McMahon pursed his lips, wondering if he should plunge ahead. To hell with it. 

"Lt Commander Jericho has proven most useful in studying the distortion, and his readings have confirmed the suspicions of Wrestlefleet. An unknown alien race in another universe has access to dangerous temporal technology. For whatever reason, they have chosen not to emerge in this universe." 

A quick beeping noise alerted him to a visitor. 

"Come." 

The door silently slipped open and Ensign Lita and that damned Hunter Hearst Helmsley tumbled through in their efforts to get to him first. 

"What the hell is going on?" Captain McMahon demanded. 

"My apologies sir." Lita gasped, out of breath. "Lt Commander Jericho has discovered something of importance and sent me to tell you, so he could continue his work." 

"And what do you want?" Vince nailed Hunter with a hard glare. His daughter wanted to marry a lowly rebel turned waiter, fine. When that lowlife barged in on him during a time of crisis, that was a whole different game, so to speak. 

"Jericho has the answers to getting Hardy and my wife out." Hunter snapped back. "And I damn well want to be in on it." 

"It's risky." Lita said quickly. "Lt Commander Jericho has seen a pattern to the fluctuations of the distortion. They are small and slowing down, as if the aliens want to close it off to our universe." 

"Why don't those damn aliens just come through?" Captain McMahon asked gruffly. He didn't respect an enemy that hid like a coward, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. 

"It's possible that despite their advances in space-time travel, their weapons can't compare to ours." Lita offered. "But we can't know for sure. What we do know is that we need to take a shuttle in there immediately and cause the distortion to widen so that Commander McMahon-Helmsley and Lt Hardy can return with us." 

"I want the damn thing shut when it's over." Captain McMahon ordered. 

"Sir....Jericho has found a ship of a different quantum signature inside the distortion, along with the Tombstone. Both ships seem to be caught in a loop. To free Commander Kane and to bring Stephanie and Jeff back through, we'd need to sacrifice the other universe's ship." Lita waited, wondering if Captain McMahon would really go that far.... 

"Explain." he said tersely. 

"If we directed our phasers at the parallel ship's warp core, we could trigger a massive matter anti-mattter explosion that would enlarge the distortion rapidly, sort of like the death of a giant star." Lita told him. "As the matter cooled, the distortion would collapse and be sealed off forever." 

"So what you're saying is..." Captain McMahon formed a tent with his hands, as if he were deep in thought. "Stephanie and Jeff would need to realize immediately that they were supposed to come through the rift, assuming they even could." 

"Yes." Lita nodded. "I volunteer myself to pilot the shuttle." 

"I just bet you do." Hunter muttered. "I bet you'd love to accidentally seal the rift before my wife came through. I'm on to you, you little Aerialian bi-" 

"I assume _you_ want to be on the shuttle?" Vince directed the question at Hunter. 

"I want to pilot it." Hunter said firmly. "You know my history-I don't follow the Wrestlefleet school of flight. I can send that shuttle into the rift easy and blow that other ship out of the sky." 

Captain McMahon pondered for several seconds. Could Hunter be trusted on this mission, even if his wife's safety was at stake? He did have a selfish streak a mile long. Then again, as a renegade, Hunter had been a skilled, daredevil pilot and a mean shot with a photon torpedo. He levelled his gaze at both. 

"Ensign Lita, you will be on board the Shuttlecraft Jakked for engineering purposes. Hunter, you will pilot the craft. And I expect you to put personal differences aside-there's just too damn much at stake for petty bickering." 

"Aye sir." Ensign Lita nodded. She would not dare sabotage Stephanie's chances of making it over, not when she knew Jeff would be on a shuttlecraft with the little tart. 

* * *

HOLODECK 4-PARALLEL UNIVERSE 

Stephanie knew the planet well; it existed in her own universe. It was Marek-5, small, rocky, and lashed by brutal mountain winds and fierce thunderstorms. As a member of this universe's sprawling Nytron Empire, it was also gutted with massive bomb craters, cliffs had been shorn off by powerful lasers that didn't exist in her world, puddles of toxic chemicals oozed at her feet, smoke floating on their polluted surfaces. 

"I don't understand how this is supposed to help me, Commander Jericho." 

"You've been driving the crew nuts asking what happened to the Vincent K McMahon of this universe." Jericho said. "Aboard this TitanPrize, we keep our history through holographic logs maintained in tiny dilithium crystal chambers that are difficult to destroy. The Nytron have become skilled at breaking our coded data, so this is the only way our past can live on." 

The gusts of air were biting through her ensign's uniform. "Pretty soon, the past is all Wrestlefleet will have isn't it?" 

So...the young ensign knew about the Nytron sphere that would intercept the TitanPrize in 5 hours and 7 minutes, a sphere so thickly shielded that the still unrepaired ship could not determine how much of an aresnal it was packing. Three shuttlecraft had already attempted to pierce the protective layer around the massive Nytron vessel, only to have their photon torpedos deflected back in their faces. The final showdown would indeed be be Wrestlefleet's last stand, barring a miracle. 

"We don't have much time to waste." Commander Jericho wasn't fond of the deceitful twit he had brought to the Holodeck, but there was no need to press the point that she was going to die in a time and place not her own, for a purpose she had no passion for, no reason to lose her life for...."The men walking towards us are Admiral McMahon and Captain Taker, formerly of the WWF TitanPrize. McMahon had suspected the captain of sharing secrets with the Nytron and betraying the federation. Taker was being transported to Starbase 666 to stand trial for treason when the shuttlecraft crashed on Marek-5, killing the two ensign pilots instantly. " 

Stephanie watched her "father" stagger to a rock and lean against it, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his face bruised, his proud admiral's uniform torn. Despite a severe limp, the near seven foot tall form of Captain Taker still intimidated. 

"Commander Jericho." She turned to face him. "I hope you'll accept my apology...for the way I lied to you." Stephanie practically choked on the words. 

"Ensign McMahon-Helmsley." the Commander sighed. "There's really no time for this..." His voice trailed off and a sad smile crossed his handsome face. "Besides, you just look too damn much like her for me to stay angry. As long as I can look at your face, she's not really dead, you know?" 

Stephanie nodded. He had accepted that her double was forever trapped in the temporal loop and moved on. It was war, it was the end; there was no other way. 

"I hope the Jericho in your time appreciates you as much I appreciated my Stephanie." 

Stephanie regretted the laugh that burst from deep inside her, it just seemed so damn insensitive. "Forgive me, Commander. In my universe, Jericho and I, well we...I just totally lo- hate the guy! We're always at odds, if you know what I mean?" 

Jericho nodded. "I think I do. I'll leave you to this. Don't take too long-you'll be needed on the bridge soon." 

"Dammit Taker, just finish this." Stephanie spun around as her "father's" voice labored to get words of anger and rage out. "Take that phaser and just shoot me to hell! Come on dammit! Don't you have the grapefruits to burn a whole in your superior officer, or are you just a coward who can only sell out Wrestlefleet to those time-travelling bastards?" 

Taker's smile curdled the blood. "Your time to rest in peace will come Admiral." He spat McMahon's rank out, like it tasted bad. "Truth be told, you old dried up son of a bitch, I should one day meet you in hell for your sins against me..and against my family." 

"You stay away from her after I die, damn you!" Vince growled, animal-like. "You've got no right-" 

"I have every right." Taker was so cool, his words could have been coated in ice. 

"You're a traitor." The admiral was mortally wounded, blood trickling out from between his lips as he spoke, every breath grating on damaged lungs. "You've stabbed everything we were taught to believe in the back. All you've got in your blood is pure....evil." 

"And so it is in her blood." Taker smiled down at his falling adversary. "That's the problem with you Wrestlefleet lackeys-you just believe everything they cram down your damn throat, like it's the gospel truth. All your loyal soldiers are going to die Vince-the supremacy of the Nytron Empire is inevitable." 

"She may share your blood, Captain." McMahon was gasping his words out now; drowning on blood that was filling his chest. "But Stephanie will never surrender the TitanPrize, not while she's alive." 

"If you have corrupted her that much, Vince..." Taker unholstered a weapon Stephanie had never seen before. "Then so be it." 

It was a disruptor-type beam, she thought mechanically, her mind powering down as the un-reality she was in took a tragic turn. She could tell by the way it vaporized her...."daddy" from the inside out. She screamed, stumbling back, away from the holographic horror that was taking place before her, that would always take place, as long as the moment was crystallized in a tiny chamber that could never be crushed. 

She hit a wall of flesh. "Hardly?" Stephanie's eyes blazed. "How long have you been standing there?" 

"I, um, well." Ensign Hardy sighed. "Whatever happens here, Stephanie, it never happened in our universe." 

The last thing she needed was comfort from this blathering, naive little Aerialian twit. "And what happened to you, Lieutenant?" 

"I died." 

"Oh." Stephanie shrugged as she brushed past him. "Pity then, that incidents in this universe didn't carry over into ours." She gave him a chilly smile. "See you on the bridge." 

Ensign Jeff's hand twitched on his phaser, the knowledge that all weapons were set to kill during wartime the only thing stopping him.... 

* * *

THE BRIDGE-PARALLEL UNIVERSE 

"Oh that's sooo pretty." Stephanie gushed, admiring the steel band that was cuffed around one of Lt Commander Matt Hardy's muscular arms. Her eyes lingered on the glowing blue oval that shimmered at its center. "What is it?" 

Matt jerked his arm away. "I dare say you've touched quite enough on this ship, Ensign McMahon-Helmsley." 

Ensign Hardy smothered a grin. "If I'm not mistaken, that's a transporter device of some sort." 

"Correct." Lt Commander Matt felt a rush of pride that turned into stomach-twisting pain. He had always been so proud of his kid brother, even for something so small as merely catching on to a new technology he'd never seen before. It had been so long since he had felt anything about Jeff, but this wasn't Jeff, just a stranger with his brother's face. 

"Where are you going?" Stephanie demanded. 

Normally Matt couldn't answer a question like that, but with Wrestlefleet about to fall into the abyss..."It's an extremely compact but high-powered personal transporter. It will take me into the Nytron sphere, where I will infect the mainframe with nanites, nanites that will trigger the self-destruct program aboard the vessel." 

"Oh golly." Stephanie groaned. "Nanites." The image of the black-eyed Y2J Nanite was fresh in her mind. 

"They've proven troublesome in the past." Lt Commander Hardy admitted. "But the dynamics of this war have given us no choice. We've studied the Nytron shield technology for years now, thinking that the way to beat them would be to disable their protection, leaving them vulnerable to our weapons. However....we can only create a window large enough for a single person, and now, that's me." 

"You're not coming back, are you?" Ensign Jeff felt his throat start to close. God, his eyes were starting to water. 

Lt Commander Hardy's bleak expression was the only answer they needed. 

"Lt Commander Hardy!" Captain Rikishi shouted to him from the big chair. "Boy, you about ready to back that ass up or what?" 

"Aye sir." Matt grinned. Even with impending doom staring them in the face, the captain maintained his sense of humor. 

"Nytron sphere is within visual range." Lieutenant Angle barked from the helm. "It's true, it's true!" 

Stephanie knew she could concentrate on the engineering station she and Jeff manned, but she faced the viewscreen anyway. Oh my....The entire sphere, still at a distance from the ship, consumed the entire scene; one could not even see the star-dotted space behind it. The Nytron vessel was made of a midnight-gray material that could not be scratched by the weapons being fired by Starbase gunners-phaser fire just raked the shielding and amounted to nothing. Cries of "zero damage" rang out through the bridge. Lights from every color of the spectrum blinked on the dark surface of the sphere, a red seam of chemical fire blazing around the equator of the super-massive vehicle of destruction. 

"So that's what the Grim Reaper looks like." Ensign Hardy was enthralled too. 

"We're in transporter range, son." Commander Bradshaw banged down a beer can on his tactical console. "The window is opening.. Captain! The TitanPrize is within weapon's range-firing on your command." 

Ensign Jeff watched the Lieutenant Commander reach for his specially designed transporter band. He felt his chest tighten. Suicide mission. 

"He's not your real brother, you freakin' marshmellow." Stephanie rolled her eyes at him. 

It felt like an earthquake, spinning the ship at least 360 degrees, only the vessel's internal gravity keeping Ensign Hardy pinned to his seat. A tactical console exploded in a shower of flame and spark, sending Lieutenant Edge into the weapons array, snapping his neck on impact. 

"What are we being hit with?" Captain Rikishi demanded, as the floor beneath them lurched violently. 

"Unknown." Bradshaw had to shout to be heard over the explosions and shrieking alarms, noises of a battered ship melting into one ominous chorus. "These punk-ass shields are down to 50%, Captain!" 

"WWF TitanPrize! Lower your shields, don't lower your shields, I just don't give a damn!" 

Stephanie's head whipped around, the sound of a voice thick with a primitive New York accent filling her with fury. Russo! That deceitful, sell-out, power-hungry son of a- 

"This is Supreme Commander Russo of the Nytron Empire, and you will be boarded. For your arrogance in defying my power, for your failure to recognize the true depth of Nytron glory, every member of the TitanPrize will be executed. Superior officers will be tortured before I show them the ultimate mercy." 

Stephanie licked her lips, savoring the memory of that fateful night on Kan'y'n-3, when Commander Kane had dragged away little Vincent Russo, for crimes against Wrestlefleet, for treason, for attempting to sell secrets to those insufferable, weak Nytron rebels... 

"And Captain Rikishi...we have disabled your self-destruct sequence from here." Supreme Commander Russo smiled. "You will not rob me of the spoils of war." 

The warning had not come rapidly enough, but Stephanie had expected nothing less from a man who would be a spineless coward in any universe. Nytron soldiers poured onto the bridge, unleashing a barrage of disruptor fire that snuffed out several unsuspecting Wrestlefleet soldiers, including First Officer Sexay. Some screamed bloody murder when they were hit, others fell into convulsing heaps, their bodies twisting and writhing. 

What a terrible way to die...Stephanie thought, throwing herself to the ground and picking off three Nytrons with her phaser. As her beam struck a second wave of the invaders, it seemed to wash over them like water. 

"They must have shield generators on their uniforms." Ensign Hardy whispered to her, as they crawled past Tactical, covered by Bradshaw's heavy weapons fire. "It's already compensated for our phasers." 

"Tell me something I don't know Hardly." Stephanie muttered, as they both punched the trigger anyway, hoping to distract the enemy soldiers, whose sleek, green, aerodynamic shell-like uniforms absorbed the punishment almost magically. It was as if they were firing with phasers set on light stun...."We need to strip the dead Nytron of their weapons."   
  
"Agreed." Ensign Jeff coughed. 

War wasn't hell, Stephanie thought grimly, as she watched Lieutenant Angle's body being flattened against the viewscreen by a burst of disruptor fire. It was so much worse than any hell she had ever imagined. Thick black smoke so acrid it burned throats and lungs raw was starting to displace the oxygen on the bridge; species with underdeveloped lungs had already fallen over dead before her eyes. Flames were rising from the ashes of infernos the chemical sprinklers had extinguished just seconds ago and live wires snapped at her and Jeff like venomous vipers as they traveled past Tactical. The cacophany of noises were deafening-anguished cries, the ship-wide red alert shrieking like a nightmare demon, the crackling and smoldering of computers like a funeral march in their ears. 

"Captain!" Bradshaw yelled, one hand manipulating the still-functional Tactical display while the other cleansed his territory of Nytron, who were swarming like fire ants. "There is a shuttle coming through the distortion! It has the same quantum signature as Ensigns Hardy and McMahon!" 

"Yeah, well let's just hope they can pull a miracle out of their-" 

Captain Rikishi was silenced as a Nytron stuck a dagger in his back. _Typical Nytron_, thought Stephanie, sneering in the coward's direction. Commander Bradshaw assumed the captain's chair after dispatching the Nytron with ease. 

"Guess my trip was cancelled." Lt Commander Matt smiled grimly, handing the two ensigns a Nytron disruptor each. "Maybe we can get into the turbolift and take control of the ship from another computer." 

Seeing just how many Nytron had infected the bridge, Stephanie doubted the rest of the ship was any safer. But it couldn't be any more dangerous than this... 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley!" Ensign Hardy forgot he was in the parallel universe, as a scream was wrenched from his superior officer, disruptor fire striking Stephanie in the back. "Commander!" 

"Here." Matt tore the transporter band from his arm, flipping the blue gem up, pushing buttons underneath it. "I've programmed it to transport you and Commander McMahon-Helmsley to the Shuttlecraft Raw. These bastards are too busy boarding the TitanPrize to care about some puny little craft entering an unstable temporal distortion." 

"Matt..." 

"Dammit Jeff!" Lt Commander Hardy snapped in exasperation. "It's over! The TitanPrize has been lost. Your people are attempting a rescue and your commanding officer is dying! If you're lucky, the distortion will slingshot you several moments back in time and Stephanie will live."   
Matt's expression softened for just a moment. "You're not my brother Jeff-don't think you have to die for me. You'll make it out this time." 

"Maybe." Ensign Hardy fastened the band around Stephanie's arm, her flesh seeming to turn to ice as he touched it. 

"You will." Lt Commander Hardy said firmly, sending a stream of disruptor fire into a formation of Nytron as Jeff set the transporter to activate. "I know you, little brother." 

Ensign Hardy was silent as he watched the battle fade away in a river of turquoise light, silent as a plasma explosion at the weapon's array seemed to swallow Matt alive before everything disappeared.... 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT JAKKED 

"The shuttlecraft from the parallel universe will appear in our time again within fifty-five seconds, Hunter." Lita reported briskly, as their own craft hovered around the event horizon of the disruption, out of reach of the severe gravitational pull that had claimed Stephanie and Jeff days ago. 

"No kidding." Hunter retorted, as he ran yet another diagnostic on the weapon's system. He would not miss. He had driven a hard bargain with Captain McMahon-the life of his daughter for the rank of ensign. It was a small reward actually-Helmsley would be given a sliver of his dignity and power back if he succeeded. 

"I just hope you're as good as the stories say you are. " Lita challenged him. "The flight pattern of our shuttlecraft will be highly unstable once it's claimed by the rift. You'll need to be a sharpshooter to detonate the parallel ship's warp core." 

"Oh don't you worry about a thing, Lita." Hunter smirked at her. "I am that damn good. They didn't call me the Game at Wrestlefleet Academy for nothing."   
  
"I thought it was because you played them all for fools when you rebelled." Ensign Lita said coldly. 

"Believe me you frigid little Aerialian snot, your precious little rainbow-headed love muffin will return to this universe safe and sound." Hunter removed a phaser from underneath the weapon's array, pointing it at Lita's head. "However, if anything were to happen to my darling wife, I'd have to kill you and your little loverboy too." 

Ensign Lita's ears burned underneath her flame-red hair. She had never felt this kind of anger before; it felt sort of like....embarrassment. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs. 

"You can put the phaser down, Hunter." Ensign Lita didn't even flinch. "It's hard to fire accurately inside a temporal disruption when you're holding your co-pilot hostage." 

"Believe me, baby." Hunter moved the phaser so it pressed against her ear. "I can do both." 

"I'm entering the rift." Lita announced through clenched teeth. "We should intercept the shuttle in 30 seconds." 

Hunter was supremely calm as the shuttle was shaken like a ragdoll by the intense gravity. The specially designed thrusters that Jericho had fitted to the craft were barely able to compensate for the violent gravitational flux that was wreaking havoc with them. 

"Dammit!" Lita scowled down at the console. "The shuttle has full shields! What the-we're being hailed by the parallel universe ship!" 

"Answer it and kindly explain to the unfortunate pilot that they're about to die for the good of Wrestlefleet." Hunter instructed her. 

"This is Ensign Lita of the WWF TitanPrize. Please lower your shields. We mean you no harm." 

Hunter snorted with scornful laughter. The Aerialians were pathetic liars. 

"Lita?" Both Hunter and the ensign gasped as Stephanie's face filled their viewscreen. She wore the red uniform of a Wrestlefleet captain, although her lovely face was streaked with soot and blood. "My god....Lita." 

"Stephanie." Hunter gawked at her. Man, did she look gorgeous in red.... 

"That is not your wife, idiot!" Lita snapped. "It's a parallel universe version of Stephanie." 

"Ahhh yes." _Stephanie_ studied the readings on her own ship. "You have a quantum signature that is slightly different than mine. I am Captain Jericho of the WWF TitanPrize in my own universe, and as you can no doubt see, I am trapped in a temporal loop. I assume you want me to disable my shields so that you can blow up my warp core." 

Captain Jericho? Hunter felt a white hot fury burning at his heart. He didn't give a damn if this was in a parallel universe, a wormhole, or a holodeck, he'd make that sleazy droid pay the price for touching his wife in any dimension of space-time! 

"I'm sorry Captain." Lita lowered her head. 

"It's quite alright." Stephanie was all business. "I've been planning to detonate the ship myself so that I could close this rift forever. You see..." She smiled sadly. "In my universe, Wrestlefleet is dead by now. At least I will be sacrificed so that your universe can be saved, unlike so many other good soldiers who died for absolutely nothing..." 

Her eyes lingered on Ensign Lita. 

"There will be another window opening in one minute and five seconds, Captain." Hunter told her briskly, as Stephanie's image started to fade from the viewscreen. He had become much more subdued since seeing the face of the woman he would kill..... 

"Excellent." Captain Jericho nodded. "Shields will be lowered. Fire at will." 

"Aye sir." Ensign Lita replied. 

"And Lita?" Captain Jericho's voice was becoming lost in a storm of static. "Good seeing you again." 

A selfless, dedicated Stephanie McMahon? Lita shook her head. 

Only in a parallel universe... 

* * *

SHUTTLECRAFT RAW-PARALLEL UNIVERSE 

Lt Commander Hardy was right. The Nytron were not following Jeff or his shuttlecraft into the rift, where they would intercept Captain Stephanie Jericho's shuttle in two minutes. Lieutenant Hardy assumed that the craft from their own universe was there to trigger a catastrophic explosion in Captain Jericho's warp core, a fatal event that would allow them to escape before sealing the disruption forever. 

Ah well, at least Commander Jericho got one last night with his "wife" before she died. Lieutenant Hardy's thoughts were extremely bitter as he felt the shuttlecraft lose the struggle with gravity and fall into the disruption. As long as he lived, all of Jeff's nightmares would be plagued by visions of his big brother being swallowed by white hot flames of plasma. _While I escaped_. He knew it wasn't really Matt, would never really be Matt, but found forgiving himself...he couldn't forgive himself. 

Stephanie's moaning woke him from the horrible images that flitted through his brain. Jeff stared at the bio-scan of her body, knew that her breathing was merely reflexive now. Radiation from the disruptor beam was slowly being carried through her bloodstream, poisoning every cell in her body, causing virtually nerve she had to scream in pain. He had injected her with mega-doses of sedatives and painkillers, but the radiation dulled their effects. It was perhaps the most agonizing death a person could suffer through. 

"Jeff?" 

Stephanie's voice was a whisper, the energy it cost her apparent as she squeezed her eyes shut after speaking. 

"Commander?" 

"Kill me." 

"What?" Lieutenant Hardy had been afraid she would ask that, that she would suffer with such an intensity that she couldn't wait out the results of the temporal slingshot. But then, she was so far gone that the few precious minutes the slingshot would give her wouldn't matter worth a damn. 

"Kill me...please." Stephanie hadn't realized that such horrific pain could exist in any universe-every molecule of her body, every strand of DNA was being twisted and burned by the disruptor fire that possessed her. She had never wanted to feel death's cold embrace so much... 

"I can't do that Commander." Jeff said, his voice terse. Not even Stephanie deserved to lose her life this way. "There's a chance you could be saved." 

"I need to tell you something." 

Lieutenant Hardy turned his head slightly. Famous last words? 

"Do...you..want to know what happened to...Lita?" 

"What?" Jeff wan't sure he wanted to know. 

"She died." Stephanie's lips twisted into an evil smile, despite the pain that racked her body. "You killed her, blew up a Nytron ship she was attempting to sabotage. She had been exposed, and Captain Jericho ordered you to fire on the ship so she wouldn't be interrogated. You killed your own wife, Jeffrey." 

Stephanie coughed up blood as she laughed. Lieutenant Hardy fired his phaser point blank at her chest, realizing a second too late that she had manipulated him into putting her out of her misery. Witch. He turned back to the viewscreen, in time to be blinded by a devastating matter anti-matter explosion... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061293.00. The temporal disruption has disappeared from Federation space. There is no longer any quantum flux in sector where the rift originated. Commander Kane's shuttle was freed and he has resumed his duties as Chief of Security. My daughter is recovering from a severe disruptor attack in Sickbay...I have no idea what medical miracle Dr. Taker performed to stop the poison that was flooding her system, but as he told me "McMahon, there just some things in this world your stank ass doesn't need to know." Maybe he's right. 

Captain McMahon frowned at his Log Book. 

"I have been forced to give Hunter the rank of Ensign. Lord only knows how much that will provoke his healthy ambition.... 

Jeff Hardy attempted to turn in his Lieutenant's stars for reasons unknown. I refused to accept them. 

Stephanie has asked that I transfer Lt Commander Jericho out of engineering and back to the bridge crew. Although I would do anything for my little angel, their work together has been so exemplary, I cannot see the logic in this. I know they argue, but for some reason, it seems to make them far more successful when they are at each other's throats. " 

Captain McMahon was about to close his log book when a thought struck him.... 

"I am a little baffled by Lt Commander Jericho's request to sweep my daughter's quarters for certain Aerialian sea life...." 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	28. Season 4 Episode 9 Blondes Have More Fu...

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 9

Creator's Note: With Season 4, I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra 

****

WRESTLE TREK 

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 9: BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN 

By: [X-C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   
  
  
WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061305.00. Wrestlefleet has granted the TitanPrize a vacation! Of course, the crew will maintain normal day to day operations, but the ship will be in orbit around Copeland-9, a lunar paradise in the Resian Galaxy. My officers have been encouraged to embrace their leisure time and visit the surface of this gorgeous moon as often as possible!" 

Vincent K McMahon smiled as he relaxed in his luxurious chair, thinking that maybe this could be the golden opportunity he needed to repair his failing marriage. Recently, he and Linda had clashed over some of the more outrageous decisions she handed down from her damned "ivory tower" at Wrestlefleet headquarters where she was now stationed. 

"This break comes at a perfect time for a couple members of my crew. Ever since coming through the temporal rift, Stephanie, my little angel, has been sulky and depressed, while Lieutenant Jeff Hardy has displayed an extremely short fuse and violent mood swings. That fool counselor Al Snow has been the next closest thing to useless; my fear is that he himself is suffering from a split personality, which I thought psychiatrist-in-training Ensign Blackman had cured," 

"On the lighter side of TitanPrize life, I've had to ban Ensigns Christian and Edge from beaming down to Copeland-9's surface. It seems the young men have become minor celebrities among the teenage girls there, and several overprotective daddies have hailed me to complain. The ensigns were especially pouty after I forcibly cancelled their photo shoot with some interstellar rag known as _Galaxy Beat,_" 

Captain McMahon closed his logbook and reviewed a personnel padd his daughter had given him during Evaluation Week. "Daddy, I hate to say this, but Ensigns Edge and Christian are 1/4 Aerialian and 3/4 nitwit. The only rank they can hope to attain is that of resident pretty boy!" 

Vince chuckled and headed for the turbolift. The big man was going to enjoy all the pleasures that Copeland-9 had to offer.... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Brother, I suggest we lodge a formal complaint with Captain McMahon." Ensign Edge's pearly whites were hidden behind a boyish pout. "Lieutenant Jeffrey is being completely unreasonable!" 

Ensign Christian was studying his flawless complexion in the wide lounge window. "You know, he is what we in the business call a total heel. Fellow ensign, have I mentioned yet how wonderful this moon's gravity is for your pores? My face is positively glowing!" 

"Like a photon flare," Edge agreed. "In two hours, we should be changing the history of flash photography on Copeland-9, but that tyrant Aerialian has scheduled us to perform diagnostics on the warp core! Doesn't he know plasma radiation dries out hair?" 

"From the looks of him, Lt Hardy is no expert on cosmic style." Ensign Christian shook his head disapprovingly. "He's been soooo totally, like, catty ever since he came back from that parallel universe! Perhaps he discovered the Jeff Hardy in that world had a better wardrobe!" 

"His ego has become unbearable ever since he saved Commander McMahon-Helmsley from that righteous crab!" Ensign Edge sipped at his white wine spritzer. "And if there's something I can't stand, it's an officer being full of himself!" 

"Totally!" Ensign Christian exclaimed. "Of course, it will take more than Jeffrey Hardy to cure Stephanie of that particular problem!" 

"Hello Ensigns," Kurt Angle was hovering by their table, a delicious looking red, white, and blue Olympian Cocktail in his hand. "Mind if your Wrestlefleet Communications Ensign sits down?" 

"Well...er...since there's no where else to sit...." Christian said grudgingly, his eyes darting around the Smackdown. Ensign Angle had a lot of appealing traits, including a healthy confidence and opinions that seemed to gel nicely with the blonde brothers, yet ... there was something about the American that rubbed them the wrong way.... 

"Wonderful," Ensign Angle beamed. "Did I hear you mention the name of the virtuous, honorable Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley?" 

"You heard us mention Stephanie," Edge replied. "We were just considering possible dates to the Interstellar Ball aboard the TitanPrize tonight. Christian and I will make great trophies for some lucky ladies tonight! 

"Ah yes." Angle nodded. "Turns out that Ensign Hunter has the helm tonight, so I have graciously volunteered to protect the fair Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley from all the sexually frustrated vultures that will no doubt be trying to sully her innocence. As a Wrestlefleet hero, I'm up to the task." 

Ensign Christian rolled his eyes. So Angle had pushed Captain McMahon out of the way of an errant phaser burst? He needn't beat the whole drama to death. "I'm thinking of asking the lovely spitfire Lita. My blonde good looks would totally be complimented by that whole red thing she's got going on!" 

"Goodness knows that Lieutenant Jeffrey won't be able to dance tonight, what with that stick he's got stuck up his-" 

"Ensign Edge!" Kurt snapped. "Please! Commander McMahon-Helmsley is in the room. Although when it comes to Hardy and said stick, that IS true." 

"I didn't see any ladies." Christian told him. "Hey, guess what-I, like, heard the juiciest gossip! Ensign Too Hottie passed me this note today during Commander Kane's fighting class and he says that Lt Commander Jericho and Commander Stephanie have, like, the hots for each other, but the Y2J Unit likes to pretend she has Carrellian cooties or something!" 

"What?" Ensign Angle wrinkled up his nose. "You know, back on Earth they have nursery rhymes about humans mating with androids-it serves as a warning to little children everywhere about the poor moral fiber of robots. Would you like to hear it?" 

"Golly we'd love to Kurt, but Christian and I have to go over these padds for Lt Hardy." Edge said hastily. "Mr. _I'm Such Hot Stuff Because I Went Through A Temporal Disruption._" 

"Someone with hair that loud can't be the boss of us!" Christian protested. "It's a crime against fashion! It goes against all my shallow beliefs!" 

"Well obviously Jeffrey was willing to "lay" a lot more on the line than _we_ were, brother." Edge said slyly. 

"I doubt someone of Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley's integrity would be bribed like that." Ensign Angle frowned at them. "As for Lt Hardy...well it is common knowledge that Aerialians are simply too lazy to work for a promotion. Back on my home planet of earth, we have certain rural people known as rednecks. I would have to say that Jeff Hardy and his brother Matt are the cosmic equivalent of those backwards, mooching, low-class hicks." 

"Ensign Edge, the reason I am the boss of you is because you are a mind-numbingly shallow and moronic toad with a galaxy-sized overbite and I am a dedicated Wrestlefleet officer." Lt Hardy's breath could have frozen in mid-air, his tone was so icy. 

"Lieutenant Jeffrey!" Edge's voice was sickeningly warm and oozing sweetness as his head whipped around so fast it almost gave him whiplash. "What a delightful surprise! I love what you're doing with your hair! That shade of blue goes very well with that spiffy Lieutenant's uniform!" 

"I have had it up to here with your insubordination!" Lt Hardy grabbed Edge by his collar, hauling him out of his cozy seat. "Maybe having those perfectly polished teeth punched down your throat would teach you some respect." 

"Hey you little punk-what the hell do you think you're doing?" Lt Bradshaw was breathing down Jeff's neck, having left his poker game with Lt Farooq to cool the young man's heels. No one, but _no one_ created havoc while was enjoying his damn beer! 

"I can solve my own personnel problems without you sticking your beer gut in where it doesn't belong, Bradshaw." Lt Hardy lashed out. 

"Son, you about earned yourself the ass-kicking of a lifetime right there." Bradshaw unholstered his stun gun. He knew he was supposed to treat the troubled Aerialian with kid gloves, but you didn't use the word _beer_ in vain like that. 

"I'll handle this, Lt Bradshaw." Ensign Matt grabbed his brother's arm and steered him away from the trouble that was starting to boil. Bradshaw shrugged and returned to his cards and brew. There'd be other beatdowns, and hell it was almost cliche to use Hardy as a beating stick. 

"I can handle myself, Ensign." Jeff shook off his brother's arm as he slouched onto a barstool. He didn't like Matt touching him, speaking to him, not after what happened in the parallel universe. It gave him the creeps. 

"Obviously." Matt didn't hide his sarcasm. "Uhhh Tori, two of the strongest drinks you've got please." 

"Sure thing handsome." Tori winked flirtatiously at the ensign and turned to fill two glasses. She shared a meaningful smile with fellow Smackdown servers Road Dogg and X-Pac as she pushed two sparkling glasses of thick, shimmering aqua colored liquid towards the Aerialian brothers. "You sure look like you could use this Lt Hardy." 

"What the hell is it?" Jeff frowned into his glass. 

"Ahh just something I learned to mix down on Copeland-9." Tori replied, her smile almost painfully bright. "From a very sexy Resian bartender with a flair for the exotic. I think you'll looove it." 

Ensign Matt shrugged and took a careful sip-it was so sweet and rich it took his breath away, the flavor so intensely pleasing it defied description. He closed his eyes and sighed as a warm, tingling sensation spread slowly through his veins. "Wow...." 

Was it just him or were Tori's eyes not quite focusing properly? Lt Hardy wondered, studying her face from behind a curtain of blue and purple locks. Probably his mind was playing tricks on him, lack of sleep did that. Jeff had thought Wrestlefleet Academy had prepared him to stomach a war, but he was wrong, waking up screaming from nightmares about the parallel universe proved that. He took the beautiful blue liquid into his system in one gulp. His eyes widened as the most amazingly free feeling seized his mind... 

"Did it work?" X-Pac asked. 

Jeff smiled. Matt smiled. 

"When do we begin?" they chorused. 

* * *

HOLODECK 7 

"Make it go away. Make it go away." Stephanie whispered those four words over and over again, sing-song like as she rocked back and forth on the soft, silky golden sand, warm, foamy ocean water gently tickling her bare toes. Her eyes were squeezed shut, despite the radiant sunshine that was there to enjoy. 

Dammit, she was a McMahon! The wife of the Game! Empathy was not a part of her genetic make-up, but still she mourned the death of all those officers, smelled the flames from the bridge, which had gone up like a roman candle, and felt the disruptor fire pierce her spine, spreading hell through her nervous system... 

The beach was supposed to be her safe haven-she'd loved her family's seaside home as a child, building sandcastles with the nanny, splashing in the shallow water, collecting shells....but there was no place that felt safe anymore.... 

She looked up and brushed her eyes, which were damp, irritated by the sand that was blowing in them. At least that's what she told herself. 

Someone had entered the holodeck. 

"Lt Commander Jericho." Stephanie's face hardened. "This is a private program. Leave at once or you'll be cooling your circuits in the brig." 

Jericho said nothing, merely lifted Stephanie up by her long dark hair. She howled with rage, but felt her body go wonderfully limp and relaxed, an almost magical tingling flowing with her blood. She never even flinched at the prick in her neck or the hissing sound of the hypospray. She couldn't even see the blue mist that formed around the miniature needle hole in her flesh. 

"Oh god Chris...what have you done to me?" 

Lt Commander Jericho merely smiled. 

* * *

THE BRIDGE 

"For the last damn time son, I don't believe that's the purpose of a llama's nipple!" Lt. Commander Austin growled at the Communications officer, banging his beer down at Tactical. "And while Captain Mac is on Copeland-9, I'm gonna keep a little law and order here, and that means you shutting up. Uh-uh Lt Crock! That is ALL I got to say about that!" 

Lt Rock was smoldering with rage. "Do you think the Rock gives a damn about who Vinnie Mac, the biggest pile of Wrestlefleet monkey crap there is, puts in charge. The Rock doesn't need a captain, doesn't want a captain, especially one who's the biggest piece of trailer park trash walking god's green TitanPrize!" 

"Enough!" Commander Kane bellowed from his post at Security. "I demand silence, or I will beam First Officer Shane McMahon back from the surface!" 

Silence struck like a thunderbolt. Commander McMahon certainly had the ambition and the grapefruits, but most of his plotting and strategy tended to well...backfire. 

"Degenerates on the bridge!" All eyes turned towards the turbolift, as X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Tori stepped off, phasers in their hands. 

"You little jabronis-" 

"Rock, I've been wanting to do this for a long time." Road Dogg stunned the Lieutenant with a light phaser blast. "And if you don't like it, well I've got two words for ya." Jesse stood over the fallen officer and performed an insulting crotch chop. 

Lt Commander Austin and Commander Kane, the only two members of the bridge crew on active duty that night, had already been paralyzed by Tori and X-Pac's weapons. Road Dogg leaned over each victim, pushing a hypospray against their throats. 

"Tori to engineering." The young waitress tapped her comm badge. "The bridge is secure." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Lieutentant Hardy." Stephanie nodded briskly to the blue-haired Aerialian, who greeted her with a dopey, intoxicated grin. "Lt Commander Jericho? Shall we?" 

The other officers in Engineering gasped with shock as they were sealed off from the main engineering computers and the warp core by a powerful forcefield. 

"Preparing to disable all TitanPrize shields." Commander McMahon-Helmsley announced. 

"I am programming the computer to eject the warp core in one hour." Jeff said happily. 

"Sending the hypospray chemical through the ventilation system." Lt Commander Jericho actually laughed merrily, his emotion chip experiencing incredible surges. 

Stephanie squealed and clapped her hands together like a little girl who'd just been told Christmas was everyday of the year. Deep somewhere in her mind, the nagging question of just what she was so joyful about began to surface.... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Well, fellow ensigns, it certainly is quiet in here for an Interstellar Ball." Ensign Edge straightened his dress uniform as he stepped dramatically into the lounge, nearly shell-shocked by the absence of flash photography that should have accompanied his grand entrance. 

"God, I can't believe we actually showed up without dates!" Christian hissed. "I'm like sooo mortified." 

"You mean, you can't believe some desperately fortunate girl didn't arrive with us on their arms." Edge corrected him. 

"I found my own witty conversation so stimulating, I barely noticed the silence." Ensign Angle commented looking around the eerily empty bar. 

"Boys!" Tori rushed up to them, her eyes sparkling so brightly they were hard to look at directly. "You're early! Would you care for a drink? It's on the house!" She thrust a tray containing three tantalizing blue cocktails at them. 

"Tori." Christian frowned. "You want three hard-working young ensigns to just mooch off the TitanPrize bar when they have the credits to pay their way? That's just irresponsible, unethical, and well, wrong!" 

"Do you want it or not?" she asked, exasperated. 

"Duh." Ensign Edge was already halfway through his. Suddenly he spat the liquid out. "Swill! How dare you serve this to my brother and I! The blue color will stain our teeth." 

"I-" Tori gawked at them. They seemed completely unaffected by the drink. 

"Lord knows you have the integrity of a gutter snake." Ensign Angle shook his head sadly. "But there is absolutely nothing intelligent about serving this heinous concoction to your customers." 

"Noooo!" Christian wailed as he looked down at his clothing. "How could you spit that out Edge? You've sullied my freshly laundered dress uniform! This is definitely a fashion don't!" 

"No worries brother." Edge smiled. "It seems there's time to change your outfit before the gala event starts." 

Tori merely rolled her eyes as the threesome left the Smackdown. They were so frivolous and self-absorbed that they'd be no threat to the master plan. And if by some miracle they were able to discern what was going down, they could always be eliminated.... 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Dude, it is so radical that you're helping me and Edge complete our diagnostics!" Christian told Ensign Angle, as they quietly tip-toed through the oddly quiet Engineering. "Lt Hardy would have soooo blown a fuse if he figured out we played hookey to get facials." 

"I believe this is what we in the business call a run-in." Edge added helpfully, as he scanned his computer. "Hmmm, this is troubling." 

"You didn't break a nail did you?" Christian asked, "That manicure cost you 50 credits!" 

"Nothing like that." Ensign Edge frowned, making sure to frown attractively. "Why it appears that Jeffrey Hardy has programmed the warp core to eject in seven minutes. Perhaps the hair dye has finally eaten through to his brain cells." 

"Ensign!" Angle barked with alarm. "The TitanPrize's shields have all been lowered to five percent of their power. All weapons are off-line!" 

"This is sooo not the time for that!" Christian moaned. "I'm reading a ship with fully powered photon torpedos off our starboard bow! I'm not dressed for a surprise attack!" 

"But you are dressed for a proper Wrestlefleet funeral." Lt Jeff Hardy pulled his phaser on the three ensigns. "You have messed with me for the last time you obnoxious little Aerialian half-breeds." 

"Pardon my intensity, sir." Ensign Angle unleashed a beam of hot white light that struck Lt Hardy in the chest, causing him to groan and slide to the floor. "Darn! There's something weird going on here fellow ensigns-the enemy ship is jamming our communications array and sending an encrypted signal over our subspace frequency." 

"Wow!" Christian seemed duly impressed. "Where did you learn to talk like that?" 

"Well, that's what you people in the business call a promo." Angle replied. 

"This is a subliminal signal that's being sent throughout the ship!" Edge tossed his blonde hair, waiting for it to fall lightly to his shoulders before he continued. "I'm raising shields. Ensign Christian-please counter that jamming of our array. Ensign Angle-please strike a battle ready pose!" 

"Aye sir!" Ensign Angle paused. 

Wait a minute, he thought, Edge wasn't the boss of him...

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"It's the damnedest thing I ever did see Big Mac." Dr. Taker was sprawled out in a chair in front of Captain McMahon's desk. "That hypnotic substance had no effect on these three twits here. While it attacked certain parts of the other officers' brains, it couldn't seem to seep through the parts of their minds that controlled ego-those lobes were just too massive." 

"And Commander McMahon-Helmsley said having a fat head would never get us anywhere." Christian beamed with pure pride. 

Dr. Taker spat on the floor, making Captain McMahon cringe. Where on earth did the good doctor pick up such a filthy habit? he wondered. 

"The substance that Tori brought aboard the ship simply made the crew suggestive to the subliminal signal being broadcast by the rebel ship U.S.S. Mushnick." Dr. Taker explained. "She had been infected with it on Copeland-9 and was then ordered to get the chemical into the rest of us anyway she could." 

"Now there are some space-travelers with no integrity." Ensign Angle seemed disillusioned. 

"It seemed what these renegades wanted was to destroy the morale of Wrestlefleet by capturing and destroying the federation flagship." Captain McMahon couldn't resist laughing at the foolhardy endeavor. "I guess not everyone understands that Wrestlefleet has too many loyal supporters to be toppled by such a pitiful attack." 

"The captain of the U.S.S. Mushnick is being evaluated on Starbase 0044 for dementia." Dr. Taker said with a smirk. "He seems to be ranting and raving and full of some wildly out of date notions. " 

"I have no doubt." Captain McMahon shared the big man's smugness. "And I suppose you three would like a reward of some sort for stumbling onto this little escapade? We really don't have any promotions available right now...." 

"Promotions?" Christian wrinkled his nose. "Extra work would lead to most unattractive perspiration!" 

Edge nodded at his brother. "Although larger mirrors in our quarters would be nice..." 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	29. Season 4 Finale Episode 10 What Price D...

Wrestle Trek: Season 4, Episode 10 ****

WRESTLE TREK 

SEASON FOUR 

****

EPISODE 10: WHAT PRICE DUTY...   
**PART ONE**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW:   
Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 062121.00. I am very pleased with results from Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Lt. Commander Jericho's work in Engineering... although it is baffling to me why both officers are constantly at each other's throats. It seems they are purposely avoiding being civil to one another for reasons as yet unknown..." The Captain shook his head, and made a quick mention of the Engineering crew's requests for Dr. Taker's hyposprays. Apparently, Jericho and Stephanie's little spats had been causing Engineering more then their share of headaches. He sighed, "In good news, however... we have been free of enemy threats for a month now. End log..." 

The Captain closed his log book, and headed to the bridge. 

* * *

UNIDENTIFIED CUBE SHIP 

The cube ship floated dead through space. Within the cube, however, life surged through every wire and relay. Successful repairs were being made as 10,000 shiny silver automatons milled about busily. 10, 000 left... on a ship that once held 500, 000 . 

One stopped, and spoke, "We are damaged..." it said. "We are beyond repair..." 

"We are not beyond repair..." another replied, "Quitting is futile..." 

"We are no longer able to attack the Titanprize..." the first one continued. 

"We are healing..." the second replied. "Soon, we will no longer be damaged..." 

The first one turned to the second one, "Our controller is gone! We are of seperate minds now. We are no longer collective. How can we function?" 

"We _will_ function! We will find the Titanprize, and it's doctor and Y2J Unit! We will avenge the destruction of our controller..." the second one looked at the first, "Resistance _will_ be futile..." 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

Lieutenant Jeff Hardy rubbed his temples, willing his headache to go away. Jericho and Stephanie were arguing again. It was driving everyone in Engineering crazy. 

Lt. Commander Jericho was ranting, "Maybe if you wore more then a micro-mini to WrestleFleet social functions, the crew wouldn't think you were a skanky, dirty---" suddenly he stopped. 

"What's wrong? You forgot the insult? I believe it goes something like _skanky, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom feeding, trashbag 'ho._ Is that it? Huh?" Stephanie replied. 

Unit Y2J didn't move. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, "They're coming back..." he said. 

"Coming back? What are you talking about? Snap out of it, Chrissie!" Stephanie shouted angrily, "Do you have a lose wire or something? Geeeez!" 

Jericho looked at her, "As much as I enjoy insulting you, Stephie... right now is not the time! I have to talk to the Captain!" he said, "and don't you eeeeeeeeeeeeeever call me _Chrissie _again!" With that, he headed to the bridge. 

Stephanie was left staring at the spot where Jericho had been, somewhat disappointed that their argument had been cut short. 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Now explain to me exactly what it was you sensed in Engineering? I didn't know you were telepathic, Lt. Commander..." 

"Not telepathic, Cap... just very sensitive to other computers... or, in this case... automatons. Especially ones that give off as much power as the PTC!" 

"PTC!" McMahon paled, "Damnit, I thought you and Dr. Taker destroyed the controller!!" 

"We DID!" Jericho explained, "But... we didn't destroy THEM!" 

"You mean there are PTC roaming about now with no controller? With no collective?" 

"Exactly. And I have a feeling they'll be after Dr. Taker and myself..." 

"Do you know if they'll attack? Or when? How?" 

Jericho shook his head, "I just sensed them... _rebooting_ for lack of a better word. Restarting. When I destroyed their controller, they shut down -- temporarily. Their ship was damaged beyond repair... yet I think they've somehow managed to put the pieces back together..." 

"Then they'll be coming after US, won't they?!" Captain McMahon said. 

"They'll be coming after ME..." Unit Y2J replied, then frowned, "And no doubt they want to reprogram my beautiful positronic brain!" 

"But... don't you have the Walls up?" 

Jericho turned to the Captain, "Every wall can be broken, Vinnie-mac. Even mine!" With that, Unit Y2J headed back to Engineering. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"You _will_ take care of the PTC, will you not?" Nurse Bearer asked Dr. Taker.

"I can take care of them, yes. But..." 

"But...?" Nurse Bearer asked. 

"But.... I don't know when or where they're going to attack---" 

Suddenly, the ship shook violently and the red alert claxons began to sound. 

Dr. Taker raised an eyebrow, "Well... that answers THAT question..." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

Ensign Crash gasped as a PTC drone energized beside him. It held a phaser on him, turning away for a moment as it awaited it's comrades. When the drone turned back, Crash was gone. No matter. It wasn't after that small Houdinian anyway. 

It scanned Engineering for it's target, and found it... with his female superior officer cowering beside him. 

As its commrades downloaded what information they could from the Engineering computers, the drone went towards the Y2J Unit. 

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated... Unit Y2J," 

"You are NOT assimilating MY gorgeous program!" Lt. Commander Jericho replied. 

"Go ahead! Assimilate him!" Commander Stephanie said, "Maybe you can give him a better personality!" 

Jericho looked at her, "Stephie, assimilating me is like trying to get you to keep your pants on.... not gonna happen!" 

"Shut up!" Stephanie snapped, "You don't know anything about me... or what I do regarding my _pants_." 

"_I _may not know, but about half the crewmen on this ship do!" Jericho replied. 

The PTC drone seemed confused, "Are you making sexual innuendoes?" it asked. 

Stephanie looked at him. That was quite a forward question coming from a PTC drone. 

Odd. 

The PTC drone seemed to shake it's head... as if trying to clear cobwebs. A very _human_ gesture. Again... odd. 

It raised it's phaser at Commander Stephanie, "We have no need of you..." it spoke, and pressed the button. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker looked at the PTC drone before him. It held its phaser point blank at his head... yet its hand seemed to be shaking somewhat. "Feeling ill?" Dr. Taker asked calmly. 

"Illness is irrelevent... you will be assimilated..." the drone said. 

"And how do you plan on assimilating me?" 

"You will come with .... us....." 

Dr. Taker furrowed his brow. The drone seemed to have trouble with the term "us". Nurse Bearer looked at Dr. Taker.... waiting. But Dr. Taker knew better. Why take out this one drone... when he could take out a whole ship? 

The drone grabbed Dr. Taker by the arm... and quickly beamed away with him. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

Commander Stephanie looked at the unmoving Y2J Unit at her feet, "_Chris..._" she thought, "_Why...?_" 

Lt. Commander Jericho was sporting a large phaser hole in his uniform. It penetrated through his synthetic skin, but luckily was unable to burn through the no-selling titanium metal body that encased his inner functions. 

Stephanie stared in disbelief. Had the stupid android really jumped in front of her when the PTC drone fired? But... he HATED her! 

Didn't he? 

A groan escaped Lt. Commander Jericho's lips. He seemed to be trying to speak... 

Stephanie knelt down beside him and brought her face close to his, "Are..." she paused, not believing she was going to ask, but... "Are you all right?" Her voice was quiet, trying not to be heard by anyone other then Jericho, "You took that shot.... for me..." she said, "Why?" 

Unit Y2J looked at her... his face hidden in a mess of blonde hair, "Don't flatter yourself," his voice was hoarse. The drone that had attacked him busying itself with the rest of the Engineering crew, "I need to get aboard the PTC ship. I need to destroy it once and for all..." 

"But…" Stephanie started.

"Tend to the others. NOW!" Jericho said, "I need the PTC to take me!" Although his eyes were partially hidden by his hair, Stephanie could have sworn she saw a flicker of pain. 

Stephanie shook her head. No matter WHAT the reason, he had saved her life. Was it really just an attempt to get on the PTC ship and destroy it? 

Stephanie decided not to think any more of it, and did as he asked, tending to a fallen crewman, allowing the PTC drones to beam Unit Y2J's unmoving body to their ship.   


* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP 

Lt. Commander Jericho awoke wired into an alcove. His body had been repaired. He looked at the alcove beside him, only to see Dr. Taker sleeping... or dead... 

"Stop staring, Lt. Commander...." Dr. Taker spoke, eyes still closed. His voice made Unit Y2J jump. Dr. Taker offered a cold smile, "What's wrong, boy... did you think I was dead?" 

Jericho cleared his throat, "Of course not..." 

"_Of course not_, my ass..." he replied, then opened his grey, lifeless eyes and looked at Unit Y2J, "I am not surprised they took both of us." 

Jericho nodded, "So... any idea how to get out of here?" 

"No." 

The two stopped talking as a PTC drone came up to them. It was a female... or at least, HAD been at one time. It looked at Dr. Taker, and scanned him, then it headed towards Lt. Commander Jericho... and paused. It looked at him, somewhat confused. 

"Yeah, I'm a robot too... ok? I figured you'd all know that by now!" he snapped. 

The drone blinked and tilted its head. It then reached out and touched his hair. 

Jericho jerked back, repelled that this _thing_ was touching him. The drone quickly returned its hand to its side, and walked on. 

If Jericho didn't know better, he would think he had hurt its feelings. 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Ensign Angle, any sign of the PTC ship?" Captain McMahon demanded as he stood behind the so-called Olympic hero. 

"No sir... not yet." 

"Keep looking..." McMahon replied. 

"Yes, sir!" 

Stephanie yawned noisily as she lounged in the Captain's chair, "Does it matter? Do we CARE if we never see that stupid Y2J Unit again?" 

Captain McMahon turned to her, "Stephanie, sweetie... YOU may not like Lt. Commander Jericho, but he's a very valuable member of this ship. And don't forget -- they have Dr. Taker too!" 

Stephanie shivered at the mention of the Chief Medical Officer's name. She really COULD live without seeing Dr. Taker again... especially after what she had seen in a holodeck long ago, on an alternate Titanprize that had been violently destroyed by its enemies. 

Stephanie closed her eyes, and wondered if she would ever get over the hellish experience. 

If she would ever get over HIM -- the _other _Jericho. 

The one her doppelganger had loved enough to marry…

"Besides..." her father continued, snapping Stephanie out of her dark thoughts, "Shouldn't you be busy doing something in Engineering instead of up here?" Captain McMahon looked at her questioningly, "Why ARE you up here anyway...?" 

"I just wanted to be on the bridge when you find Chr---the PTC ship! " Commander Stephanie said quickly. 

Counselor Al Snow, who had been sitting in the chair left of her, spoke, "You miss him." he stated suddenly. 

Stephanie stared at the slightly unnerving man with the H.E.A.D. in his lap, "What are you talking about? Miss WHO? The PTC?" 

"You miss Lt. Commander Jericho," Counselor Snow said. 

"That...that's just... r... ridiculous!" Stephanie sputtered, "Why would I miss that... that..... ROBOT!" 

Counselor Snow continued to stare at her, "H.E.A.D. told me they sensed you missed him..." 

"Well your stupid H.E.A.D is wrong!" she snapped angrily, then stood up, changing the subject, "I'm needed in Engineering. Excuse me!" she replied, and rushed off the bridge. 

* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP 

"Now is it just me... or are the drones acting somewhat strange today?" Jericho asked the dark doctor beside him, his voice no more then a whisper. 

"They have lost their controller..." Dr. Taker replied just as quietly. "They are now feeling what it is like being of different minds..." 

Suddenly, a horrible high-pitched screeched echoed a few feet away. Jericho and Dr. Taker looked to see a drone lashing out at its fellow automatons with a phaser, leaving many crispy circuits. Within seconds, it held the phaser to its _own_ head, fired, and collapsed to the ground. 

The drones that were still on their feet dragged it away as if it was nothing more then garbage to be tossed through an airlock. All was silent once again with only the hum of the ship in the background. 

"What the HELL was that...?" Unit Y2J shouted, not bothering to be quiet any longer. 

"You, of all people, should know, Lt. Commander..." Dr. Taker said. 

"It just... _destroyed_ itself!" 

"Would you not do the same if you found someone was reprogramming your brain and you were unable to stop it?" Dr. Taker asked. 

Jericho looked at him, "Reprogramming?" 

"In essence, that is what losing the controller has done to the PTC. Their brains are being reprogrammed for individual thought... yet they are still connected to one another..." 

Jericho scanned the ship quickly with his external sensors, and took note of a huge number of PTC drones, "There are almost 10, 000 drones on this ship," he said, "If they are still connected to one another, and each are experiencing individual thoughts..." he shook his head, "That is 9, 998 different thoughts and awakening feelings in ONE mind, unable to be blocked out!" he let out a low whistle, "Now _that's_ gotta suck..." 

Jericho thought of Taker's earlier question. What _would_ he do if someone tried to reprogram his brain...? What if they could break down his WALLS program? The drones were close. He could feel it. His defenses were slowly being overridden. He couldn't let that happen

He could NOT let the PTC learn everything he knew about WrestleFleet - every strength, every weakness... and the inside of every _ship_! ONE ship in particular... 

As a WrestleFleet officer, it was his DUTY to protect those secrets at all costs! 

Unit Y2J came to a conclusion. There was only one way to guarantee the PTC never learned of such things, and only one way to guarantee the PTC threat would end, once and for all. 

Jericho carefully reached under his fingernail, and turned his emotion chip off. He didn't want to be 'awake' for what he had to do... 

Jericho turned to Dr. Taker, his voice void of any emotion now, "Doctor..." he began, "I have scanned the PTC Cube ship and found escape shuttles at various points. Deck Ten, forward. Deck five, aft. Deck 7, starboard. Deck 9, forward. Deck 11, aft... deck---" 

"Shut up already! Damn, you turned your chip off, didn't you, boy?" Dr. Taker shook his head, "Why are you telling me where the escape shuttles are?" 

"Because, Doctor..." Unit Y2J spoke, all business, "You need to know. Please apologize to Wrestlefleet, and the crew aboard the Titanprize..." 

"Apologize for WHAT, boy?" 

"Apologize that I will be unable to continue my duties aboard the Titanprize..." 

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Taker asked. 

"The PTC threat must end once and for all, doctor..." 

"Yeah... and..?" 

"And... I will end that threat," Unit Y2J looked at Dr. Taker, eyes void of anything but acceptance, "I am sorry... but I shall not be escaping with you..." 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Chyna nibbled at a peanut butter sandwich as she took her break in The Smackdown. She looked a little ansy. 

"Ey, Mamacita! What's wrong?" Ensign Eddie Guererro asked as he sat beside the waitress. He had come to join her for lunch. 

She took a deep breath, "I'm just worried about Chris..." she said. 

Eddie furrowed his brow, "Chris? The Y2J Unit?" he looked suspicious, "You two... never had a... _thing._.. did you?" 

"Me and Chris? No. Not really. I mean, we were close, yeah... but not THAT close..." She sighed, "It's just that... well... when I started dating you, Chris and I were a little on the outs, you know. We had an argument. He told me that I should be careful when giving my heart to someone because of what happened with me and Hunter... and I took offense," she shrugged, "We said some harsh things to each other..." she shook her head, "He was just concerned, and I treated him like he carried the plague..." 

"And now...?" Eddie asked. 

"And now... he's been kidnapped by the PTC... and I'm worried about him! I never did get a chance to apologize..." Chyna replied. 

"Ey, Mamacita..." Eddie's voice was soothing as he put an arm around her, "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time when he comes back..." 

_"IF he comes back..._" Chyna thought. "_IF..._" 

* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP 

Lt. Commander Jericho was dragged from his alcove by two PTC drones, and taken into another room. He was hooked up to wires trailing to a relay on the wall opposite him. 

"You will be reprogrammed," A drone spoke, "Resistance will be futile..." 

Another drone spoke, "We have adapted to your Walls program and deactivated it. You will be assimilated..." 

Jericho had been right. His defenses had been breached.

It was now his duty as a WrestleFleet officer to prevent the PTC from finding out any vital information regarding the Federation, it's ships, it's allies, and it's enemies. 

Logic lead Unit Y2J to believe that Dr. Taker would use one of the many PTC escape shuttles to leave the ship. He would be safe. 

Lt. Commander Jericho studied his surroundings. He was in the _heart _of the PTC ship. Unit Y2J concluded that a large explosion in this very section would finish off the PTC.

The Y2J Unit then proceeded to take the logical and dutiful course of action, his voice echoing loudly as he spoke the next 8 words. 

8 simple words that sent the PTC drones into a frightened frenzy. 

"Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-minus 20 minutes..." 

END OF SEASON 4

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	30. Season 5 Premiere Episode 1 What Price ...

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 1

**WRESTLE TREK **

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 1: WHAT PRICE DUTY...   
**PART TWO**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, Stardate 062320.00. There's still no sign of the PTC ship that took Lt. Commander Jericho and Dr. Taker. WrestleFleet has given us until the end of the day. If we are unable to locate our missing crewmen, we are to end our search, and claim them MIA. Then we are to continue with our duties as dictated by WrestleFleet," Captain McMahon stopped, and swore under his breath, grateful the computer didn't record it. He took a deep breath, and shouted the last words, "Computer, end the damn log!" 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"What the hell is this, Jeffrey?!" Commander Stephanie McMahon snapped as she held up Lt. Hardy's latest report, "It took you TWO hours to replace a gel pack on the power relays?" 

Lt. Jeff Hardy gritted his teeth, reminding himself not to snap at his superior officer, "It was FIFTEEN gel packs, Commander -- and we had just been attacked by the PTC!" 

"Screw the PTC!" Stephanie snapped, and waited... but no smart-ass reply came from any of the officers in Engineering. No rude comments about _screwing_ anything. She frowned, "I'll be sure to report your incompetence to my father! Now get out of my sight!" Stephanie suddenly found herself very tired. 

"Commander," Jeff began, allowing a hint of anger into his voice, "Replacing gel packs is a delicate procedure! It takes time! And with as many as the PTC had damaged---" 

"I said GO AWAY!" Stephanie shouted, "That's an ORDER, Lieutenant!" 

Jeff fumed quietly, but took his leave. 

Ever since Lt. Commander Jericho had been taken by the PTC, Commander Stephanie's usual bitchiness had increased ten-fold. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

The popular bar was unusually quiet. Terri, normally pleasant and willing to chat, went about her business silently. She looked at the empty bar stool -- where Unit Y2J would often sit, asking questions about human behaviour, and making hilarious cracks as he observed the going-ons in The Smackdown. 

He was Terri's favourite patron. 

Chyna came up to the bar with an empty tray, "Two Smackdown Specials, and one Raw Rocket for table 3," she said. 

"Coming up, " Terri replied, and reached under the bar to grab the ingredients. She sighed as she mixed together the drinks. 

Chyna looked at her sympathetically, "I miss him too," she said. 

Terri acknowledged Chyna's comment, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Terri nodded to the empty bar stool, "No one's sat there since the PTC attack," she shook her head, "Apparently he took a point-blank phaser blast trying to save that ungrateful wench, Stephanie! Then the PTC took him..." 

"I'm sure he's ok," Chyna said, "I mean, he's GOT to be!" she smiled kindly, "He has too big an ego to be taken out so unceremoniously!" 

Terri wiped away a single tear, "I heard something today..." she said, "About WrestleFleet's stand regarding Chris, and Dr. Taker..." 

"What did they say?" Chyna asked. 

Terri took a deep breath, and spoke, "They said if McMahon is unable to find them by the end of today's cycle, they're going to call the Titanprize back to continue it's duties, and they'll declare them both MIA," 

"WHAT?!" Chyna was livid, "They can't do that! They can't leave two crewmen out there to die at enemy hands!" 

Terri shook her head, "They consider Chris merely a computer. Apparently, they'd rather lose a computer then start a fight to get it back!" 

"He is NOT a computer!" Chyna said angrily, "He's our _friend!_" 

"Try selling that line to WrestleFleet!" Terri replied, then frowned, "As for Dr. Taker, WrestleFleet claims their records show Dr. U. Taker was killed in the line of duty 15 years ago!" 

"15 years ago?!" Chyna asked, "But I was told he's been stationed aboard the Titanprize for over ten years now!" 

"He was here before _I_ even came on board, but..." Terri shrugged, "Apparently WrestleFleet had no knowledge of that, and Captain McMahon has been less then forward with information regarding his Chief Medical Officer..." 

"But..." Chyna shook her head, "Never mind!" She had learned long ago that there was very little anyone knew about Dr. Taker... and very little they _wanted _to know. 

"Still, " Terri said, "That doesn't excuse their stand on Chris! If I have to, I'll go to WrestleFleet headquarters myself and tell them exactly what I think of their holier-than-thou attitude!" 

"You mean _WE_ will go to WrestleFleet headquarters!" Chyna said, "I'm with you on this one! But..." her voice grew serious, "What can we do?" 

Terri smiled, "We're women, sweetie! They're MEN… mostly. I'm sure there's a lot we can do!" 

* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP - CORE 

"Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-Minus 19 minutes," Lt. Commander Jericho spoke, his voice void of emotion. 

The drones rushed about, attempting to reprogram the ticking time-bomb before them. 

Lt. Commander Jericho felt a surge of power in his positronic brain, and paused, "Unit Y2J self-destruct halted," 

_Halted_, not _cancelled_

__

The PTC drones knew that meant the countdown could start up again any minute now. 

They feverishly continued their work. 

* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP - CORRIDORS   
  
Dr. Taker stalked around the PTC ship, quiet as death. The drones were currently busy with Unit Y2J, and hadn't noticed the doctor free himself from the alcove. He had long-since figured out Lt. Commander Jericho's plan and, while he couldn't care less for the android, he did not see the need for the Y2J Unit to sacrifice himself, however pathetically noble it may be. 

Dr. Taker went up to the window of the cube ship, and looked out. Obviously the Titanprize had not yet located their wherabouts. 

Dr. Taker smiled coldly. 

Perhaps he could help the Titanprize out a bit... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

Ensign Christian studied his reflection in the shiny black console before him. Suddenly, he screamed. 

His brother, who had been at the console behind him, quickly ran to his side, "What is it? What's wrong?!" he asked, concerned. 

"Look, Edge!!" Christian cried, and pointed to a green dot in his reflection, "I've got a ZIT! That is SO not fair!" 

Ensign Edge studied the green dot, then looked at his brother. He smiled, "You have nothing to worry about…" 

"I don't?" Christian asked, his voice small and frightened. 

"No! Your face is flawless... as usual!" Edge explained, "_That_..." he pointed to the dot on the console, "is only a PTC cube ship!" 

Christian sighed with relief, "Thank goodness! It's nothing important..." Then he did a double take, "PTC SHIP?!" he turned to his brother, "Perhaps we should tell the Captain about this. He's making his daily rounds," 

"Good idea, brother!" Edge said, and tapped his comm badge, "Ensign Edge to Captain McMahon," 

McMahon's voice came through the comm, "Report, Mr. Edge." 

"We have good news and bad news, sir.." 

"What's the bad news?" McMahon asked. 

"Sensors detect the PTC Cube ship heading straight for us... but the _good_ news is that Christian's face is still totally flawless!" McMahon muttered something about what Christian could do with his flawless face. Edge furrowed his brow, "I think that may be physically impossible, sir..." 

"Shut up, Ensign!" McMahon snapped, "I'm on my way!" 

* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP 

Another surge of energy invaded Unit Y2J's positronic brain. He felt a tingle of pain down his right arm and quickly rerouted the power surge back through the wires to one of the drones attempting to reprogram him. 

The drone screamed -- a very human scream -- and short circuited, falling in a heap. 

Suddenly, an image entered Jericho's mind: 

__

"Daddy, you said you'd take me and Shane to Disneyland today!" a ten year old girl cried. 

__

"Daddy's been called away on WrestleFleet business Stephie, honey. Maybe next time..." 

__

The little girl pouted, "That's what you said LAST time!" she snapped, and walked away. 

__

When she was old enough, she would join WrestleFleet. Then maybe daddy would finally notice her. 

__

The scene fast forwarded ten years: 

_A 20 year old Stephanie sat in the washroom, crying. The proudest moment of her life -- her WrestleFleet graduation -- and Captain Vince McMahon was too busy with his stupid ship to attend!_

__

What did she have to do to get her father's attention? Start acting like a cheap slut, sullying the McMahon name? 

__

Lt. Commander Jericho quickly put up a firewall, preventing the PTC from seeing any more of Stephanie's memories -- memories she had involuntarily shared with him when they had escaped from the Ja'Ret a few months ago. Unit Y2J felt a strange need to protect Stephanie's secrets. 

And it had nothing to do with duty this time... 

The PTC threw another energy surge into Lt. Commander Jericho's positronic matrix. 

The Y2J Unit twitched, then spoke again, "Self-destruct re-activated. Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-Minus 19 minutes..." 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE   
  
"How long before we're in transporter range, Ensign Edge?" 

"About 15 minutes, sir..." 

McMahon nodded, "Bridge to Lt. Commander McMichael. As soon as we get within transporter range, beam Jericho and Dr. Taker aboard the Titanprize!" 

"Yes, sir!" McMichael replied. 

"Sir, if I may ask..." Ensign Christian began, "Where did the PTC ship come from? Our sensors didn't pick it up until it was right in front of us..." 

"It doesn't matter, Ensign. The ship is here NOW!" Captain McMahon snapped. No doubt Dr. Taker had something to do with the re-emergence of the PTC ship.... but the crew need not know that. 

* * *

PTC CUBE SHIP 

"Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-minus 8 minutes," Jericho droned on. 

"We cannot reprogram the android's self-destruct sequence," one automaton spoke to another. 

Jericho stopped counting for a moment, "Once the self-destruct sequence is activated, it cannot be shut down," he said, his voice flat and unemotional, "Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-minus 7 minutes..." 

* * *

  
WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Sir! We're within transporter range!" Ensign Edge announced. 

"Do it, Debra!" McMahon commanded. 

"Yes, sir!" Lt. Commander McMichael's voice came through the comm system. There was a pause, and then, "Uh, sir..." McMichael spoke, "They're aboard but... you may want to call a bomb squad in here..." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-minus 4 minutes..." 

Commander Stephanie looked at the containment field that held Lt. Commander Jericho, then turned back to the readouts on her console. 

"Well, can you deactivate the self-destruct?" Captain McMahon asked as he looked over his daughter's shoulder. 

"I'm trying, dad!" Stephanie replied as she studied the Y2J Unit's complex blueprints and stats. "This isn't exactly a user-friendly manual, you know!" She sighed and went up to the containment field. The field would protect the ship should Stephanie be unable to cancel Unit Y2J's self-destruct, "Damn you, Jericho!" she snapped angrily, "Would you really have killed yourself to stop the PTC?!"   
  
"Yes," he replied, "It was my duty to prevent them from finding out WrestleFleet's secrets," 

"Forget DUTY!" She shouted, "What about YOU? Don't you care that you're going to die?" 

"I have deactivated my emotion chip. I do not care about anything at the present time..." 

"Not even about how your misguided friends will miss you if you go BOOOOOM?!" she asked. 

Lt. Commander Jericho put his hands against the containment field -- an energy tube that looked and felt like glass -- and leaned forward, "Would _you_ miss me if I go BOOOOOM?" he asked quietly. 

Stephanie looked at him, and backed away. His question startled her. Even more so did the answer she almost provided, "Why are you suddenly acting so melodramatic?" she asked quickly, "I thought you turned off your emotion chip!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho blinked, somewhat confused, "I _did_..." he replied, then brought his hands down to his sides, stepping back from the containment field, "Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-minus 3 minutes..." 

Commander Stephanie put her hands on her hips, deep in thought. Suddenly, she smiled, "That's IT!" She said, and quickly lowered the containment field. She turned to the Y2J Unit, "Take your shirt off!" she commanded. 

"Steph??" Captain McMahon said, eyeing his daughter warily. 

She put a hand up to hush him and turned back to Jericho, "Take it off!" she repeated. Jericho did so. She took the shirt from him and put it on her console, "Now... lie down!" 

"Steph, this isn't very appropriate..." McMahon started. 

Commander Stephanie ignored him, and nodded to Jericho. 

The Y2J Unit lay on the floor. 

Stephanie sat on him and put her hands on his chest, trying to feel for something. 

"STEPH!" Captain McMahon sputtered. "What are you DOING?" 

"SHUT UP, DAD!" Stephanie snapped, "Get your mind out of the gutter!" She then returned to her task, "Here we go!" she pressed a hidden button on Lt. Commander Jericho's side. 

Unit Y2J's chest cavity opened, revealing a mess of wires. Stephanie put her hands inside and quickly studied each wire. "Not this one. Not this one... damnit!" she was getting frustrated. "Which one is connected to the self-destruct?!" she asked, but Unit Y2J was no help. 

"Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-Minus 2 minutes. Unit Y2J will self-destruct in T-Minus 1 minute, 59 seconds. Unit Y2J will---" 

"Unit Y2J will SHUT THE HELL UP before I detach his voice box!" Stephanie snapped, then grabbed his hand, and switched his emotion chip on. Maybe it would stop the infernal countdown. Maybe he could help her disengage his damn self-destruct! 

Jericho blinked, then everything came into focus, especially Stephanie... who was still sitting on top of him, "What the HELL are you doing, Skank?!" he shouted. 

"I'm trying to save your worthless life, JERK!" Stephanie replied angrily. 

Jericho noticed his open chest, and looked up at her. He noticed something on her face, and furrowed his brow. Jericho carefully lifted a hand and touched her cheek... 

Stephanie jumped, "Don't you DARE touch me, you disgusting bucket of bolts!" 

Jericho held his hand out to her... and she noticed a drop of wetness, "You're crying," he said, "Or am I to assume you have something in your eye?" Stephanie didn't answer, and slapped his hand away as she continued studying the wires in his chest, "_What_, exactly, _are_ you doing?" he repeated. 

"I'm trying to deactivate your stupid self-destruct sequence, idiot!" she snapped. 

Jericho was silent for a moment, then, "Done..." 

Stephanie stopped, hands full of Unit Y2J-insides. She looked down at him, "What??" 

"I said DONE! My self-destruct is cancelled." he replied. 

Commander Stephanie fumed, "You mean to tell me I went through ALL THAT... and you could cancel it at any time?!" 

"With my emotion chip activated, yes..." 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?!" 

"My emotion chip includes a self-preservation program," he explained, "My need for self-preservation overrode the self-destruct sequence!" 

Stephanie opened and closed her mouth. Jericho thought she did a great imitation of a fish. Finally, she spoke, "So you mean to tell me that if I hadn't turned your emotion chip on---" 

"I would be in 20 million gorgeous little pieces right now... yes..." 

"And what a shame THAT would be..." she replied sarcastically. 

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Jericho finally spoke, "Do you mind?" he asked, and gestured for her to get off him, "Unless you have some kinky little fantasy I don't want to know about..." 

Stephanie frowned angrily and snapped his chest shut, "Sorry, but I don't go for _artificial_ men!" she replied snidely, and stood up. 

"But you go for _super_ficial men... don't you, Stephie?" he said, and gracefully jumped to his feet in a rather athletic gesture. 

"Show off...!" Stephanie commented. 

"Trashbag 'ho…" Jericho replied, and hovered beside her. 

"What do you want?!" she asked. 

He held out his hand, "My shirt! Or would you rather I go TOPLESS for the rest of the day?" 

Stephanie grabbed his shirt from her console and threw it at him, "Take it and just go SOMEWHERE..." She snapped. 

The two glared at each other silently, the tension so thick, McMahon could cut it with a laser-scalpel. 

Captain McMahon cleared his throat. Jericho turned to him, having forgotten he was even there, "Sir?" 

"Lt. Commander Jericho," the Captain started, "You have the rest of the day off," he put a hand on Unit Y2J's shoulder, "Thank you for offering to sacrifice yourself for the good of WrestleFleet! I will mention it in my report." 

Jericho nodded, "But the PTC is still out there!" 

"Well, we----" Suddenly a large explosion echoed like thunder, and the ship shook violently, throwing Stephanie against Unit Y2J. 

She grabbed him tightly, bracing herself for the next impact... whatever it was that had hit them! 

Nothing happened. 

"Excuse me, Skankanie... but I thought you didn't go for artificial men?!" 

Stephanie looked up at him, and quickly shoved him away, " I was just trying to brace myself!" 

"Sure you were! Hey... it's ok, Stephie! I'll just add it to one of your many secrets!" 

Stephanie winced. Did he have to remind her of that? "Screw you, Chris..." she snapped, hurt and angry. 

"You only wish..." he whispered smugly. 

She let out a frustrated shout, and pushed past him as she quickly walked to the other side of Engineering to check for any damages. He merely smirked at her reaction. 

Captain McMahon hit his comm badge, "McMahon to Bridge! Report! What the HELL just happened?" 

"Well, Pops..." Commander Shane's voice cam through the comm, "The PTC ship just... uh... _exploded_... " 

"What?! HOW?!" 

"I don't know, Pops! I REALLY don't know!" 

Captain McMahon shook his head and turned to Jericho, "You're dismissed. Enjoy the rest of the day while I try to figure out how the hell that ship exploded!" 

Jericho quickly put his uniform top on, and walked out of Engineering. 

Captain McMahon watched the Y2J Unit leave, then headed off to find the ONLY person who could explain what had just happened to the PTC ship. 

Dr. Taker. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

Terri shouted happily when Lt. Commander Jericho came through the doors. She quickly bounded up to him and hugged him. A little too tightly. "Chris! Thank god, you're ok!" She replied. 

"Yes. I'm fine." 

Chyna came up to him, "It's good to see you back, Chris..." she said, and held out a hand. 

Jericho ignored Chyna's hand and hugged her respectfully - all past arguments forgotten. 

He stepped back and looked at the two women in front of him, "Don't tell me you two had given me up for dead!" 

Terri smiled, "We were worried! We didn't know!" she headed to the bar, "Come sit! Have a free drink!" 

"Free?" Jericho repeated, and quickly hopped up on his usual bar stool, "I'm game!" 

Terri handed him a drink, and looked across the Smackdown, "Speaking of games..." 

Jericho followed her gaze, and saw Ensign Helmsley glaring daggers at him from the other side of the room, "He's just jealous because people actually give a damn about me…" 

By now, other crewmembers had gathered around Jericho, shaking his hand and congratulating him on returning safe and sound. He thanked them, his emotion chip working over time. He actually felt like _crying_ hearing all the well-wishes from his fellow crewmen and women. 

Jericho gulped down the rest of his drink and turned to Terri, "Can I get a free refill?" 

Terri raised an eyebrow, "I didn't miss you _that_ much, Chris..." 

Jericho sighed, and paid the required credits for his next drink. 

Ah yes! It was good to be back!   


   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	31. Season 5 Episode 2 Medical Hisstory

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON FIVE**

**EPISODE 2: MEDICAL HIS-STORY**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's _personal _log, stardate 062420.00. WrestleFleet has been asking questions about my reports regarding the PTC kidnapping of my Chief Medical Officer and the Y2J Unit. They have accused me of faking my reports, claiming Dr. U. Taker was killed in the line of duty some 15 years ago. I tried explaining that he has been aboard my ship for the past 10 years. They believe that if there IS a Dr. U. Taker aboard my ship, it is not the one that served in WrestleFleet..." Captain McMahon shook his head, "Either WrestleFleet's information is incorrect, or Dr. Taker has been lying to me all these years. I hope it is not the latter..." he closed his log book. 

What WAS Dr. Taker's story anyway? 

* * * 

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker finished giving Commander Kane his annual check up. All those aboard the Titanprize needed one this week. 

Commander Kane glared at him angrily throughout the procedure. 

Dr. Taker didn't speak. After fifteen years, his scarred brother still had not forgiven the doctor for abandoning him in the fire that destroyed their home. 

Of course, Dr. Taker had thought his brother had long since left the area before he had burned their house to the ground. 

But then, everyone made mistakes. 

* * * 

TEXAS COLONY - STARDATE 062419.85 

The 21 year old medical officer poured gasoline over the two bodies in front of him, and felt nothing. No loss. No guilt. No regret. 

He had tried to save the couple, as he had tried to save the others, but there was no cure for the plague that had infested his colony. 

He held the gasoline tin for a moment and took one last look at the place he had called home. Home, that was, until he had entered WrestleFleet academy. 

Ah well. All things must come to an end. 

He had had to burn numerous infected bodies, and these two would be no different - despite the fact he had once called them mother and father. 

He fired his phaser, and ignited the gasoline. The flames spread out quickly. He knew Paul - a man who had been with his family for as long as he could remember - had long since gone. 

All that was left for the WrestleFleet officer to do was take his younger brother, and continue his duties on board the ship that currently orbited the planet. 

The overly-calm medical practitioner walked out of the burning house, and watched the flames consume it. 

Where had his little brother gone off to anyway? 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE SICKBAY - PRESENT STARDATE 

"You are 100% healthy, Kane. Now you can get your stank ass out of my sickbay and go mope about elsewhere..." Dr. Taker said. 

"Your beside manner needs some work, brother..." Kane spoke. 

"As does your face, but that is not going to happen." 

"And whose fault is my face, brother?" 

"It's your OWN damn fault! If you had stayed put instead of running back into the house, you would have been fine." 

"You burned mother ..." Kane hissed angrily. 

"She was contaminated, _brother,_" Dr. Taker said, "And very much DEAD! I burned all the contaminated bodies. It was procedure!" 

"Someone else should have done it! It was our mother!" 

"And she was like all the other victims! Now I believe I told you to leave my sickbay!" he turned to Nurse Bearer, "Get your damn son out of here, Paul... before I hurt him!" 

Nurse Bearer nodded, and lead Kane out of Sickbay. 

Dr. Taker went into his office, and sat down. 

What else was he supposed to do when he couldn't find his brother after he had burned the house down all those years ago? He had figured Kane had fallen victim to the plague like the others! 

And besides, Dr. Taker had had duties to attend to on board the NWA Indyship! 

* * * 

NWA INDYSHIP SICKBAY - STARDATE 062619.85 

The ship was under attack. Bodies upon bodies were being piled up in sickbay, and it was all the doctor could do to tend to the fatally wounded. There were just too many casualties. 

It was a good thing he felt no affinity for any particular crewman. It made his work that much easier when he could save some, and lose others without suffering from emotional pain. 

The ship shook violently again, and a console exploded behind him, showering him with sparks. Sharp glass embedded itself in his flesh, causing his own blood to pool around him. 

The doctor collapsed to the ground, now injured worse then his patients. He had never feared death, and even now, he embraced the darkness as it rushed at him. 

It seemed the NWA Indyship would have to find themselves a new doctor... 

* * * 

ELSEWHERE - STARDATE UNKNOWN 

He was surrounded by darkness, voices coming at him from every direction. 

One particular voice could be heard above the others, "Who are you?" it asked, echoing as if in a large cavern. 

"I am a doctor aboard WrestleFleet ship NWA---" 

The voice interrupted him, "Stations mean nothing here! What is your name?" 

"Dr. U. Taker..." He replied. 

"Dr. U. Taker," the voice repeated, "There is darkness in your soul. Cold, cruel darkness. It is too much darkness for us to send you up," the voice paused, then spoke again, "However, having saved many lives during your time, there is not _enough_ darkness to send you down..." The doctor was silent, and the voice continued, "Until you overcome the darkness within you, or allow it to completely consume you, there is no place for you. I hearby return you to your mortal soil..." 

"I am officially dead," the doctor spoke, "Unless there is something more for me to return with, I will stay here..." 

"You cannot!" the voice replied, surprised, "You will taint this place!" 

The doctor smiled coldly, "All your omnipotent powers cannot force me to return if I do not wish to..." 

A murmur came from the other voices around him, and finally the single voice spoke, "We have NEVER had one ask for a bribe to return!" the voice shouted. "They are normally grateful for another chance to prove where they belong!" 

"_I_ am not normal," the doctor replied. 

The voices around him seemed agitated, then the single voice spoke once again, "Very well. We will send you back with a gift. How you chose to use that gift will determine where you belong..." The voice then added one more thing, "When you return, you will notice some years have passed. That is merely because up here, time is irrelevant. Now... take your leave of us. When your judgement day comes, we will speak again..." 

* * * 

LANGELES WRESTLEFLEET EMBASSY - STARDATE 062619.90 

The new Captain of the Starship Titanprize was in agony. Pain burned through every nerve as he lay on the diagnostics bed. 

The Captain heard the hiss of a hypospray at his neck, and soon the pain subsided, "You have been hit with a level 5 disrupter beam," the doctor tending him spoke. 

The Captain cursed the violence on Langeles, and wondered why WrestleFleet even TRIED to talk these uncivilized people into joining the United WrestleFleet Federation! They were just not welcome... as could be seen from the various WrestleFleet officers that had been attacked for merely walking the streets -- such as himself. 

The Captain turned his head to see who tended to him, and was met with cold grey eyes, "Thank you for relieving the pain, doctor --- ?" he waited for the man to introduce himself. 

"Taker..." he said. 

He nodded carefully, so as not to aggravate the wound in his chest, "I am Captain Vincent K. McMahon..." the Captain replied, "Aboard the WWF Titanprize," 

Dr. Taker nodded, "How long have you been serving as her Captain?" 

"Less then a year. It was my father's ship before me. I inherited it..." he moved slightly, and winced. 

"Stay still, Captain..." Dr. Taker said, "I need to patch up your injuries. You must sleep first..." he put another hypospray against McMahon's neck. McMahon soon fell into a painless sleep. 

When McMahon finally woke, his pain had eased greatly. A pudgy, pale nurse noticed him, and informed Dr. Taker, who was sitting in a chair behind a makeshift desk going through some files and reports. 

The doctor looked up, "You are free to return to your ship now. Your injuries are no longer life-threatening, though you will be in pain for a while. Have your Chief Medical Officer tend to you." He went back to his files. 

"Well..." Captain McMahon began, "We are currently lacking a Chief Medical Officer right now. He left for more money..." McMahon shrugged. 

Dr. Taker continued looking at his files, "Too bad," he replied, not really caring. 

The Captain continued to speak, "I notice you're not wearing a WrestleFleet uniform, yet you carry yourself like a WrestleFleet officer..." 

Dr. Taker looked up at him, "I was a WrestleFleet officer _once_. Then... _things..._ happened. Right now, I am a freelance medical practitioner." 

"Would you like to become a WrestleFleet officer once again? Since I have an open position on the Titanprize, I could use someone like you..." 

Dr. Taker raised an eyebrow, "Interesting offer," he said, "But after a while, you may regret your decision..." 

"Why?" McMahon asked. 

"I have been told I do not have a pleasant beside manner," he spoke. 

McMahon smiled, "I could tell..." he said, "No matter. I think we can be useful to one another.." 

Dr. Taker stood up, "Very well..." he said. "If you would like me to return to active duty   
onboard the Titanprize..." he looked at his nurse, "I must insist _he_ come with me." 

The Captain acknowledged the man beside the doctor, "Fine. We have room," 

The Doctor turned to his nurse, "Pack your things, Paul. We are leaving this hell hole..." 

* * * 

WWF TITANPRIZE SICKBAY - PRESENT STARDATE 

Dr. Taker finished with Commander Stephanie McMahon, who seemed more then eager to get out of his Sickbay. 

Captain McMahon almost ran into her as she rushed out of the room. McMahon sat on the diagnostics bed, and waited for his check up. 

Dr. Taker acknowledged him, and quickly commanded him to lie down. McMahon did so. 

"Taker..." McMahon started, "You've been serving onboard the Titanprize for some time now... and some recent information has come to my attention regarding your status in WrestleFleet..." 

"Yes?" Dr. Taker asked as he scanned McMahon with his tricorder. 

"Apparently... they declare that Dr. U. Taker is... well... _dead.._" 

"Is that so?" Dr. Taker asked, his voice flat and unemotional as he studied the readings on his tricorder. 

"Uh... yes... well..." Captain McMahon cleared his throat, "Listen, if you're using someone else's identity, just let me know! WrestleFleet is starting to wonder..." 

"I assure you, Vince, I AM Dr. U. Taker. The same one that WrestleFleet has in its records..." 

"Listen, Taker! WrestleFleet claims you're DEAD! Is there a mistake? Or did you fake your death? If you faked your death, you don't need to tell me why..." 

"There _is_ no mistake, and I did _not_ fake my death..." Dr. Taker replied. He stopped scanning McMahon, and looked at him, "You knew there was something different about me when we first met, Vince. You did not voice your opinion, but I could tell," 

"Well... to be honest... yes. I DID wonder about you..." 

Dr. Taker nodded his head, "And I am afraid you shall CONTINUE to wonder about me until your last breath escapes from your frail body..." 

McMahon gulped quietly. Dr. Taker had such a way with words... 

"You are finished..." the doctor spoke. 

McMahon blinked, "Pardon...?" he asked nervously. 

"Your exam is finished. You are in good health. You may return to your duties now." 

Captain McMahon jumped off the diagnostics bed, and headed to the door. He allowed one last look at the doctor, "It's good to have you back onboard, Taker..." he said. 

McMahon then left sickbay as quickly as his daughter Stephanie had. 

Truthfully, the Captain couldn't really blame his daughter for being frightened of the man in who's hands he had, perhaps foolishly, placed the physical well being of the entire crew. 

The Captain would be lying if he claimed he did not fear the dark doctor a little bit _himself_. 

On the way to his ready room, McMahon racked his brain to think of a convincing story to tell WrestleFleet regarding his chief medical officer… 


	32. Season 5 Episode 3 The Devil You Know

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 3

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra 

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 3: THE DEVIL YOU KNOW 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061344.00. The PTC has been destroyed once and for all, their cube vaporized by methods unknown. Whatever Dr. Taker's secret to successfully ending the threat was, he can carry it to his grave...if that's even possible...." 

Captain McMahon shivered. He could have sworn the temperature had just dropped five degrees. 

"I must say...I am blown away by my daughter's heroics in saving the Y2J Unit, an android considered a mere computer by those idiots at Wrestlefleet. I guess when the chips are down, little Stephie is a dedicated officer at heart! There's no other way to explain the extraordinary measures she went through to prevent Lt Commander Jericho from falling victim to his own self-destruct sequence. 

Still, I cannot claim she's returned to normal. She still seems sad, sullen, depressed, and Counselor Snow tells me that she is complaining of nightmares about her time in the parallel universe. After watching her performance with the Y2J Unit, however, I am confident she can succeed in her latest mission, leading an away team to the surface of Maivian-8 to repair a sub-surface weather array that suffered severe damage during a volcanic explosion. The atmosphere there has become highly unstable. Against my better judgement, I am also sending Lt Jeff Hardy, whose temper continues to be a serious problem. Yesterday, he made Ensign Crash cry...." 

Vince drummed his fingers against the marble desk, trying to wrap his mind around why this week felt so special to him...whatever it was, his brain wouldn't give up the secret. 

"Damn! With the attacks by the PTC and problems on Maivian-8, my personal life has needed to take a backseat. I guess if this "special event" was so important, I'd remember what the hell it was!" 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"You know, it's just too damn bad everything about you is not as large as your ego, Lt Commander Jericho!" Stephanie snapped, her eyes bright with indignant rage as she stared down the Y2J Unit. Yeah, fine, so he'd almost gone to the big scrap heap in the sky thanks to the PTC. And yeah, he'd taken a phaser blast for her when the PTC had boarded the TitanPrize. That still didn't give him the right.... 

"You really should knock before you just prance into someone's room, Stephie." Jericho said, calmly. He had no idea human skin could turn that unique shade of red. "Mine's not open to the entire crew. It's not like your bed for crying out loud!" 

Stephanie felt her eyes moisten. Lately it seemed like she could cry over anything. She could only hope that Jericho didn't see the tear that slipped down her cheek...god...he'd probably think he hurt her feelings and just love it! 

"I just don't see the purpose of a robot being naked." Stephanie hissed at him. "Ever!" 

"I get dressed the same as you, Commander." Jericho told her. "Except for the step where I put on underwear." 

"How dare you!" Stephanie could feel the heat rise in her blood. "I'm completely traumatized by seeing you like that! I'll be into see Counselor Snow for weeks. Ugh! You were...you're....ick.....fully functional!" 

"You didn't think they'd stop just short of perfection did you?" Jericho asked, winking at her. He could have been embarrassed, but he was too darn distracted by Stephanie's entertaining discomfort. "Although I'd be interested to know...did it all measure up to your hot little fantasies?" 

"I don't-" Stephanie bit her tongue, hard. No, she wouldn't play this game, not today. It was bad enough that Daddy had clearly forgotten all about her, there was no need to add this insult to injury. "Ensign Lita, stuff that giggling and come here! I need the reports on the Maivian-8 weather system!" 

"Aye sir." Ensign Lita flinched as she gingerly put pressure on her sore swollen ankle. It had been twisted during a spirited game of Aerialian tennis, although she was certain that Jeff hadn't meant to play that aggressively with her. 

"What happened to you?" Stephanie demanded. "You can't go down to the surface like that!" 

"Sports injury." Lita said dismissively. "Here are your reports." She handed the Commander a padd. 

"This work is terrible." Stephanie shoved the padd back at Lita without even reading it. "I mean, I guess I thought it would be an easy task for you, but obviously you're too busy playing tonsil tag with the Hardy brothers to focus." 

Lita wanted to lunge at Stephanie and claw those smug eyes out. She took a deep breath to cleanse the anger. "Believe me, Commander, when it comes to easy, my reports don't hold a candle to some things in engineering." 

"You're dismissed from this department until further notice." Stephanie said coldly. "And take your little Aerialian ensign friend with you." 

Ensign Lita just shrugged, though she fumed at how unreasonable the Commander was being. Maybe she should be punished for her smart comment, but there was no need to drag Matt into it. _I should be used to it though_, Lita thought, exasperated. Jeff was acting the same damn way, as if they had both been infected with nasty, attitude-altering virus. 

"I don't need a lecture, Jericho." 

"Oh I know what you need honey." Jericho powered down his station as he prepared to end his shift. "I just don't think there's enough fresh male ensigns on this ship to give it to you." 

"Going to the Smackdown?" Stephanie sneered at him. "Lord knows you enjoy that skank Terri sliming all over you like some sort of lovesick teenager." 

"I never noticed your eyes before Stephanie." Jericho walked over to her console, gently turning her face towards his. She held her breath...his lips were so sickeningly close to hers...funny how revulsion could make your heart beat twice as fast as normal... 

"What about them?" 

Jericho smiled, lightly brushing her hair out of her eyes. "They're just so darn...well...green!" 

Her eyes weren't green....wait a minute! Stephanie gasped. "I am not jealous!" 

"Night Stephie!" Jericho smirked all the way to the turbolift. 

"Why should I be jealous?" she asked herself aloud, now alone and highly flustered in Engineering. "I have a gorgeous, talented husband...a husband who also happens to be a very fine... Ensign. Not that there's anything wrong with being married to an Ensign, even if I am a McMahon! Jericho is the one who's so damn envious it fries his circuits!" 

Stephanie whirled around to start a warp core diagnostic, only to be faced with Lt Hardy silently reading a padd. She shrieked and took several huge steps backwards. 

"I'm sorry Commander." He seemed only mildly fazed by her alarm. "I didn't mean to frighten you." 

"I'm not frightened." Stephanie gulped in several lungfuls of air, trying to settle her frazzled nerves. It was all a lie, of course. As irrational as it was, the Aerialian lieutenant made her increasingly anxious; in fact, the idea of beaming down to Maivian-8 with him tomorrow sent a cold wave of fear crashing over her, though she'd be hard-pressed to explain why. "Your brother and Lita are in the Smackdown." 

Jeff shrugged. "I thought I'd get some work done on those toasted plasma coils. The PTC really did a number on them." 

"Alright." But it wasn't alright. Stephanie suddenly couldn't stand to be in the same room with him. She watched as he removed a panel so he could access the coils, feeling uneasy as Lt Hardy pointed his tri-corder at them. "I'll leave you to it then." 

"Good-night." Lt Hardy said flatly. 

Stephanie turned on her heel and fled. 

* * *

MAIVIAN-8: UNDERGROUND 

"Shouldn't sweat it so much Stephie." Jericho watched his Commander with barely concealed amusement as they and the rest of the away team trooped through a series of underground paths and tunnels, to the heart of the Maivian weather array. "I'd think you'd be used to being under things." 

Stephanie wiped away a film of cold sweat. She was not at all scared of being below the surface of the planet-every muscle in her body was tense knowing that a moody, silent Lt Hardy was strolling behind her. She hated the chill it sent up her spine, not understanding where it came from, not seeing why she should be so worried about a wimpy, naive little fool like Jeff Hardy. 

"Try not to trip into a crack, Chrissie." Stephanie warned him. "I hear they're filled with red-hot lava that could melt your no-selling Titanium inner coating right off." 

"Excellent!' Ensign Edge called out. He and his younger brother, Christian were forced to lug the heavier repair equipment. "The steam from lava is perfect for cleaning out pores and releasing the skin's natural oils!" 

"Dude!" Christian sounded alarmed. "Does this specially designed cargo suit make me look fat?" 

"You look fine Ensign Christian." Jericho assured him. "Though on Commander McMahon-Helmsley, it does tend to accentuate the hips a little." 

"We'll stop here." Jeff cut the fun off abruptly. They had arrived at the base of the weather array, where a quick scan indicated that numerous things needed patching and fixing. "Ensigns, hurry up and set up the plasma relays so we can power this thing up." 

"Goodness." Edge kneeled down in front of his shiny silver machine. "Does my hair ever look lustrous in this particular reflection!" 

"Awesome!" Christian said admiringly. "I wonder if you can make mirrors out of this stuff." 

Lt Hardy tapped his comm badge. "Two to beam up McMichaels. Please lock on Edge and Christians' signals and transport when ready." 

"Why the hell did you do that Hardly?" Stephanie demanded as the blondes disappeared in a shimmering stream of light. "Now we have to set up the equipment by ourselves!" 

Even Jericho had raised an eyebrow. "Lieutenant?" 

"We'll get it done faster ourselves." Jeff ignored their frustrated expressions. "Unless you find hair-combing helpful to our mission." 

"I think Christian had our laser-knife on him." Stephanie wailed. "We need one for this assignment!" 

"Don't pop a hormone sweet stuff." Jericho rolled his eyes. "I can get one from the aboveground Maivian science station. Geesh." 

"I can get it." Stephanie snapped. 

"No way." Jericho shook his head. "I saw all the attractive men on that station. You'll never come back considering how cheap your rates are." 

The Y2J Unit was able to call for an above-surface transport before Stephanie could lunge at him. She felt her hair stand on end when she realized he had gone and left her with Hardy. Alone. She swallowed. 

"I could use some help here." Jeff said impatiently, as he kneeled down in front of a plasma relay. "These things don't calibrate themselves." 

"Sorry." Stephanie gave a startled cry as she felt a sharp stinging sensation run down her arm. A bright red welt was forming on her elbow, but she sighed with relief when she saw a Maivian insect fly away from the scene of the crime-a bug bite. She almost felt foolish about her panic. 

"You okay?" Lt Hardy was looking up at her quizically. 

"Uh yeah." Stephanie wished she'd kept her sleeve rolled down, but it was so toasty warm down here. She had to take a deep breath to steady herself, as a moment of dizziness struck without warning. 

"Here." Jeff had reached into his medkit and removed a hypospray. He held it out to her, the sharp end staring her in the face. His expression grew wary as her face turned so white he could almost see through it. "Commander?" 

"Stay away from me." Stephanie staggered backwards, not even really seeing the look of startled confusion on the young lieutenant's face. What she did see was the same Lieutenant Hardy facing her in the parallel universe shuttlecraft, his phaser pointed at her chest, his finger twitching on the trigger. He'd killed her! Killed her while they were on their way to escaping! Why..... 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley!" he barked at her. "Be careful! What's wrong with you?" He was about ready to hail Dr. Taker. 

"You shot me." She glared accusingly at him. "You had your phaser set to kill, and you shot me!" 

"Stephanie!" Lt Hardy watched in horror as the earth seemed to swallow the Commander whole..... 

* * *

MAIVIAN-8, UNDERGROUND 

"Gee what happened to you, Stephie?" Lt Commander Jericho looked down the dark abandoned mine shaft that split that particular piece of earth in half. He could see a few glossy strands of her hair, but most importantly, he could hear her loud, angry breathing. 

"I'm stuck in a hole!" she yelled at him, injecting her leg with a hypospray he had tossed down to her. She didn't think it was broken, but it was painful enough. 

"You're a stuck-up ho?" Jericho called back, grinning at Lt Hardy, who for some reason could not muster a smile of his own. "What's that got to do with the situation?" 

"Are you going to transport me out of here?" Stephanie asked tiredly. "I'm really looking forward to force-feeding you a gallon of high-powered solvent." 

"No can do dollface." Jericho replied. "Too much interference. I'm preparing a harness and our young Aerialian friend is going to lift you out of there. He can twist his flexible form just so, a talent I am sure you appreciate in a man." 

"No!" 

"You want to get out of there don't you?" Jericho asked curiously. "Or is it that Jeff won't be paying you two dollars before he gets his arms around you?" 

"Can't you do it, Chris?" Stephanie was still seized by those fearful thoughts, one of them being that now she had accused Lt Hardy of murdering her in another universe, he might just accidentally let her drop. The longer she sat and shivered at the bottom of the shaft, the more clear the memory of what he'd done to her became. How could he? 

"I'm touched oh human mattress, I really am." Jericho tied one end of the harness to his wrist, he was strong enough to support the weight of both Wrestlefleet officers, being a droid and all. "But Jeffrey is the only one here who can contort himself enough to get down there, and I'm the only one with enough strength to pull you both up, depsite that large-" 

"I'm starting to think you study my backside a little too closely Jericho." 

"As I was saying." The Y2J Unit cleared his throat. "Lt Hardy seems particularly skilled at rescuing you. Let's go with what works, kay?" 

Stephanie let her silence be the answer. She was so worried about Jeff's attempts to save her that she didn't even feel the way the sting from the insect bite seemed to travel up her arm and into her shoulder, crawling up her neck..... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-THE SMACKDOWN 

"Thanks for meeting me Commander." Lieutenant Hardy had already removed the stars from his uniform and set them on a table. He stared straight ahead, his eyes not seeing the space outside the windows. 

"Why did we have to meet after closing time?" Stephanie kept one hand on her phaser. Lt Hardy didn't seem to notice, his back was turned to her, his glazed over eyes focused on some other time and place. "Did you want to make sure you finished the job this time? No witnesses?" 

He actually cracked a smile. "If you really believed that, I doubt you'd be here." 

Stephanie stood beside the Lieutenant, staring through the asteroid belt that embraced the planet of Maivian-8. It might have been a romantic sight, had Chr-...Hunter had been next to her. "I don't have any proof, that much is true, but the McMahon name alone will get you put in a maximum security Wrestlefleet prison camp for the rest of your miserable life." 

"Understood." 

Fascinating. Apparently, the Aerialian had the same sappy conscience he'd always had, it was simply hidden under layers of anger and depression now. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were executed for blasting Captain Vincent K McMahon's daughter with a high-powered phaser." 

This time, Jeff flinched. "You were never supposed to remember what happened, Commander." 

"A McMahon never forgets being crossed, Lt Hardy." Stephanie smirked. "And we never forget to make our enemies pay and pay dearly." 

The lieutenant's eyes studied the floor, his lackluster blonde hair turning a dark shade of bluish-purple as his mood darkened. "You don't understand, Stephanie. I had to....you begged me to." 

"Liar." Stephanie spat the word out. "I suppose if it had been Lita in the shuttle, this wouldn't have happened!" 

Lt Hardy felt heat rising up the back of his neck, as it always did when anyone talked about Lita. "I would've done it for her. I would've done it for Matt. I would've done it for any Wrestlefleet officer in the same situation." 

"You're sick." Stephanie hissed. How could she have missed the fact that Jeff was a madman? 

He shook his head...he couldn't take it anymore, keeping this all inside. He didn't care that Dr. Taker had warned him to keep his punk ass silent. How could the Chief Medical Officer expect him to even live like this, with the horrors of that parallel universe burning a hole inside his chest? Lt Hardy didn't know what real sleep was anymore; he only understood nightmares about killing Stephanie, about his brother dying... 

"You were hit with a lethal disruptor blast, Commander." Jeff said quietly. "It was an advanced weapon that spread poisonous radiation through every cell of your body. It triggered every single pain receptor you had, and Wrestlefleet medicine couldn't help." 

"That never happened." 

Lt Hardy sighed. "You were in such agony. I didn't want to end your life Stephanie, I didn't....but it was so wrong to let you suffer like that." He took a deep breath. "The pain could've gone on for hours, and you couldn't be sedated....you deserved a better death than that." 

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You'd invent a disgusting story like that to save your own skin, Hardly? Dear god." 

"Remember Sickbay?" Jeff wasn't supposed to talk about this, but to hell with Dr. Taker, to hell with his career after the sins he'd committed. "How excrutiating your recovery was for the first day? How only a "medical miracle" saved your life?" 

Stephanie concentrated, hard. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting her mind drift....Dr. Taker had.....then there was nothing. But she knew, she knew for sure that Jeff was telling the truth. She didn't exactly understand how she could be so certain.... 

"I was actually...dead...." Stephanie felt her throat close and her eyes start to swim. No, she wouldn't weep before an inferior. "You did what you had to, Lieutenant. I'm sorry I-oh man, I hated being so scared of you. All those horrible nightmares...Hunter doesn't get it-he just snaps when I wake him up in the middle of the night, screaming and freaking out." 

"I can't stand to be around Lita or Matt." Jeff looked so gloomy. "It's like seeing ghosts. It won't be long before they stop speaking to me altogether." 

"Lita will always talk to you." Stephanie said scornfully. "Never fear." 

Did Commander McMahon-Helmsley know something he didn't? Lt Hardy wondered, rubbing his arm, which had started to throb. He'd also gotten chewed by one of those annoying Maivian insects while down below the surface. 

"I wish...I know this sounds silly, but I wish we could've talked this out sooner." Jeff said with a sigh. "I can't explain this kind of thing to Counselor Snow, and you're the only one on this damn ship who understands what went on in the parallel universe." 

Stephanie laughed. "You want us to be friends just cause we had a bad trip through a temporal distortion, Hardy?" 

Jeff shrugged. 

Well...it wouldn't be like making nice with Lt Commander Jericho or anything. And she could still treat the freaky-haired little kid like mud in Engineering.....besides it was so hard to be mad at someone who looked so darn sweet when they pouted. Oh, and the way his blue hair seemed to shine in the cool white starlight...wow... 

"According to ship's computer, it's officially my birthday now." Stephanie said with a bittersweet smile. Naturally her father was on one of Maivian-8's moons, meeting with the head of their government about urgent federation business. Naturally he hadn't hailed her to wish her a happy day. Naturally, there hadn't been any special gift waiting for her in her quarters.... 

Lt Hardy felt a stab of pity for the commander, who was staring out into space with the forlorn look of a puppy dog. She hadn't exactly made herself the apple of anyone's eye in engineering, and her family was so high-ranking in Wrestlefleet they were too busy for much quality time. Hunter was a jerk, Jericho couldn't return her feelings...Stephanie had about the most beautiful sad eyes he'd ever seen; they were even more beautiful than Lita's.... 

"Did Lt Commander Jericho buy you anything?" he asked with a grin. 

"Get real Hardly." Stephanie felt her misery deepen. She thought the Y2J Unit would at least have something sarcastic and insulting to say about her special day. A fight with him was gift enough. "Ensign Angle gave me a padd with a special birthday nursery rhyme on my way here." 

"I'll just bet he did." What was that? Had he just felt a stab of...jealousy? 

"Other than that...no one's really given me anything." Stephanie pouted. 

"Well then.." Lieutenant Hardy wrapped his arms around his commander, unable to resist any longer. "Happy birthday Stephanie." 

Stephanie sighed as Jeff kissed her with more than friendly intentions. He really was such a sweet kisser, just innocent enough to drive her mad. She didn't want him to ever stop... 

"Jeff!" 

Lt Hardy slowly looked up to find Lita and his big brother staring at him, their mouths hanging open. He felt more than a little irritated at being disturbed when he was having such a wonderful time.... 

"Do you mind, Lita?" Stephanie asked, unable to take her eyes off Jeff. "This is a private birthday celebration." 

"What in the name of-what are you doing little brother?" Matt demanded. "She's probably trying to set you up for a sexual harrassment suit or something!" 

"I'm sorry Stephanie." Jeff sighed. "I'm sure these two aren't intentionally trying to ruin your birthday." 

Lita was overcome with rage, a rage that blinded her. That tramp! That was her man! She grabbed the commander by the arm and pulled her away from Jeff. "You are nothing but a ho, just like Jericho says!" 

"Unhand me you witch!' Stephanie jerked her arm away. "It's not my fault that Jeff and I have shared something special you can't understand!" 

Lita slapped the taunting McMahon across her face. Instead of whining and whimpering like the spoiled and dainty princess she was, Stephanie unholstered her phaser and struck Lita on the back of the neck with it. Ensign Matt blinked. Were two girls fighting over his brother? 

"That is quite enough Ensign Lita." Jeff pulled Stephanie away from the red-headed spitfire, his glare cold as he gently wiped blood off the commander's face. "Another stunt like that and I'll have you thrown in the brig. Come on Steph, I'll escort you back to your room." 

"I hate them." Lita hissed, pushing her now mussed hair out of her eyes as she sat on the floor of the Smackdown. "I'd like to shove them both out an airlock!" 

"Are you alright?" Ensign Matt didn't feel this was the right time to point out that Lita had received plenty of chances to pursue his brother, but failed to take them all. He touched her ankle lightly; Ensign Lita had about the cutest feet in the world really. "Looks like this thing twisted the other way." 

"Oh that." Lita shrugged. "Hey-maybe you could kiss it and make it better." 

Ensign Matt was surprised by the amorous smile on the Aerialian beauty's face. He was even more surprised when she grabbed him by the collar and kissed him.... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN-24 HOURS LATER 

"Er....Eddie." Chyna hesitated as she approached her beau's table. Ensign Guerrero was playing cards with Lieutenants Farooq and Bradshaw, and even the Ninth Wonder of the Universe didn't mess with the tough guys while they were enjoying a good beer. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Farooq laid his hand on the table. "Girl, you don't seem to have any brews on your tray." 

"You brought your punk ass over and didn't bring us a damn beer?" Bradshaw demanded. "Ain't you the waitress here?" 

"Hey!" Ensign Guerrero protested. "This is Mamacita! Keep it cool." 

"I don't care if she's Captain Mamacita or the damned supreme leader of the universe, if she's not here with a keg or a fresh cigar, she better turn her ass around!" Farooq picked his cards back up, having laid down the law. 

"I don't suppose you've noticed the time, Eddie?" Chyna asked sweetly. tapping her high heeled foot impatiently. The young, eager ensign was a romantic at heart and rarely if ever missed a date, yet she was having a hard time dragging him away from a high-stakes game of poker? She was starting to feel a little wounded. 

"Hey Mamacita, the Holodeck will be there in five minutes." Eddie crunched an unlit cigar between his teeth, making a sour face as he did. "Anticipation is half the fun, you know what I mean?" 

"I've been anticipating for a half hour now." Chyna gritted her teeth. 

"Look here sweet stuff." Bradshaw glared at her. "What loverboy ain't telling ya is that he's 500 credits in the hole with us and digging himself even lower! So, if ya want your Latino Heat in one piece for your next moonlit walk, you'll take that cute caboose of yours and back it on up! You got me?" 

"Loud and clear." Chyna watched with exasperation as Eddie shrank down into his chair, flushing with shame. How dare he let Bradshaw speak to her like that! He should be embarrassed! "Don't even bother sending me roses this time, Eddie, cause I'll stick those thorns where the Maivian moon doesn't shine!" 

Eddie practically slid underneath the table as his woman stalked out of the Smackdown, tossing her studded leather apron over the bar on her way. Farooq just shook his head. 

"Boy, she's got you by your-" 

"I already owe you 500 credits." Ensign Guerrero moaned. "At least spare me some dignity!" 

Chyna felt hot tears prick her eyelids as leaned against the corridor. A truly smitten boyfriend would have stood up to a slimeball who talked about her like a piece of meat! A real man would've told the lieutenants to eat his debt and deal with it-gambling wasn't going to keep him from his precious Mamacita! Ensign Guerrero made her so crazy, making her feel like an awkward teenage girl going through her first crush...darn it...she was stronger than this! 

There was one special friend who owed her a long, heart to heart talk and was now able to pay up.... 

Chyna tapped her comm badge. "Chyna to Engineering. I'm looking for Lt Commander Jericho" 

"Uhh this is Ensign Hardy." a voice that was disappointingly not Chris's responded. "I'm sorry, Chyna, but Lt Commander Jericho has beamed down to the surface of Maivian-8. There's some problem with the repairs on the weather array." 

"Thank you Matt." Chyna felt her spirits sink even lower. 

"Why good evening, Miss Chyna!" The cheery voice of Ensign Crash broke through her gloom. "Isn't my favorite waitress working tonight?" He smiled, almost shyly. "You're the only one that doesn't card me anymore!" 

Her dark eyes got some of their sparkle back. It was hard not to perk up a little when you were exposed to Crash's boyish grin and enthusiasm. "I'm off tonight, Crash. I was going on a date with Eddie...but...oh you don't want to hear this." 

"Oh golly." Crash frowned. "Did poor Ensign Guerrero have to work?" 

"Nooo." Chyna sighed. She really shouldn't share her romantic woes with the sweet little Houdinian; he was so innocent of such matters that he couldn't possibly understand. Then again...maybe it would be a refreshing perspective on her problem. "He'd rather gamble than go to the Holodeck with me!" 

To her horror, she felt her mouth quiver and salt sting her eyes. 

"Ohhhh Miss Chyna." Crash couldn't help but pat her on the shoulder, a gesture of compassion that warmed her heart more than she expected. "Ensign Guerrero must be intoxicated on something to pick a poker game over a beautiful, intelligent woman like yourself." 

"Why Crash..." Chyna felt like she was practically glowing, watching as Crash became so flustered and red by the compliment he gave her. He was painfully adorable, and she wanted to hug him and squeeze him and- 

Her own face turned crimson at the next thought that flitted through her mind. 

"Say Crash." Chyna smiled slyly. "I'm free right now. Care to visit the garden deck with me? It always cheers me up to be around all those gorgeous flowers and the gardens have such a magnificent view of space. " 

Crash's mind should have been spinning with the way the tall, willowy waitress batted her silky black lashes at him, but for some reason, it made him feel...cocky. "That surely does sound romantic Miss Chyna, and a fine woman like you deserves to be treated like a princess. I'd be proud to escort you to the garden deck." 

Chyna grinned as she slipped her arm through his. Let Eddie take her for granted all he wanted. There were men on the crew who thought spending time with her was more magical than the stars that swirled around the ship! 

And speaking of magical, she did have such plans for Ensign Crash! 

* * *

MAIVIAN-8, UNDERGROUND 

"Sorry about the bumpy ride, Lt Commander!" Debra's voice chirped over the Y2J Unit's comm badge as he materialized in a stream of shimmery blue light in the underground tunnels of Maivian-8, his head bumping against a formation of Markite crystals that sparkled from the cavern ceiling. "The severe thunder and lightning storms are creating an amazing amount of ion interference!" 

"I've taken worse bumps in my time, McMichaels." Jericho rubbed his blonde head. 

"If you say so, tough guy!" 

He tapped his comm badge off, feeling a bit wary. Was it just him, or was the transporter chief's voice a little more bubbly and flirty than usual? Perhaps it was her deepening relationship with Lt Commander Austin that was making her act like she had spring fever or something. 

"What the-" Jericho felt the anger rising in him like an ocean tide as he studied the weather array, which was essentilly left to its own devices. Repairs had been started, but not even half-completed. The equipment was scattered haphazardly around the machine, the officers charged with fixing the blasted thing were nowhere to be seen! 

"Lieutenant Hardy!" the Y2J Unit barked into his comm badge. "Don't make me ask you again! Answer me you-" 

He took a deep breath. He wouldn't lose it and give Commander McMahon the satisfaction of reporting him for abuse of an inferior officer. Jeff had been a little jerky lately, but there was no excuse for this kind of sloppy work and irresponsible behavior. 

"Lt Hardy, please respond." Jericho said calmly. "This is your commanding officer." 

Dead silence. 

"Commander McMahon?" Fine. A young lieutenant was bound to make one huge mistake in his career, but Jericho wasn't going to tolerate being yanked around by that bottom-feeding wench of a commander, not when heavy storms were pounding Maivian-8 and had already injured several citizens! "I take it your silence means you've found a nice Maivian gutter to work from, Stephie baby. Lord knows a street corner is too much class for what you do!" 

Nothing. Maybe something was wrong.... 

Something was terribly wrong, Jericho realized grimly as he carefully looked into a cavern behind the array. Lt Hardy and Commander McMahon were far too busy being engaged in a passionate embrace to carry out their Wrestlefleet Mission. They were actually kissing while the whole world was going to hell around them....now Jericho understood what humans meant when they said their stomachs were turned-he was ready to throw up for the first time in his android life! 

"Jeffrey, you could find the same sort of entertainment by turning over any rock on this planet." Lt Commander Jericho said dryly. "Where do you think she crawled out of?" 

If looks could kill, the Y2J Unit would have been a smoldering, useless pile of circuits. "He's merely following my orders, Jericho. And right now, I am ordering you to return the Titanprize." 

"Sorry sweets, but the Maivian-8 is under siege from some nasty storms and someone with a free set of lips needs to fix the array before the whole world dies." Jericho was still trying to process the scene before him. Hadn't Stephanie been acting downright terrified of the young Aerialian a day ago, the same Aerialian she couldn't seem to let go of right now? 

"I wouldn't be very useful if I'd been thrown in the brig for disobeying Steph's orders, now would I?" Jeff was smirking defiantly, his arm hooked possessively around the commander's waist. 

Steph? Funny, the Game's wife would normally stun the living daylights out of any lieutenant who'd dared to address her so informally. 

"If you don't have anything logical to say, Lt Hardy, then I suggest you shut the hell up!" Jericho didn't have time for this. "You will forget her orders and follow mine!" He directed a cool glance at Stephanie. "Clearly, Commander McMahon-Helmsley is not in her right mind and cannot be trusted to make decisions." 

"Go to hell, Jericho." Stephanie wasn't letting her precious lieutenant go, not without enjoying his mouth for a little longer. 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley." the Y2J Unit said flatly. "You are officially relieved of your Wrestlefleet duties due to medical reasons. I am taking command of this mission. You will step aside or I will have you transported directly to the brig. Lt Hardy, you're with me at the weather array." 

"We still have tonight." Jeff smiled down at Stephanie, who was pouting her pretty little pout. "Hey, don't be sad....I can still love you from over there." 

Jericho followed Lt Hardy to the array, casually sliding his emotion chip off and keeping the Walls firmly in place. Had he not taken these steps, he knew, he would have been overwhelmed by such vile hatred and jealousy towards Jeff that he would have shoved the Aerialian into a lava pit without a second thought. 

But maybe he wouldn't have to kill him. Ensign Matt had appeared in the glow of a transporter beam, a high powered phaser blast tearing into his younger brother before Jeff even knew what hit him. Stephanie screamed and kneeled down by the fallen Lt Hardy, who was breathing but writhing in pain. Matt trained his weapon on the injured Jeff, his expression undecided. 

Not logical, the Y2J Unit told himself. A quick scan of his memory banks told him the brothers felt a high degree of loyalty towards one another. 

"Ensign Matt!" he barked. "You will explain this action!" 

The dark-haired Aerialian smiled coldly. "I'll see him killed before he steals Lita away from me." 

No, not logical at all. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"If you got an explanation for this injury boy, ya damn well just better keep it to yourself." Dr. Taker's grave voice didn't seem to faze the arrogant American ensign that sat on a bio-bed, his forehead being picked free of glass by the dutiful Nurse Bearer. 

"Pardon me, good doctor." Ensign Angle seemed blithely oblivious to the sharp shards that were being yanked free of his sun-tanned skin. "But your bedside manner could use a touch more integrity." 

"It's all very simple, Dr. Taker." Edge's voice boomed dramatically from the other side of the room, blood trickling from a minor cut on his face. "Our fellow Wrestlefleet ensign attempted to thief my prized mirror while I was admiring my reflection on the garden deck, where the ambient light is most flattering. I was having an experience which I believe is called...first love." 

Dr. Taker wished he had more leeway with just how rough his medical treatment could get...there were just some patients who could benefit from a good neck-snapping. Then again, he thought with a bloodless smirk, there wasn't a damn thing McMahon could do if he decided to step out of bounds.... 

"That was sooo totally unfair Edge!" Christian lashed out at his brother, as Nurse Saturn ran a special instrument that looked like a lazer pen up and down the blonde's arm. "I had it first! If you or Ensign Angle has scarred my lustrous peaches and cream skin with your antics, I will see you in hell!" 

"Well, I surely hope you don't show up in hell with that haircut." Kurt frowned at Christian's tangled, blood-stained mane of gold. 

Christian gasped. "Why didn't you simply put a jagged piece of glass through my heart?" 

"This issss a most strange day, Dr. Taker." Nurse Bearer simpered, as he filled up a hypospray to take care of Angle's stinging pain. "We have these three fighting among themselves, and then we have Ensign Crash being treated for minor phaser burns thanks to Ensign Guerrero...what issss going on?" 

"What?" Dr. Taker rolled his eyes. To him, such skirmishes were an unfortunate but morbidly fascinating part of human nature. "Ensigns are such hot-headed creatures that I expect nothing less than this destructive outpouring of excess energy once in a while."   
  
"But-" 

A crackly, static stricken voice cut the nurse off in mid-sentence. "Lt Commander Jericho to Dr. Taker! We have a medical emergency in the tunnels of Maivian-8! Prepare to have everyone but me transported immediately to Sickbay-I need to fix the weather array before the surface is ripped apart!" 

"Come again?" Dr. Taker was studying his computer. No way could anyone transport through such a turbulent atmosphere. "Ain't no way I'm gonna get your stank ass out of there! Nature of the emergency?" 

Lt Commander Jericho pursed his lips. Perfectly logical but not helpful. "There has been an exchange of phaser fire among the Aerialian ensigns and Commander McMahon. Their bizarre behavior indicates mental illness." 

Dr. Taker ignored the smug expression on Nurse Bearer's face. "If you could get the weather cleared up down there, that would be phat Jericho. Until then, it's out of my hands." 

Not entirely true, but sometimes these damn mere mortals needed to clean up their own messes.... 

* * *

SICKBAY-4 HOURS LATER 

"I-I kissed Lt Hardy." Stephanie held a dainty hand over her mouth, trying to fight the surge of nausea that welled up inside her. "I let a freaky alien with nasty colored hair put his lips on my beautiful commander's mouth. Oh god..." 

"Considering how dry your lips were when we got you up here, I'd say you kissed the little freak a lot." Shane couldn't resist ribbing his sister, who was having a hypospray plunged into the swollen bug bite on her arm. 

"That's enough, Shane." Captain McMahon said sternly. "Why don't you go play on the bridge for a while and let your sister rest?" 

Shane nodded, a serious expression crossing his features. "Aye, sir. And Steph?" 

Stephanie just looked at him, her face still green. 

"Hope you don't get the urge to play doctor with Jeff while you're both here." 

Shane was able to duck the empty needle that his kid sister chucked at him, his quick speed allowing him a hasty retreat into the turbolift. 

"Don't worry about it, angel." Captain McMahon pet Stephanie on the head. "I'll demote that little Aerialian so fast for touching you he won't know what the heck hit him." 

Stephanie frowned and looked back at the bed where Lt Hardy was having his own fiery red insect bite tended to by Nurse Saturn, while his older brother looked on. Jeff locked eyes with her and they both turned cherry red. God, she wouldn't be able to look at him ever again, let alone order him around in Engineering. 

"Daddy, I don't know..." 

"Consider it done baby." 

"You heard what Dr. Taker said." She rubbed her sore arm. "The sudden changes in weather on Maivian-8 caused some of the simpler life forms to mutate in order to adapt. The bugs that bit me and Jeff had infected us with a virus that caused a marked increase in hormonal activity. He couldn't help that he wanted me-he was sick." 

Loud coughing from the other side of the room indicated that Lt Commander Jericho had heard her poorly worded statement and was trying to stifle a laugh in front of the Captain. Chris was getting an update on Lita from Nurse Bearer, as Stephanie had broken her arm in a jealous rage down on the planet before phasers had gotten involved. 

"Let me do this for you Steph." McMahon insisted. "You could think of Lt Hardy getting stripped of his rank as a late birthday gift. I owe you something really nice this year." 

As angry as she was at Jeff for daring to breath on her without permission, let alone kiss her passionately, her fury at her father was even more pronounced. Always, always trying to pass off some super-noble act or grand gesture as some wonderous belated birthday gift so his little girl wouldn't pout, and silly Steph always accepting it cause he was the all-powerful Vincent K McMahon and nothing more could be expected of such a busy, busy man. She may have wanted to wash her lips in acid because Jeff had touched them, but she'd be damned if Daddy dearest was going to exploit the situation to smooth this over! 

"Sorry Dad, you're just gonna have to buy me something this year." Steph told him. "Lt Hardy is a fine young officer, despite his obvious and numerous flaws, one of which is being a terrible, awful kisser." 

Captain McMahon blinked. It was not like Stephanie to turn away a present like this; surely she knew that a Wrestlefleet captain could not be expected to give their fullest attention to every little family moment that came up, that a captain's family had to make due with this life. He sighed. No doubt his princess was just being stubborn because she didn't feel well. 

"Captain McMahon." Dr. Taker was almost like a ghost, materializing beside Vince. Stephanie could have been imagining things, but she thought her father had swallowed a little too hard at the sight of his Chief Medical Officer. "The antidote has been administered to everyone who was infected with the Maivian-8 virus. I think you'll find that jealousy and lust-driven disturbances will all but disappear now." 

"Excellent." Captain McMahon nodded. "I couldn't help but notice you gave the infected crewmembers extra hyposprays." 

"It will take a few more treatments to completely flush out the hormone-triggering antibodies." Dr. Taker explained. "You don't doubt my expertise, do you McMahon?" 

"Of course not." Captain McMahon snapped. "Honey, I'll be in my quarters looking over the duty roster. Come by later and we'll talk, alright." 

Stephanie merely nodded and rested her head against the bio-bed pillow. The special cure that Dr. Taker had whipped up made everyone injected with it weary and worn out. She was almost afraid to ask what it was. The dark doctor smiled at her, and when he spoke, his voice was a ghoulish whisper. 

"Happy birthday, Stephanie...." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Ensign Lita?" 

Lita didn't want to turn around, to face that evil Commander McMahon-Helmsley. Her arm still throbbed from the way Stephanie had almost crushed the flexible Aerialian bone into a fine powder, but the images of the witch with her arms around Jeff cut far deeper. 

If Jeff wanted a love life, fine. If he was sick with a Maivian insect disease and it couldn't be helped, fine. But to sit there and take the vengeful abuse from Stephanie, abuse that came because Lt Hardy had smooched her while under the influence of a virus...well that smacked of him having some special feelings for the commander, special feelings that made him willing to suffer Stephie's garbage. 

Jeff defended the cheap tramp too. Said she was going through things, painful things. Well, Lita didn't care about those things at all; it was no excuse for punishing her friend at every turn. Stephanie should just deal with life like the rest of them-Jeff wasn't her punching bag, and Lita wasn't sure how much longer she could respect Lt Hardy. 

It wasn't jealousy because Stephanie had shared some meaningful experience with Jeff in the temporal rift or that the two had kissed. It was that just that Commander McMahon-Helmsley was so vicious and her Aerialian pal was so wussie he took it. Lita frowned upon such little backbone in someone who was supposed to be her boss... 

"Lita? If you could just grow up for two seconds, I have something for you." 

Ensign Lita reluctantly turned around. "Yes?" 

Stephanie puckered her lips as if tasting something sour. She didn't want to do this at all, but she knew she owed Lita some sort of apology. Besides, Lt Commander Jericho would be her shadow until she threw the red-head a bone, and of course, Jericho being on her like that was the last thing she wanted. 

"I want to give you a peace offering." Stephanie began awkwardly. She wasn't too experienced with voicing regret and remorse. "I feel...bad." 

"About what?" Ensign Lita almost licked her lips. It appeared the great commander was squirming in her boots. 

"I attacked you in a rage." Stephanie reminded her. Lita didn't know that the youngest McMahon had sweet dreams about breaking her arm. "I infected you and Matt with a virus that made you act wacky. And I...uh....I perhaps was too...er...intimate with your little boyfriend." 

"Lt Hardy is not my boyfriend." Lita said coldly. 

"I think you should read this padd." Stephanie held it out to Lita. "I know you're ticked off at Jeff for some reason, but I think if you read this.....you're looking at him all wrong." 

Lita gave the padd a cursory examination. "Wow. You actually went so far as to invade Lt Hardy's private logs. And you want me to read them." 

"Duh!" Stephanie rolled her eyes. Lita needed to get a clue and get one fast-it was hard enough having to make something up to her Aerialian enemy, the commander didn't like being tortured with it. "You don't fool me. You want to know how Jeff feels about you, if he feels what you feel for him. It's all right there." 

Lita unholstered her phaser and blasted the padd into nothingness. "Show someone who gives a damn, Stephanie." 

Steph's mouth fell open. "You ungrateful peasant! I was trying to do something nice for you!" 

Ensign Lita was so angry. No doubt the padd had contained something wicked, like how Jeff had a huge crush on Stephanie and just dying to act on it. And naturally Stephanie wanted to rub it in her face, thinking it would crush her heart. 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley, how dare you assume I want something or someone that has your taint on it." Lita said in a clipped tone. "Maybe Lt Hardy was infected by a bug bite when you ruined him for every woman out there, but that's no shock. Any man who touches you usually gets exposed to insect life." 

Stephanie slapped Lita across the face and stormed out of Engineering, blowing past said Lt Hardy, who wore a devastated expression. 

Lita didn't realize he'd heard every word-she'd already turned her back. 

* * *

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Happy birthday to me." Stephanie sighed sadly and blew out the candles on an Earth-style birthday cake she'd requested from her replicator. She sat in near darkness, her lights dimmed and soft, her quarters achingly empty except for her. 

Her one attempt to be nice to anyone had backfired. 

Hunter was on the bridge, taking his Ensign duties very seriously. He had his first taste of power; why should he take a minute to stop and remember something as insignificant as his bride? 

Daddy hadn't had time to meet with her. Commander Kane had presented him with some security issues that had required the Captain's immediate attention. 

There was a beeping at her door, "Come." Stephanie said bleakly. Perhaps Mommy had come down from on high at Wrestlefleet to celebrate with her. She laughed bitterly at her own little joke. "Jericho?" 

The Y2J Unit smiled, perhaps he smirked. Steph wasn't sure she'd know a sincere smile if he tried one on. "Brought you something." 

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. "A gag gift I suppose? A new state of the art mattress perhaps? Or maybe, just maybe, you thought I could benefit from some bizarre form of alien birth control. Ha ha-not in the mood." 

"What you tried to do for Ensign Lita was very admirable." Jericho spoke as if she hadn't said anything, "But you should have known better. She'd never trust anything from you, no matter how pure your intentions." 

"I noticed. So what did you bring me?" 

Jericho hadn't known if this was the right thing to do, if he should cross this line. Seeing her sitting alone, looking as forlorn as someone whose best friend had just died, sulking in the darkness with a pitiful little birthday cake....he was glad he'd come. 

"Come and get it." He held out a box wrapped in sleek silver paper, tied with a pretty pink ribbon. 

Stephanie gathered her robe around her body and approached the Lt Commander warily. "Maybe I should scan it with my tri-corder or listen for ticking." 

Jericho just grinned. 

She sighed and peeled the wrapping away from the box, making sure to save the soft silk ribbon that came in her favorite color. Stephanie lifted a small ball out out of the delicate tissue paper; it was glittering in the pale light of the room like a jewel, and on the inside.... 

On the inside, beneath the snow that sparkled and danced like a million little prisms was... Mickey Mouse. 

_Mickey Mouse?_

"Oh....Chris" 

__

A little girl with sweet brown curls and a pink ribbon in her hair walks by a storefront, her eyes as large as the stars in the sky. Daddy was supposed to bring her here to Disneyland, but a nanny tugged at her hand, at her big brother's hand. 

__

"I want that." the little girl cried out, her pudgy, pretty fingers pressed against the glass, trying to touch a little snow globe with a little mouse smiling on the inside. Mommy had taken her sledding one winter, when there was snow like that. The teeny tiny mouse seemed so happy.... 

__

"There's no time for that!" The nanny snapped. The little girl whimpered silently as the nanny pulled her farther and farther away, until the sparkling little gem was a pinpoint of light on the horizon... 

Stephanie had almost forgotten, but now the memory twisted inside her like a knife. It made her eyes burn. 

"Happy birthday, Stephie." Jericho said, letting her sob against his chest. 

"It's sad isn't it?" Stephanie didn't push his hand away as he brushed the tears from her eyes. "The only decent gift I get is from someone who hates me." 

"What's sad is that no one has given you a real birthday present," Jericho took the globe out of her hands and set it carefully on a shelf, where it's delicate shell would not get shattered. He hoped the same could be said for Stephanie. 

Stephanie stood on her tip-toes, as if she could make her lips any closer to his. It had taken so long, she had kissed so many others looking for something she couldn't explain....and in the end, Stephanie knew this is what she wanted all along. This... 

Her eyes saw it first, a small red mark on Lt Commander Jericho's neck-a very slight imperfection, but it was the answer to everything. "Wait a minute, Chris." 

She was not questioned when she disappeared into her private bath. Jericho looked at her in dazed shock as she returned and plunged a hypospray into his throat. "Steph-" 

"Take it easy, tiger." Stephanie had a vague, sad smile on her face. "You'll feel tired for a while, but that should get the Maivian virus out of your system soon enough." 

The Y2J Unit blinked. 

"You're as close to human as it gets." she went on. "There's no reason you can't be hurt by a virulent bug bite or catch a disease from one of us - and shut up Chris, not _that_ type of disease." 

"Stephanie-" 

"Just go, alright?" Stephanie was getting agitated. Of course, it hadn't been true. Damn him. Damn him straight to hell. 

Dr. Taker hadn't examined Jericho in Sickbay earlier - Jericho had been too busy hovering over his officers and his behavior had been perfectly normal. "Trust me, Chris, when you remember what you did here, you'll be begging for a transfer out of Engineering. Thank-you for the gift. Good-night." 

Jericho was still standing in the corridor when Steph's doors slid shut, his hand rubbing the sore spot on his neck where the hypospray had been thrust into his synthetic skin. It didn't happen often, but he was genuinely confused. 

It was just a minor scratch. 

A loose sliver of metal on the weather array had caught him in the throat. 

Why had he needed a hypospray for _that_? 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	33. Season 5 Episode 4 If Wishes Were Books...

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 4

**WRESTLE TREK**

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 4: IF WISHES WERE BOOKS...   
**PART ONE**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 062820.00. The Titanprize is in orbit around Planet Kanata. The Kanatians seem to keep inviting us back, no doubt due to the numerous Kanatians on board. We have a few personal appearances to recruit new blood into WrestleFleet in Lt. Commander Jericho's home town. He seems quite excited to get out of Engineering and go planet side. End log..." Captain McMahon closed his log book. 

The Captain leaned back in his chair and sighed. On a more personal note, he wondered what was happening between Stephanie and her husband. Lately, Ensign Helmsley had been spending double shifts on the bridge, and almost no time with his wife. 

Although Vince had not seen his own wife in quite some time, they still called each other on the Wrestlefleet subspace vid-phones for some flirting and conversation. 

Ah well. 

Stephanie was a McMahon. She knew about duty, and the life of a WrestleFleet officer. She was used to it. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I can't believe you forgot about Stephanie's birthday, Hunter!" Tori scolded her friend as she sat on X-Pac's lap. 

"Hey, I've been busy on the bridge!" Ensign Helmsley replied, "I'm trying to work my way up from Ensign!" 

Tori shook her head, "Speaking from a strictly female point of view, if MY man had forgotten my birthday, I'd dump him right there!" then she smiled at X-Pac, "But luckily you remembered, didn't you, baby..?" 

X-Pac smiled, "How could I forget? Not after what we did that night!" 

Tori offered a sly smile, "And how many times we did it..." 

X-Pac looked at HHH with a smile, "She was VERY happy I remembered!" then he paused, "Speaking of which... when was the last time you and Stephie made each other _very happy_?" 

"None of your damn business!" Helmsley snapped. 

"Woah," Road Dogg started, "That long, huh?" 

Helmsley calmed down a bit, "She's either asleep or in Engineering when I have time off!" 

Tori offered an idea, "Why don't you plan your duty shift the same time she has HERS? That way you're both off at the same time and---" 

"Why don't you keep your nose OUT of my personal business!" he snapped, and stormed out of the Smackdown. 

"Well excuse me for trying to help him save his marriage!" Tori replied, taken aback at her friend's rude behaviour, "It's like he doesn't even CARE anymore!!" 

"Of course he doesn't..." Chyna spoke as she came up to the group. She had heard everything Helmsley had said before he left, "The only thing Hunter cares about now is power. He's ALWAYS loved power more then any wife..." she sighed sadly, "Or girlfriend..." she finished. She knew from experience. "Why do you think _we_ broke up? He's great to you the first few months... then..." she shrugged, "It's like you don't matter anymore if you're taking time away from him pursuing his goals..." 

Someone came up to Chyna and slipped an arm slipped around her waist, "Ay, Mamacita!" Ensign Eddie Guerrero started, "You look so sad and serious! Everything ok?" 

"Everything is fine, honey," she said with a smile. Her and Ensign Guerrero had been together for some months now, and he STILL treated her as if she were the most important thing in his life... despite their arguments once in a while (the latest being how he stood by and allowed Lieutenants Farooq and Bradshaw insult her... but then that day, NO ONE was in their right mind). 

Eddie took a step back, arms out, showing himself off, "What do you think of my new 'do, Mamacita?" he asked. 

Chyna had noticed his new hair-cut immediately, and smiled brightly, "You look so handsome, Eddie!" she held a hand out, "Come. It's time for my break. Let's make the most of it!" she said as he took her hand. 

"I always make the most of my time with Mamacita!" he replied, and winked at the group sitting at the table. He eagerly let Chyna lead him out the door of the Smackdown. 

* * *

WRESTLEFLEET ACADEMY, JUNIOR GROUP - WIN-A-PEG CITY, PLANET KANATA 

Lt. Commander Jericho was expecting a warm homecoming reception. He was expecting an 'around town' news segment about the Universe's only android WrestleFleet officer visiting his fellow countrymen. He was expecting a lot of things. 

What he got was a group of noisy young WrestleFleet wanna-be's shouting for Lieutenant Commander Austin and Lieutenant Rock. The WrestleFleet hopefuls ranged in age from 10-15 and all had hopes of joining WrestleFleet and serving aboard it's flagship, the WWF Titanprize. 

Jericho silently cursed Captain McMahon for sending him on this assignment. Keeping these kids occupied until their heroes brought their (as Lt. Rock would say) _candy-asses_ to the lecture hall would take a LOT of work! 

"Come on, where's Lt. Commander Austin?!" a kid shouted. 

"Where's Lt. Rock?" another shouted. 

"Who the heck are YOU?" a third called out. 

The Y2J Unit didn't reply to the last question. Obviously this young cadet wasn't very bright. "Austin and Rock are coming soon. Until then, I... um... " he paused, and looked towards the back of the room. Ensign Angle was talking with Commander Stephanie, and Ensign Helmsley - who seemed to be paying even _less_ attention to her then normal. Jericho turned back to the kids in front of him, "_Ensign Angle _will entertain you!" he said quickly, happy to throw the responsibility on the self-proclaimed _hero_. "Yo, KIRK!" he called out. 

Ensign Angle looked up to see Jericho waving him over. He politely excused himself, and proudly stepped up to the podium on the stage of the Academy's cafeteria, "Hi... I'm Ensign Kurt Angle, YOUR WrestleFleet hero!" 

Jericho stood on the side of the stage, unseen by the kids but in full view of the egotistical Ensign. He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned against the back wall, waiting to see how long it would take before the kids started throwing things at Angle. 

Angle was still speaking, oblivious to the mutters and comments from the kids in front of him, "Let me tell you a story," he said, "You see, once upon a time, there was a man. One day, he was walking through the Mountains. Mountains, in fact, on this very planet! As he walked, he came upon a stone. It was a pretty stone. Gold! Though not the shiny gold like my gold-medals... which were once used to power the Titanprize during a blackout..." he muttered the last sentence bitterly, then perked up, "Anyway, he found this stone. Under the stone was a book! He opened the book, and the inscription read _Thouest who holdeth the book, may taketh from it one wish_! The man was at a loss! The book held the ULTIMATE power! With it, he could wish for anything! Why, he could even be a hero... like myself!" 

A tomato flew by Ensign Angle's head. He quickly ducked it, and looked at where it had come from. A kid smiled. "Hey now...!" Ensign Angle scolded, "You can hurt someone doing that!" 

"You're hurting US with your stupid story!" The kid shouted. "What do you take us for? You're nothing but a WrestleFleet LOSER!" 

Ensign Angle was taken aback, "That's hardly a nice thing to say to---" 

"Oh stuff it!" Another kid shouted. "You're standing there, telling us some crappy story, and expecting us to believe it! We want Lt. Rock!" 

A loud chant for Lt. Rock broke out. 

"But IT'S TRUE! IT'S TRUE!" Ensign Angle insisted. Unfortunately none of the children heard him over their chanting. Lt. Commander Jericho chuckled quietly off to the side. Ensign Angle looked at him, "Can you help me here, Lt. Commander?" he asked. 

The Y2J Unit shook his head, "Kirk, NOTHING can help you with these kids! Not even your stupid story." he said. 

"But... IT'S TRUE, I tell you! IT IS IT IS!!" Angle was at a loss. He frowned, and turned to the children. "I am very disappointed in you! None of you have any integrity! How DARE you laugh at your WrestleFleet hero?!' 

A super-sticky peanut-butter sandwich smacked him right in the face. Peanut-butter slid down his nose and his uniform. 

Lt. Commander Jericho burst out laughing. 

Commander Stephanie went up to him angrily, Triple H following close behind, "You find this funny, Lt. Commander Jericho?!" she snapped. 

The Y2J Unit quickly sobered up. So much for his good mood, "Why yes, _Commander_! I DO find this funny. In fact, I find it HILARIOUS!" 

"Well, it's NOT funny! Look at poor Kurt! There's peanut-butter is all over him!" Commander Stephanie snapped. 

"Better the peanut-butter all over him, then _you _all over him!" Jericho replied. 

"HEY! How DARE you insult the lovely Stephanie McMahon!" Angle snapped as he came offstage, figuring these children just didn't have enough intelligence to bother himself with. 

Jericho looked at him, "Are your lips _surgically_ attached to Stephanie's butt, or can you remove them once in a while, Kirk?" 

"Are you ALWAYS such a big jerk, or can you remove the jerk-chip once in a while, Chris?" Commander Stephanie replied. 

"He can't help it, Commander," Angle spoke, "It must be a programming defect!" 

"DEFECT?!" Jericho snapped, "Are you saying that MY beautiful positronic brain has a DEFECT? YOU would know more about defects then ME, Ensign Angle! After all, YOU are the one defending a filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding, trashbag 'ho!" 

Stephanie looked at Triple H, waiting for him to defend her... but he seemed too lost in his own little world to bother defending the honour of his wife. 

Commander Stephanie's lower lip quivered... but she would not cry. Not here. Not now! If the Earth had swallowed her whole, Hunter STILL wouldn't notice! 

Damn Hunter! Even the ever-annoying Y2J Unit had been paying more attention to her lately! 

Damn them _both_ to hell! 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I heard about Ensign Angle's story down on Kanata, Miss Chyna..." Ensign Crash began as he sipped at a cold glass of milk. "Do you think he WAS telling the truth? About the book, I mean?" 

Chyna handed him a plate of cookies. He stuffed one into his mouth happily, "I don't know, Crash," Chyna said, "I'm a little wary of stories regarding magic books!" 

"Do ya think we could go on a scavenger hunt? You, me, and Ensign Guerrero sir! It would be so coooool, Miss Chyna! Just think! If the story WAS true.... if there WAS a book that could give someone one wish! I could wish myself to be taller!" he said. Only to Miss Chyna would he actually admit that perhaps he wasn't quite 6'6". 

Chyna thought about it, "Hmm... I wouldn't mind making myself a little stronger..." she said, then smiled, "But the whole idea is silly though...." 

"Awww... c'mon, Miss Chyna! Even if we find nothing, I still wanna check out the mountains on Kanata! I hear they're real purty! You and Ensign Guerrero sir could have a nice romantic moment there..." 

NOW Chyna began to think about it.... 

A few feet away, two blonde brothers overheard the small Houdinian's happy chatter. Ensign Christian turned to Ensign Edge, "What do you think, Edge? Just imagine! If we found that book, we could be on the cover of every magazine from here to the Delta Quadrant! Would that not be just SO cool?" 

"What a brilliant idea, Christian! Can you imagine how many people would pay to get our autographs then!?" Ensign Edge replied. 

"So... what do you say to sneaking down to Kanata and visiting the mountains, Edge? It IS our home planet after all, right?" Ensign Christian said. 

Ensign Edge nodded, "You got it, brother!" The two quickly headed back to their quarters to make plans. 

* * *

McMAHON-HELMSLEY QUARTERS 

It was a rare occasion that Hunter was home at the same time as Stephanie. She went up to him, in a rather revealing negligie, and put her arms around his neck, "So what do you think, sweetie? We finally have a night alone together! How about we--" 

"Not now, Steph..." Ensign Helmsley replied. 

Stephanie brought her arms to her side, and looked at him, "What do you mean _not now_? If not now, then WHEN? Hunter, it's been so long since we were together like this... I---" 

"Do you think Angle was telling the truth?" he asked suddenly, interrupting her. 

Stephanie blinked, "The truth? What... about that book?" she frowned, "At a time like this, THAT'S what you think about?!" she asked, "Didn't you notice that we're finally alone together?! Didn't you notice what I'm _wearing_? " 

He looked at her, "Oh... yeah.. nice nightgown.." he said, then smiled, "It's my favourite colour," 

Stephanie sat down, defeated, "_Your favourite colour_? That's all you can say?" she asked, then shook her head, "Do you even know what MY favourite colour is?" 

He sat beside her, "Of course I do, Steph! It's..." he paused, and thought for a moment, "It's... YELLOW... isn't it?!" he asked. 

Stephanie jumped to her feet angrily, "Damn you, Hunter! You don't even know! Even the stupid ANDROID knows!" 

"Android? That pathetic Y2J Unit?!" Hunter asked as he got to his feet. 

"Yes! HIM!" 

"IT!" Hunter replied. "IT! You keep calling Jericho a HIM. It's a THING Stephanie!" he shook his head, "Never mind! I KNOW yellow is your favourite colour! All your uniforms are that colour!" he replied. 

"Then is it safe to assume that YOUR favourite colour is RED? All your uniforms are RED!" Stephanie snapped. 

"You KNOW my favourite colour is blue!" he said, "My uniforms are red because that's the colour for bridge crew!" 

"And my uniforms are yellow because that's the colour for Engineering crew!" Stephanie replied, then shook her head, "Forget it! I'm going to bed!" 

"Wait! I wanted to talk to you about that book!" 

"If you care about the book so much, then maybe you should marrythe BOOK! You'd probably pay more attention to IT then ME!" Stephanie snapped. 

Triple H grew angry, "Maybe I should have waited longer before I married you! I thought you WANTED power!" 

Stephanie looked at him, and finally realized what everything was about, "Power?" she said, her voice a choked whisper, "Is that the only reason you married me?!" she held back the tears, and let her temper rise, "And here I thought you actually CARED about me!" 

"That's not what I meant, Steph..." Hunter started, "I DO care about you!" 

Stephanie nodded, staring at the floor blankly, "You care about me..." she said, "But... do you love me?" she looked up at him, "Did you ever love me, Hunter? Or was it all playful flirting, physical fun, and the desire for power?" 

"Steph…" he started. 

Stephanie shook her head, "You don't even know anything about me! You never asked about my childhood, even when I asked about YOURS! You never asked why I got into WrestleFleet, even when I asked YOU!" she hugged herself, "And when I have bad days in Engineering, you never ask me if I'm ok! When I come home upset, you never ask me what's wrong! You never even NOTICE!" she snapped, then turned to her room, "I'm going to bed now, Hunter. Please... DON'T join me..." 

With that, Stephanie walked into her room and shut the door quietly. 

Hunter didn't bother going after her. 

* * *

ENGINEERING - THE NEXT DAY 

Commander Stephanie came through the doors of Engineering. Ensign Lita and the Hardys were casually chatting and laughing with the Y2J Unit. Stephanie watched them for a moment. 

Lt. Commander Jericho seemed to have a lot of friends. She briefly wondered where all HER friends were... but no point in thinking about that now! Instead, Stephanie offered the three young Aerialians a cold glare, "Why are you three just standing there? Don't you have work to do?! GET TO IT!" she snapped impatiently. 

The three young crewmembers quickly set about their duties. 

Lt. Commander Jericho raised an eyebrow as Stephanie began to study the readouts on the console beside him, "Nice to see you're your usual bright and sunny self this morning..." he said sarcastically, "What's wrong? Your hubby found out you've been playing tonsil hockey with everything that breathes?" 

Stephanie closed her eyes. She REALLY didn't want to talk about Triple H right now, "Just.... be quiet..." she whispered. 

Lt. Commander Jericho looked at her, and blinked in surprise, "What's this! No insult? No snappy retort? That's not like you, Skankanie..." 

Commander Stephanie let out a bitter laugh, ignoring his new _nickname_ for her, "Figures YOU notice when there's something upsetting me!" she replied. It was more then her own husband did. "How sad is THAT?" she muttered. 

Lt. Commander Jericho looked at her warily, "Ok... something IS upsetting you... and I _really_ don't want to know about it..." he said, and turned back to his Engineering station. 

"I don't know if he loves me..." Stephanie said suddenly, then cursed herself. Why the hell did she just blurt that out to a stupid robot who couldn't possibly understand? 

The Y2J Unit stopped what he was doing, "Stephanie, honestly, I am NOT the one you want to talk to about your hubby problems. You're just going to regret it. I _know_ you. Then you'll go and take it out on me, and the Hardy brothers, and Ensign Lita... and make all our lives a living hell!" he sighed, "I suggest any problems with Triple Nose... I mean... Triple H... should be talked about WITH Triple H... or... Counselor Snow even," 

Stephanie stared at him, "You know... that's the most you've said to me without throwing an insult in! I'm proud of you, Lt. Commander! You CAN have a somewhat intelligent conversation!" 

"Ahhh... NOW we're back to normal...!" Jericho replied, and hid the smile. He really didn't want to see Stephanie break down and cry in Engineering. It would be unfitting for an officer in her position... and really embarrassing to boot! "By the way..." he began, "Ensign Angle's magic mountain story seems to have made the rounds on the ship... much like your bedroom skills..." 

"Shut up, you stupid---" Stephanie stopped and thought for a minute, "Hmm... I don't suppose you'd like to do some mountain climbing, would you?" she asked. 

"I don't believe in fairy tales, Skankanie. Maybe YOU want to waste time searching for a book that doesn't exist, but _I_ don't..." 

"Then I am ordering you!" Stephanie replied. 

He looked at her, incensed, "ORDERING me? Let me guess - you need someone to carry your supplies?" he shook his head, "Isn't it something you'd rather do with your hubby? Mountains are supposed to be romantic and all... or will any young Ensign do for that kind of thing?" he asked. 

"You, me, and Ensign Angle are going to beam down to the Kanatian mountains, and that is final!" she said. "_Maybe if I find the book for Hunter and surprise him with it, he'll realize that he DOES love me!" _Stephanie thought. 

She hoped Angle was right! This book could either save her marriage... or destroy it completely.

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	34. Season 5 Episode 5 If Wishes Were Books...

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 5 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 5: IF WISHES WERE BOOKS...   
**PART TWO**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's personal log, stardate 062920.00. It seems a few of my crewmembers have decided to take in the mountains on planet Kanata. As long as they do it in their off time, then I have no problem with it. Stephanie seemed especially excited. She was going on about finding something that could make her dreams come true, " Captain McMahon frowned, "Funny, I never took her for the out-doors type before..." he shrugged, and closed his log book. 

* * *

KANATIAN MOUNTAINS 

"It's kinda dark in here, Miss Chyna... don't you think?" Ensign Crash said nervously. 

"Mamacita isn't afraid of the dark!" Ensign Guerrero replied, "Are YOU, Crash?" 

"Uh... of course not!" Crash spoke quickly, "but.. um... what if our flashlights die?" 

"I have tons of batteries in my pack, Crash. It's ok!" Chyna spoke. "Now what does the tricorder say? Any sign of golden rocks?" 

"No, Miss Chyna," Crash stopped as the tricorder beeped, "OH! Wait! There's something over here," he turned towards a narrow cavern, "Think you can fit in here?" he asked, "I'm picking up... something..." he said. 

"Well, we can try!" Eddie replied, "Since you're the smallest, you go first, Crash," 

"ME?!" Crash gulped, his claustrophobia catching up to him again. 

"What's the matter, Crash?" Chyna asked, concerned. 

"It's, uhh..." he took a deep breath. He'd be brave... for Miss Chyna's sake, "Nothing! Nothing at all. I'll go first!" 

He took a deep breath, and headed into the cavern. 

* * *

"It's so DIRTY in here!" Ensign Edge said, "I'm going to have to wash my hair TWICE to get back its beautiful shine!" 

"I know, brother, I know..." Ensign Christian replied as the two tracked their way through the caverns, "But just think! The cover of _Galaxy Beat_, just THE most read teen magazine in the United WrestleFleet Federation! It'll be all worth it!" 

"I hope you're right, Christian, because if my skin becomes all pasty from being out of the sun too long, I'm going to take your mirror away for a day!" 

"NO! You can't do that! That is SO unfair!" Christian whined, then looked up at Edge like a scared child, "You really wouldn't do that... would you big brother?" 

"Depends on what we find here! Come. Let's continue our search!" Edge said. 

Christian quickly followed as his brother went down another tunnel 

* * *

"Lt. Commander Jericho, you are stronger then myself, being an android and all... so why is it that _I_ am carrying these heavy bags?" Ensign Angle asked. 

"Because I am your superior officer, and I said so!" Jericho replied as he scanned the area for gold, like the stone Ensign Angle claimed the wish-book was hidden under. 

"Here, Kurt. I'll take one of those bags..." Stephanie offered. 

"Oh no, I couldn't ask a lady like yourself to do such menial labour! It's ok! I'll be fine, Commander," Angle said. 

Lt. Commander Jericho just rolled his eyes, "If you're quite done brown-nosing," he said, "We're going down THIS tunnel!" 

The two followed Jericho's lead. 

* * *

"There's something down that way!" Crash said happily as he followed the beeping on the tricorder. 

Eddie and Chyna followed, "Do you know where we're going?" Eddie asked. 

"Uh, no... but I can find my way out. Don't worry!" Crash replied. 

"I HOPE so... or else we'll be stuck here!" Chyna said. 

"Let's just follow the tricorder! Come on!" the three continued down the tunnel. 

* * *

Edge stopped dead in his tracks, "Brother, look at this!" he gasped. 

Christian came up to him, "It's your REFLECTION, Edge!" 

Both Edge and Christian looked at what was before them, "Amazing, isn't it?" Edge started, "Though..." he scratched his chin, as did his reflection, "It looks a little odd!" 

He then smiled widely. 

His reflection did NOT. 

"Ensign Edge, you are blinding me with the glare from your teeth! Kindly move out of my way!" 

Ensign Edge let out a scream and jumped back. His reflection TALKED! And… wait a minute, "Lt. Commander Jericho!" 

"And Commander Stephanie!" Christian gasped, "What are YOU guys doing here?" he then looked behind Stephanie to see Ensign Angle, overloaded with equipment, "Kurt?" 

"We're no doubt here for the same thing YOU are, Ensigns. The book! Right?" Jericho said. 

"Book? What book?" Edge asked innocently. 

A voice spoke before Jericho could threaten the blonde in front of him, "Chris?" 

Jericho looked down the tunnel to see Chyna calling out to him. She was accompanied by Ensign Guerrero and Ensign Crash. 

"Oh look, the gang's all here..." Stephanie muttered dryly. 

"We were just... um..." Chyna began. 

"Looking for the book. Yeah, we know," Jericho replied. 

All three teams looked at their tricorders. They pointed the same way, "Wow! We can all share now...!" Crash said. 

They looked at him. He smiled sweetly, seeing no flaw in his logic. 

"Listen! I'm the superior officer here!" Stephanie snapped, "I should be the one to get the book!" 

"But... WE need it!" Edge said. "We have reasons. Our future fans depend on us getting that book!" 

"Oh stuff it, blondie!" Chyna snapped, "I need more strength... and the little guy here needs more height!" 

The three groups began arguing on who had the rights to the book... when finally they noticed something. 

Ensign Crash was gone. 

* * *

KANATIAN MOUNTAINS -- A DARK CAVERN 

Crash held out his flashlight, his hand a little shaky. He heard a sound. Was someone there? No. These tunnels hadn't been used forever! This is where his tricorder had located gold. He swept his flashlight over every stone until he saw it! He placed his hand on the stone and removed it. 

There, bound in red leather, was the book! 

He heard the energizing of a phaser, "Step away from it, little man..." 

Crash spun around to come face to face with Triple H. 

"Triple H, sir! Wh...wh... what are you doing here?" Crash asked. 

"You know. Now get away from the damned book!" 

"Wait! Listen, Triple H, sir! I have an idea! If you let me get the book first, I know a way to make _everyone's_ wishes come true! I know---" 

"SHUT UP!" Triple H snapped. 

"HUNTER?!" A voice called out. Triple H was briefly blinded by a flashlight. 

Stephanie had arrived with Ensign Angle and, "_that damned Y2J Unit_!" 

Behind them were the blonde brothers, and Chyna with Ensign Guerrero. 

"The book is MINE!" Triple H snapped. "I found it first!" 

"Actually... uh... I believe _I_ found it first, Triple H sir..." Crash said. 

"I thought I told you to shut up!" he snapped, then suddenly fired the phaser at Ensign Crash, who just barely ducked it. The phaser hit the wall, blasting a hole. 

Crash quickly hid behind Chyna, who was glaring at Hunter fiercely as she stood protectively guarding her little friend, "How DARE you?!" she hissed angrily. 

"Geez! You loco, man!" Guerrero said, "That little Crash did _nothing_ to you!" 

"What the hell crawled up YOUR butt and died, Trip?!" Jericho asked.

"I want that book, robot!" Triple H snapped, "And I'll do what I have to to get it!" he aimed the phaser at Lt. Commander Jericho, and fired again. 

Jericho ducked it gracefully, and the phaser blasted another hole in the wall behind him. 

"Woah! Firing on Crash and Jericho is just SO not cool, man!" Christian spoke. 

"Definitely not cool at all!" Edge replied. 

"It certainly lacks integrity!" Angle added. 

Before Triple H could train his phaser on the blonde brothers and the annoying Angle, the ground began to shake. 

"You're going to cause a cave in, Hunter!" Stephanie said, "Stop it! It's not worth it! For all we know, that stupid book won't work anyway!" 

"Stay out of it, Steph," he said. 

Stephanie slowly walked up to him, hoping to talk some sense into him, "Listen, Hunter... let's go home, ok? We can talk! Does this book mean more to you then your life? Then MY life? Then EVERYONE'S lives?" 

Jericho did a quick scan of the ground. It was growing increasingly unstable in the area where Hunter, Stephanie, and the book were. 

"Helmsley! Stephanie! Move it! It's going to give way!" Jericho shouted. 

"I'm not leaving without my book!" Triple H snapped. 

Jericho carefully walked up to Stephanie and Hunter, trying not to agitate the ground even more. Triple H was a bastard, but he HAD to get him out of there... BEFORE the cave fell in on itself! 

"Come on, grab my arms. The ground is unsteady! Just hold on to me, and I'll get you guys out of there..." The Y2J Unit said. 

"How about if YOU get out of here!" Triple H shouted, and fired the phaser at Jericho once again, "I don't need your damn help!" 

Jericho rolled out of the way... and that one phaser shot was all the floor needed. 

It gave way before anyone could blink! 

Stephanie screamed as she began to fall. She closed her eyes... and waited... 

Suddenly she felt strong arms around her, catching her from behind. 

The arms pulled her to solid, steady ground... and she felt safe, and comfortable! 

Stephanie smiled. Yes! Hunter DID love her after all! 

She began to turn around, encircled in the arms of the one she loved, "Oh Hunter! You saved---" her voice caught in he throat when she saw exactly WHO it was that caught her. "J... JERICHO?!" she gasped, "But... but...!" 

Stephanie looked behind her... and saw Hunter furiously trying to rip the book from Ensign Crash's hands. The little guy was putting up quite a fight. 

Stephanie noticed a hole in the ground where the book had been. 

Tears burned at her eyes. 

Her husband had saved the book... not _her_. 

She looked back at The Y2J Unit, "Let me go!" she demanded angrily. 

"Calm down, Skankanie!" Jericho snapped, then frowned, "And here I thought you were HURT!" 

"Hurt...?" she repeated. HURT wasn't the word for it, "I'm FINE!" she replied coldly, angry at Hunter. Angry at Herself. Angry at EVERYTHING. 

The Y2J Unit quickly removed his arms from her and looked at Ensign Crash, who had now won the book from Triple H's hands, thanks to a low-blow from Chyna on her selfish ex. 

Crash opened the book, and read the words aloud, "_Only one with thy purest heart may use such magiks. If thou wish is not selfish, nor cruel, then thou shalt be granted it..._" Crash smiled, "Cool!" he said, then looked at the others. They looked disappointed, "Hey guys! Cheer up! I told you I got all our wishes covered!" Crash held the book to his chest, and closed his eyes, "My wish..." he started, "is that everyone...." he stopped, and glared at Triple H, "That is... everyone _DESERVING_..." he said, then continued, "...may have their heart's desire!" 

The cavern was silent as everyone exchanged looks. 

Nothing happened. 

Everyone's faces fell. "Oh well... " Crash shrugged, pouting, "It was worth a try..." 

Suddenly, a strong wind came up from nowhere. Everyone was blown backwards, and the book fell from Crash's hands. 

Before Triple H could greedily pick it up, it fell over the edge of the chasm that had been formed a few minutes ago. 

"DAMNIT!" Triple H shouted, "Damnit damnit damnit!" he threw his phaser on the ground, and shattered it with the sole of his boot, then walked angrily back through the tunnels. 

Stephanie quickly ran after him. 

Everyone took a moment to reflect on what had just happened. The Titanprize would be waiting... and no doubt Captain McMahon would be wondering. 

An agreement was made. No one would speak of the events that happened here. No one would mention Triple H's unorthodox behaviour. It was the only way to keep peace aboard the ship, what with Ensign Helmsley being married to Stephanie and all. 

If asked, the group would simply explain that their adventure was all for naught. Besides, the book didn't work, and no one had their heart's desire. They just had aching feet, and dust in their lungs. 

One by one, everyone ducked back through the tunnel. 

Oddly enough, Crash himself had to duck as well. 

Funny... Chyna didn't recall him having to do that earlier... 

"Crash... did you ...? Chyna started, then stopped, furrowing her brow. 

"Did I _what_?" Ensign Crash asked. 

Chyna shook her head, and smiled, "Never mind..." she took his hand, "Let's just get out of here..." 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	35. Season 5 Episode 6 Do Androids Wish For...

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 6 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 6: DO ANDROIDS WISH FOR ELECTRIC HEARTS? 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 063020.00. We are in orbit around Planet Caly-Fornea. I have allowed the crew some R and R time before our next stop. It seems the local bars are most popular right now... and some of my crew..." he paused, and looked at the duty roster, "Ok... MOST of my crew are making the best of their time off. The Titanprize is currently running on a Jobber crew. End log..." 

* * *

PLANET CALY-FORNEA - THE PALM-TREE BAR 

Lt. Commander Jericho and Chyna stared fiercely at each other over the table. Their hands locked together. The crew gathered around to watch. Ensign Crash and Ensign Guerrero stood behind Chyna, and Ensigns Lita, Matt, and Lt. Jeff stood behind the Y2J Unit.   


"Why do you even bother, Chyna?" Jericho asked, "You have never beaten me at arm wrestling, and you never eeeeeeeeever will!" 

"We'll just see about that, Chris!" Chyna said. 

Terri held their interlocked hands still, then spoke, "Ok. On three. 1... 2 ... 3!!" She let go of their hands, and the arm wrestling match began. 

The match lasted longer then the previous ones Chyna and Jericho had had and it caught the Y2J Unit by surprise. 

Defeating Chyna was actually CHALLENGING this time! In the end, however, his android strength won out, and his Aerialian friends cheered. 

"Damn!" Chyna muttered, and rubbed her sore arm, then smiled and held out her hand, "Nice match, Chris!" she said. 

He shook her outstretched hand, "You too! Have you been working out?" 

Chyna furrowed her brow, "Not any more then usual. Why?" 

Jericho shrugged, "I could have sworn you've gotten stronger! You were actually a challenge this time!" 

Chyna smiled, "Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment!" 

"Good!" he said. 

"Hey, Chris," Lt. Jeff started, "Matt, Lita, and I are going to hang out with Ensigns Grandmaster and Scotty for a bit. See you back on the ship...!" 

Jericho waved as the three Aerialians headed off. Crash and Eddie grabbed a few seats and sat with the Y2J Unit and Chyna. 

Something caught Eddie's eye, "Ey... don't look now... but it's Ensign Loco..." he whispered. 

Jericho turned to see Triple H walk in. The two exchanged unpleasant looks, and Triple H joined his wife at a table on the other side of the room. 

"We should do something about him," Chyna said, her voice low so others wouldn't hear her. 

"Do _what_ though, Miss Chyna?" Ensign Crash replied quietly, "He's Captain McMahon sir's son-in-law!" 

"But... after what he did back on Kanata..." Chyna said. 

"It doesn't matter..." Jericho replied. "We can't exactly go up to Vince and say 'hey, your son-in-law tried to blow our heads off', can we? Hunter would deny it, and Skankanie would, of course, stand by her man! Who's daddy going to believe? US, or his daughter and her hubby?" 

Chyna sighed, "Good point... but... geez, Chris! If you and Crash hadn't dodged those phaser shots---" 

"I know," he said. 

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a loud angry voice from the bar, "That's OUR beer, TUBBY!" 

Jericho's table looked to see Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq about to come to blows with a local over a pitcher of beer the man had claimed for his own. 

"This is MY brew!" the man replied, "You want some, get it your damn selves!" 

"WE DID!" Farooq snapped. 

The man then took a drunken swing at Bradshaw, who returned in kind. Before long, all hell broke loose. Several hot-tempered members of the Titanprize began brawling with the locals. 

Chairs began flying. One particular chair flew at Triple H and Stephanie, knocking the Chief Engineer out of her chair and flat on her back, a red bump shining for all to see. 

Triple H jumped to his feet angrily and attacked the man who threw the chair as his wife lay semi-conscious on the floor. 

Bradshaw was tossed into a poorly made pillar. It quickly broke in two from the weight. Luckily, Bradshaw got out of the way before it began to buckle. 

"DAMN!" Jericho said as plaster fell from the roof and a beam attached to the pillar came lose. He quickly jumped up to stop both from falling on Ensign Godfather's female associates, "Get out of the way! I can't hold this thing forever!" 

The ladies screamed and quickly ran out of the bar. 

Lt. Commander Jericho felt the load ease, and he turned to see Chyna holding part of the pillar. He blinked. The pillar weighed at least a ton! HE could lift it… but how could CHYNA? 

"Take your own advice, Chris!" she said, "And let's BOTH get out of the way!" 

"But..." 

"I can hold it! You get out of the way first, then pull ME out so we can let it fall!" 

Jericho quickly ducked out from under the pillar. Chyna let go of it, and he pulled her out before it collapsed completely. 

Both stood a few feet away looking at where they had almost been squished. Jericho turned to Chyna, "How did you do that?! WHEN did you get so strong?!" 

"I..." Chyna stopped, confused, "I really don't know!" 

* * *

ENGINEERING - THE NEXT DAY 

Commander Stephanie McMahon held a hand to the large bump on her head. Pain seared through her skull. She had taken quite a hit when the chair had been thrown at her. 

"You're looking pastier then usual, Skankanie," Lt. Commander Jericho said. 

"I'm FINE!" she snapped, then winced. Why did her head hurt so much? 

"Maybe you should go see Dr. Taker. That bump is quite ugly, much like your personality," Jericho said. 

"I am NOT going to see Dr. Taker!" she shouted quickly, then became a bit shaky on her feet. Lt. Commander Jericho looked at her, raising his eyebrows, "I told you I'm fine!" she snapped "I..." she stopped. Why was Engineering suddenly spinning out of control? 

Her vision became blurry, and no amount of blinking cleared it. She tried to take a step... and found herself falling. 

"Commander!" a female voice shouted. 

All Stephanie saw was a flash of red hair as dainty arms quickly caught her. 

"Lt. Commander Jericho to sickbay, " she heard the Y2J Unit speak, "Get ready to accept a patient..." 

Then, all went black. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

Stephanie's eyes fluttered open, only to see Dr. Taker staring down at her. She jumped and almost fell off the diagnostics table, but the doctor steadied her with a cold, strong hand, "Stay!" he commanded. That was all he needed to say. One word. She obeyed. 

"What happened?" Commander Stephanie asked meekly. 

"You received a concussion from the chair during the barroom brawl..." the doctor replied, then looked across the room. "Take her to her quarters and watch her for the next few hours..." 

"I can't," that was Ensign Lita's voice, "I'm still on duty! It's bad enough I had to carry her heavy ass all the way HERE!" 

"I heard that, Ensign!" Stephanie replied, her voice quiet as her head still swimmed. 

"Umm... er... sorry, Commander McMahon-Helmsley..." Ensign Lita said. Stephanie turned to look at her. She was standing beside Lt. Commander Jericho, who had been snickering quietly at Lita's '_heavy ass'_ comment. It gave Stephanie great pleasure to see that Lita's face was now the colour of her hair. Lita turned to Lt. Commander Jericho, "I'll catch you guys at the Smackdown later, Chris... see you." she said, and quickly headed out of sickbay. 

"You let inferior officers call you by your first name, Lt. Commander?" Stephanie asked. 

"I let my _friends_ call me by my first name, yes. But then, you wouldn't know much about having friends, would you, Skankanie," 

"If you two are quite done your insult match," Dr. Taker spoke, "Someone must take the Commander home and stay with her to make sure she does not hurt herself and aggravate her concussion. She will be dizzy for a while and---" 

"_and_...." Jericho interrupted, "Where's _Hunter_? Shouldn't he be here?" 

"I paged him three times. He claimed he was unavailable," Dr. Taker looked at Jericho, and Jericho didn't like it. 

"No way!" Jericho said. "I'm not going to be Skankanie's babysitter!" 

"Are you off duty now?" Dr. Taker asked. 

"Yes! And I'm meeting Crash, Chyna, and Eddie at The SMACKDOWN," 

"Your plans have been cancelled," Dr. Taker replied, and handed Jericho a hypospray, "Use this if you see she is in a lot of pain. Otherwise, let her sleep lightly, waking her up every half-an-hour to make sure she doesn't lose consciousness completely," 

"But...!" 

"DO IT!" Dr. Taker commanded. 

Jericho dared not challenge him, "Fine," he agreed reluctantly, and held a hand out to help Stephanie off the diagnostic's bed. 

She slapped his hand away, "I can get up myself!" she snapped, then held her head again. "Where's Hunter! He can take care of me..." 

"Oh yeah... he's coming through the door right now..." Jericho replied sarcastically, "Now move it, or lose it, Stephie!" he snapped, and all but dragged her to her quarters. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Hey guys," Jericho's voice came through Ensign Guerrero's comm link, "Looks like I'm stuck babysitting the wench from hell..." he said, and informed them of Stephanie's concussion. 

"Where's Hunter?" Chyna asked. 

"Too busy to tend to his wife, apparently," Jericho replied. 

"Darn. That's not nice!" Ensign Crash said. "And here we wanted to talk about what happened on Kanata... especially Miss Chyna's new found strength!" 

"You think it's connected?" Jericho asked through the comm. 

"Call me a dreamer..." Chyna said, "But I think Crash's wish... about everyone getting their heart's desire... is coming true! I mean... Crash said he just measured himself and was about two inches taller! And me... well... I've always wanted to be super-strong..." 

"How big did you want to grow, Crash?" Eddie asked. 

"Um... only about two inches. I don't need to grow THAT much! I'm a super-heavyweight, remember?" Crash replied. 

"Well..." Jericho's voice again, "We know Chyna definitely got HER wish," he said. 

"I wonder what Miss Stephanie's heart's desire is?" Crash asked. 

"Probably to make my life a living hell for the rest of eternity!" Jericho replied.

"What about _you_, Chris? Have YOU noticed anything?" Eddie asked, "About your heart's desire, I mean?" 

Lt. Commander Jericho let out a small laugh, "It's hard to have a heart's desire when you have wires in place of an actual _heart_..." 

"You know what we mean, Mr. Chris sir, " Crash said "There must be SOMETHING you want in this world! Something more then anything else!" Crash said. 

"Well..." Jericho started, "If I was to make one wish... it would be --" a voice interrupted him. A painful moaning. "Damn... I gotta tend to the princess here. I'll meet up with you guys as soon as Skankanie's husband finds it in his OWN heart to get his ass to his quarters and take care of his wife," With that, Jericho cut the comm link. 

"Poor Mr. Chris sir!" Crash said, "He's stuck taking care of Miss Stephanie... and she probably won't even thank him either!" 

Chyna nodded in sympathy, "Still..." she said, "I was hoping to find out what his heart's desire was!" she shrugged, "What do androids wish for anyway?" 

* * *

McMAHON-HELMSLEY QUARTERS 

"Go away!" Stephanie muttered from her bed as the Y2J Unit sat on the end of it, cutting his conversation, "I'll be fine!" 

"Dr. Taker told me to babysit you," he replied, unhappy to say the least, "And I for one do NOT want to piss him off!" 

Stephanie sat up and put her feet over the side of the bed. 

Jericho quickly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back against the pillows, "You are to STAY in bed! Doctor's orders! Besides... you should be used to spending all day on your back..." 

"SHUT UP!" Stephanie snapped angrily, and shoved him away as she sat up again. 

She then quickly regretted her action as a wave of nausea swept over her, and Lt. Commander Jericho's uniform tunic was soon decorated with her breakfast. 

The Y2J Unit jumped back, repulsed, "Oh .... just great! This is disgusting even for YOU!" he said, "If I had a stomach, _I'D _be sick!" 

Stephanie lay back down, groaning, "Sorry..." she whispered, embarrassed. 

She was _apologizing_. Well.... she DID have a head injury... 

The Y2J Unit stood up, "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, and headed into the washroom, locking the door behind him. He took his soiled shirt off and tossed it down the disposal shoot. He would have some time before he had to check on Stephanie again, as per Dr. Taker's orders. He quickly jumped into the shower to clean off Stephanie's mess. 

He would never forgive Dr. Taker for this. EVER! 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Did you hear what the others were saying, brother?" Ensign Edge asked as he listened carefully to the chatter at the table a few feet away from him, "We may just get our magazine cover, thanks to the little guy's wish!" 

"Do you think so, Edge? That would be SO the bomb!" Christian said. 

"Ensign Edge, Ensign Christian..." Lt. Rock's voice came through the comm, "there's a private subspace message coming for your candy asses. The Rock is routing it to console 3 in the Smackdown. It's from some roody poo magazine called _Galaxy Beat_," 

Edge and Christian looked at each other, then both nearly knocked the other over as they ran to console 3 to get their message. 

When the blonde brothers finally received the call and finished their conversation, it was a miracle all of The Smackdown wasn't blinded by their extra-bright smiles. 

* * *

McMAHON-HELMSLEY QUARTERS 

Stephanie crawled out of bed slowly. She stood unsteadily, looking around her quarters. She was so dizzy and everything was so blurry! 

Where was Hunter? 

A sudden sharp pain pounded her head. She closed her eyes for a moment, and felt her knees buckle. 

Someone quickly caught her, sweeping her off her feet -- quite literally. 

Stephanie opened her blurry eyes to find she was currently being carried by someone. She couldn't make out his face, "HUNTER!" she said happily, then reached up and ran her hands through his long, wet hair... 

_WET_ hair? 

She looked at the bare arms that carried her, and noticed his entire upper torso was wet. She furrowed her brow. Why was Hunter wet? And why was he only wearing his uniform bottoms? Had he come in and taken a shower while she had been drifting in and out of sleep? 

Strange... the last person she recalled going into the washroom was.... 

"JERICHO!" she shouted, and began to flail her arms and legs, trying to get out of his grasp, "Let me go, you _pervert_!!" 

"PERVERT?!" Lt. Commander Jericho snapped, "YOU'RE the last one to talk about being perverted, Skananie! YOU were the one playing touchy-feely with me just now! What's wrong? Puking on my uniform didn't disgust me enough for your liking?!" 

"Put me down!" she demanded. 

"As soon as you stop flailing like a fish out of water!" he replied, and tightened his arms around her to keep from dropping her. 

Stephanie stopped struggling, and pouted, "I thought you were Hunter..." she said quietly. 

"Apparently!" he replied, "Sorry to burst your bubble, Stephie, but your _loving _husband is too busy pursuing his goals to take an afternoon off to tend to his injured wife!" 

Stephanie looked up at him, and frowned. He had yet to put her down, "You're dripping on me!" she snapped, "Aren't androids supposed to short-circuit when they get wet or something?" 

The Y2J Unit smirked smugly, "I'm waterproof!" he replied, then noticed she was shivering, "And _you're_ cold..." 

"I'm fine!" she replied. 

"You're SHAKING!" he answered. 

Stephanie quickly looked away from him, finding the room extremely hot all of a sudden. 

Then again, she DID have a concussion... 

Suddenly the doors swooshed open. Jericho looked to see who had entered, "Oh! Hunter! You finally decided to tend to your---" 

"What the hell are you doing, robot?!" Triple H shouted angrily when he saw Jericho carrying Stephanie, "Are you trying to take advantage of an injured woman!" 

"What the hell?!" Jericho replied, "Take advantage of SKANKANIE?!" He then burst out laughing, "That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!" 

"I'll wipe that smug grin off your face, android!" Helmsley snapped, and charged at Lt. Commander Jericho, knocking both the Y2J Unit AND Stephanie to the floor. 

Triple H grabbed Jericho by the hair and threw him against the wall, "You're nothing but a piece of junk that should have seen the scrap heap a long time ago!" he swung a punch at the Y2J Unit, but Jericho caught it. HHH was livid, "How could an artificial piece of crap like YOU have a higher rank then ME?!" he snapped. 

Ensign Helmsley threw another punch, and Lt. Commander Jericho caught this one as well, squeezing just enough to make Triple H wince, "Maybe that whole rebel thing wasn't such a good idea after all, Trip," Jericho replied, then spun Hunter around, and pinned his shoulders against the wall, smrking arrogantly, "My rank just pisses you off, doesn't it, Hunter? I have more power on this ship then YOU do, and that just burns you inside!"

"Son of a bitch!" Triple H sneered. 

Suddenly, a whimper was heard near the bed. Jericho looked to see Stephanie on the floor, clutching her head in agony. He turned back just on time to duck another fist from Triple H. 

"You know, Trip," Jericho started, "If you gave a damn about your wife, you would notice she's currently writhing in pain! Or don't you care?" Jericho wondered why HE even cared. 

Jericho quickly tossed Helmsley across the room, disgusted with the Ensign. 

The Y2J Unit went up to a semi-conscious Stephanie and grabbed the hypospray. He put a calming hand on her face, "Hold still..." he said, and depressed the hypospray into her neck. 

Stephanie's eyelids fluttered, and within moments, she was asleep. 

Before he could pick her up off the floor, Triple H tackled him from behind and proceeded to punch the Y2J Unit repeatedly. 

Lt. Commander Jericho tossed the angry Ensign off him. Triple H landed a few feet away. 

Jericho went up to Helmsley and threw the hypospray beside him. He glared at the man angrily, "Wake her up every half hour to make sure she's still conscious! If the pain returns, give her a shot. Take her to Dr. Taker tomorrow morning, and if you have any problems---" 

"I can take care of my wife!" Triple H snapped, and grabbed the hypospray beside him, eyes narrowed angrily as he got to his feet. 

"Yeah... you've done a GREAT job of that already!" Jericho replied sarcastically. 

Triple H was ready to lunge once more at the Y2J Unit, but Jericho was too fast for him. He quickly pinned Hunter against the wall again, "DON'T!" Jericho then let go, and Triple H used a rather colourful phrase to describe the Y2J Unit. 

Jericho smirked, "You know, I don't think I've heard the word _android_ used quite that way before," he said, then stepped towards the door, "Enjoy the rest of your day, Trip!" 

With that, he walked out and let the doors swoosh shut behind him. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

Jericho sat at a table with Chyna, Eddie, Crash, the Hardys, and Lita. 

"Triple H attacked you?" Lita said, "That jerk! What the hell was HIS problem! YOU were the one taking care of his wife! You think he'd be grateful!" 

"It seems he hates _me_ more then he loves his _wife_!" Jericho replied. 

Lita shrugged, "Well after all.... can you blame him for not loving Steph? She _is_ the Queen Bi---" 

"LITA!" Jeff interrupted. 

"What?!" Lita replied, "You don't like me insulting your true love?" 

"SHE'Snot my true love, Lita...." Lt. Jeff replied quietly, then seemed embarrassed suddenly and quickly walked away. 

Ensign Matt looked at Lita expectantly. She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Ok ok... let's go talk to Mr. Moody and see what his problem is TODAY..." the two headed off. 

"So, Chris..." Chyna said once the three Aerialians were gone, "You never DID tell us what your heart's desire was..." 

Crash, Eddie, and Chyna looked at him, waiting. He shrugged, "I told you... I don't _have_ a heart..." 

Chyna studied him for a moment, "So THAT'S it...!" she said quietly. 

"_What's_ it?" Jericho asked. 

Chyna smiled, "You're the Tin Man, Chris..." 

The Y2J Unit furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?" he asked, not getting the reference. He would have to look it up later. 

Chyna hugged him kindly, "Believe me, Chris... having one isn't all it's cracked up to be..." she said, then smiled, "I have to get to work. Talk to you guys later..." with that, she grabbed the nearest tray, and headed off to do her waitressing. 

Jericho looked at Eddie and Crash, "Any idea what she was talking about? What Tin Man?" 

The two just smiled, "Try watching a holo of The Wizard Of Oz one day..." Eddie offered. 

"The Wizard of Oz? Never heard of it!" 

"It's one of my favourite twentieth-century movies!" Crash replied, then checked his watch, "Oooh! I gotta get on duty," he said. 

"Yeah, me too. See you tomorrow, Chris!" Eddie replied. 

The two walked off, Crash singing a song, and Eddie snickering.... 

_When a man's an empty kettle, he should be on his metle... and yet I'm torn apart...._   
_ Just because I'm presumin' that I could be kinda human.... if I only had a heart..._

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	36. Season 5 Episode 7 End Game, Pt 1

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 7

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra 

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 7: END GAME   
**PART ONE**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


"WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061384.00. It's always been an unspoken rule on this ship that you don't cross the boss. Well, I may have to start cracking the whip aboard the TitanPrize, as one too many officers have dared to question my judgement. I have accepted a dangerous mission from Wrestlefleet, a mission that other captains don't have the grapefruits to swallow! 

The TitanPrize will explore the Calloway-9 Nebula, perhaps the most dazzling and frightening cosmic phenomenon in Federation space. More colorful than Lieutenant Hardy's hair and brighter than Ensign Edge's teeth, it houses some of the fiercest ion and plasma storms in the known universe. Chances are it also contains some of the most spectacular scientific discoveries that man could ever hope to find, and I, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, will be the one to bust those cosmic secrets wide open! 

Actually, I will be on Earth while acting Captain Rock guides the ship through the nebula. I figure my... _lovely_ wife Linda is acting like a power-hungry shrew lately due to the fact she's getting zip attention from her loverboy, Vinnie Mac. For some reason, the crew's a little ticked off that I'm sending them through Calloway-9 while their fearless leader enjoys a second honeymoon but...." 

Captain McMahon stood up and stretched his weary muscles. 

"They're just the crew. They're not being paid to question my decisions!"   
  


***

THE BRIDGE 

"Asshole on the Bridge!" Acting Captain Rock barked as Vince strolled out of his Ready Room. 

"Stand down Lieutenant Crock!" Captain McMahon favored his Communications Officer with a hard glare. He didn't question allowing Rock to steer his precious TitanPrize; behind that motor mouth and arrogance was a man who could become the pinnacle of everything Wrestlefleet stood for... but damn if he didn't brass the Captain off once in a while! 

"Jabroni, shouldn't your candy ass be in Greenwich giving the old lady an attitude adjustment?" 

"I'm headed for Transporter Room 3, Rock." Vince assured him. "With my son Shane and Lt Commander Austin recovering from injuries they received brawling in the bar on Caly-fornea, I wanted to remind you that Stephanie's got the ultimate stroke. You step out of line, she's got my blessing to phaser blast you back in place." 

Acting Captain Rock cocked his head and arched his eyebrow. "Look here Captain McMahon, there's a lot of places in this universe the Rock likes to be. Underneath that two credit slut daughter of your sure as hell ain't one of them. If I wanted to bow down to dirty panties, I'd hit my knees in the ship's laundry!" 

"Lieutenant Rock will not deviate from the mission." Kane's voice was an ominous hiss. 

"Pardon me you big red retard?" Rock whirled around and faced the security officer. "You keep that oven roasted nose out of the Rock's business!" 

Captain McMahon sighed. "Good-luck crew." 

"Ensign Christian!" Acting Captain Rock didn't acknowledge Vince's departure. "I want this ship on the border of the nebula faster than you can lick a farmful of llama's nipples! Just bring it!" 

The blonde leaned over to his brother, who manned navigation on this shift. "Fellow ensign, I sooo don't get what that means!" 

"Perhaps licking a llama's nipple makes ones teeth shinier." Ensign Edge whispered back. 

"Hey! Blonde piles of steaming monkey crap! Does this look like homeroom? Stop whispering and gossiping like two little girls before I slap the damn taste out of both your mouths!" 

"Aye sir!" Christian and Edge chorused. Maybe now was not the best time to unveil their sensational new "Arriving at the Nebula Pose" they had worked on all night.... 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Hunter?" 

Silence. 

Stephanie adjusted her eyes to the inky black darkness, to the watered down starlight that trickled in through her sweeping view of the cosmos. The silk sheets on her bed felt ice cold against her skin, much like the empty space next to her. 

Where Hunter should be, but wasn't. 

Stephanie knew that Ensign Helmsley was not on the bridge tonight. 

"Damn you Hunter." He'd promised, but his promises had about as much substance as the atmosphere outside her window. Pretty words, but it was all window dressing. 

She watched as the slowly fading light of Caly-fornea's silvery-blue moon turned the snow globe on her nightstand into a glowing liquid sapphire. Lt Commander Jericho, a pile of sophisticated circuits, had given her the nicest birthday gift...ever, and Hunter hadn't even noticed it. What kind of husband didn't notice a present from another man? It was right in front of his eyes! 

Stephanie tapped her comm badge. "Chris?" 

"Chris is indisposed right now." 

A feminine voice? Chyna's voice? What was Chyna doing in Jericho's room? 

"After midnight?" Stephanie demanded. 

"We're playing..." Chyna said sweetly. "...a game." 

"Fine." Steph threw her comm badge on the floor. 

Men. You couldn't live with them, couldn't vaporize them with phasers.... 

***

COUNSELOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

"Come." Counselor Snow inhaled deeply as he sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by candles. Perhaps meditation would quiet the voices, as Ensign Blackman had suggested. 

"Stop acting like a nut and listen to me." Stephanie flung herself down on the couch, pajamas and all. 

"We are listening." Snow nodded at H.E.A.D 

"Hunter doesn't give a damn at all, you know." she plunged right in. "I confront him, I dress all sexy, I bitch, I moan, I practically beg and plead for just a second of his time, and I get jack." 

"Who's Jack?" 

Stephanie scowled at the doctor. "Forget it. The point is that I've gotten kissed more this past year by Lieutenant Hardy than my own husband. God!" Stephanie gagged until the counselor calmly handed her a glass of replicator water. Would the taste of Aerialian never go away? 

"Perhaps it is time to cut your losses?" Snow suggested. "Your hubby did rescue a book of fairytales instead of you." 

"Please." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I've reflected on that incident, and I realize that Hunter would have saved me if that metallic moron Jericho hadn't grabbed me and hogged all the glory." 

"That does sound like denial, yes." Snow nodded at H.E.A.D. 

"I'm the patient, idiot!" she snapped. "I'll do anything so The Game'll play with me again! Whatever it takes to make a real marriage...just give me some advice, a tip, something, anything! Dammit Doc!" 

Counselor Snow leaned close to the bizarre plastic face that he'd trusted for so long. It was so wise..."H.E.A.D. makes an excellent point. Stephie, me thinks you're only hot for Hunter to avoid the wacky confusion of loving a toy robot without a human heart. " 

"Wow." Stephanie looked at him, wide-eyed. "A big nut is spreading mental wellness throughout the TitanPrize." 

"Must be frightening to love a - a _thing_." Snow rambled on. "A man-sized computer. A 'droid whose feelings are mere electrical impulses. Probably does seem safer giving yourself to a selfish bastard like Hunter. I mean-" 

But Stephanie hadn't heard a word. She was already walking back to her own quarters. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Our time has come." To call Hunter's smile cocky was the understatement of the year. The room reeked of his arrogance as he stared down the other degenerates. "Tonight, on the anniversary of our first failed rebellion, the game we started comes full circle." 

"No one's going to stop us this time either." X-Pac's tone was bitter. He'd kept the anger in for so many nights, but no more..."Especially not that unoriginal repeating jack-ass Crock." 

"He can suck it." Road Dogg laughed scornfully. "Now that titanium twit Jericho, I don't trust his ass for a second. Damn bucket of bolts is always playing the hero." 

Hunter's eyes snapped with arctic cold. "Stephanie will have to kill it then." 

"That's the X factor in all of this." Tori chewed on her lower lip. "We know for a fact that the nebula is lethal enough to provide a distraction. It was our base of operations for so long. Stephanie...I love her like a sister, but she's been Wrestlefleet all her life...." 

"There's a reason they call me the Game." Hunter leaned back in his chair, one hand strangling the neck of a beer bottle. "I've been playing that spoiled princess like a damn piano. She's so freaking desperate for me to love her? Little Stephie will stab herself in the heart if she thinks I'll look at her twice." 

Tori could taste blood from chewing through her lip. She was afraid to ask what Ensign Helmsley would do if Stephanie refused to take part in this mutiny. "Even the Commander sees her father is out of control. She'll join us." 

"Just remember this." Hunter glowered at them. "Stephanie is expendable. The only thing she's got that we need is the McMahon name and we don't need it that bad." He pushed a padd into the center of the circle. "My darling bride has provided us with the ultimate weapon and doesn't even know it. " 

Road Dogg smirked. "Good lord Hunter. The command codes for the entire ship!" 

"Man, I don't even wanna ask how you got these." X-Pac laughed. "Double shifting in bed or what?" 

"God no." Hunter made a face, like he'd swallowed something nasty. "It was easier than that. Injected her with an overdose of that Maivian-8 antidote Dr. Taker prescribed. It made her so dopey she just spilled her guts. " 

"Hunter." Tori cringed. Didn't she have the stomach for degenerate dirty work anymore? Manipulating Steph was necessary, but...."That's some pretty bad medicine. She could have fallen into a coma." 

Ensign Helmsley shrugged. "McMahon knocked my ass down to waiter, and I was one of the best damn tactical officers in Wrestlefleet! You think I give a damn if his precious angel never wakes up again?" 

"Man, this ship's ass is grass!" X-Pac whistled as he examined the padd. "We can manually disarm every phaser on the TitanPrize. Not to mention lock down all personnel in their quarters." 

"We now own every damn transporter on this ship!" Road Dogg popped a grape in his mouth, the picture of smugness. "Screw this waiting tables garbage. All the losers on the crew are gonna start bowing to me!" 

"And if they don't?" Ensign Helmsley unholstered his weapon and energized it, until the phaser glowed with deadly plasma at its tip.... 

* * *

"Don't move." Ensign Matt barely breathed out the warning as he and Lita pressed themselves inside a curved window frame, their reflection fearfully bright against the backdrop of space. If they hadn't been highly flexible Aerialians.... 

"Really Matt?" Lita hissed, praying that her comm badge wouldn't crackle to life. She didn't dare to even flinch, let alone deactivate the thing. "No kidding." 

Matt was able to sneak a dirty look in her direction. _This is one fine first date_, he told himself bitterly. Trapped in the Smackdown with degenerate rebels planning a hostile takeover of the Titanprize. 

What could have been more romantic than trespassing in the ship's popular lounge, to watch the gorgeous meteor shower that was taking place of the starboard bow? Young couples did it all the time. It was just Ensign Hardy's luck that he'd pick a night where he could get both he and Lita shot and stuffed in a Jeffries tube. Of course, if his perfect little brother had been here, the great Lt Jeffrey would have saved the whole ship by now... 

Lita squeezed his hand and smiled apologetically. The Maivian-8 virus, a naughty little bugger that had created a rash of bizarre romances aboard the TitanPrize, had been cured. Her attraction to Matt had not. The older Hardy wasn't obsessed with his job, wasn't intimidated by her strength. He hadn't had his lips on that...that skank in Engineering! 

"Chyna." Matt mouthed the name at Lita, as the tall, striking waitress waltzed into the Smackdown. 

"Since when did we celebrate...this?" Chyna's razor-sharp voice cut to the chase. 

Hunter laughed. "We're not throwing a party to honor our...our humiliation as it were, dearest. Oh no. This is about nothing less than some of Wrestlefleet's damn finest officers taking back the dignity and rank that was stripped from them! It's about not letting that incompetent fool McMahon get away with sending us on deadly missions while he's all cozy back on Earth!" 

"You knew the risks when you signed on." Chyna reminded him with a sneer. "You chicken?" 

"I fear nothing!" He pounded his fist on the table. "There are some things worth dying for, and the glorification of that egomaniac Vince ain't one of them!" 

"Maybe you want to be a waitress for the rest of your life." Tori said. "I don't." 

Chyna's pride had been destroyed on that fateful day, and the debris was still kicking around in her mind. She was going to become Wrestlefleet security, a breakout ensign who would show little girls everywhere that they could own the galaxy if they wanted, that they could play with the big boys out among the stars and ships. 

And then there was the rebellion. Failure. Capture. A career that had faded into the horizon and disappeared... 

...Until now. Commander Kane had been impressed with her strength on Caly-fornea. There was still hope for a successful, though tarnished rise through the ranks of Wrestlefleet. And then there was Eddie, wonderful, devoted Eddie. A friend as pure of heart and intention as young Ensign Crash....and the all-important respect of Lieutenant Commander Chris Jericho. 

"I understand your anger." Chyna said, bowing her head. "I just can't be a part of it anymore." 

"Jesse!" Hunter pinned Road Dogg's wrist to the table, the illegal plasma disruptor clattering free of his grip. "Don't. I believe deep down that she's still got the neon green blood flowing inside her veins. You won't stand in our way, Chyna." 

It was a statement, not a question. 

"Billy was prepared to share degenerate secrets with Wrestlefleet." Hunter said flatly. Nobody knows what happened to him." A ghoulish grin creased his handsome features. "Could've been sucked into a black hole for all we care." 

"G'night, Hunter." Chyna knew Eddie would be waiting for her; they had a late night walk planned. "Be careful." 

He seemed amused. "With a game like this, you can't afford to be careful." 

* * *

An argument had broken out among the degenerates - not all agreed with the wisdom of letting Chyna just turn her back on them. The squabbling masked the urgent whispers of Ensigns Matt and Lita. 

"You're closer to the Jeffries Tube hatch." she murmured. "Crawling over you might be too much of a disturbance." 

Ensign Matt nodded grimly. Sometimes being a Wrestlefleet officer meant discarding the whole idea of being a gentleman. Girls first was an irrelevant concept with so much at stake. "Only one of us can slide along the wall at once. You'll have to wait for me to enter the hatch fully before you escape." 

"Sounds like a plan." Lita smiled. No doubt silly Jeff wouldn't have had enough guts to leave her behind to do what was needed. 

Matt slithered around the sweeping curve of the window frame, his Aerialian body easily twisting around the sharp corner that met him on the other side of the hatch. He moved snake-like down the narrow tube, leaving room...now all he had to do was wait. 

Lita yelped as her flame-red hair was practically pulled out by the roots. 

"I thought I heard someone back here." Tori's face was the picture of triumph, and Lita suddenly like a prisoner of war being sized up for a fresh grave. "Who else was here with you?" 

"No one!" Lita said defiantly. 

Her wild attempts to claw and scratch her way out of Tori's grip ceased as she felt a hypospray puncture her throat. Almost instantly, her muscles turned into a warm, thick liquid underneath her skin, the world around her blurring and spinning in slow motion. 

Her tongue loosened under the power of the intense sedative. "Matt...." 

For some reason, the name seemed important to her.... 

* * *

CORRIDOR B-54, SCIENCE AND RESEARCH DECK 

"Checking your height again, Ensign Crash?" Chyna couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the little Houdianan marching down the hallway, an old-fashioned scale propped on his shoulder. 

"Oh, no ma'am." Crash smiled pleasantly. "Lieutenant Benoit requested this. Says sometimes the traditional equipment works better than the flashy stuff." 

The young ensign was beaming with pride. Benoit may have been gruff, impersonal, and downright scary sometimes, but you didn't take the honor of assisting the best scientific worker in Wrestlefleet lightly. 

"If you're looking for Ensign Guerrero, he's in Astronomy. Er...said something about the stellar mapping in there giving off mood light." 

Chyna almost giggled. It was clear that itty bitty Crash wasn't quite sure what mood light might be used for. She was glad she _hadn't_ kissed him when they had both been infected with the Maivian lovebug - to spoil such adorable innocence would have been a crime! 

"Ensign Crash..." 

"Miss Chyna?" 

"I uhhh doubt this applies to you, but have you ever been faced with a really tough moral dilemma?" She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She didn't want to disillusion the poor boy, not when he thought so highly of her. "Where you want to do both the wrong thing and the right thing?" 

"Of course I have, Miss Chyna!" Crash replied. "Growing up with Cousin, I was tempted all the time to help him play naughty tricks so he wouldn't whoop me. Is that what you mean?" 

"Well...not quite." Chyna said sadly. "I just wonder what Ensign Guerrero must see in me. He's so good and hard-working and talented, and I have the criminal taint on me." 

"You're his Mamacita." Crash pointed out. "The past really doesn't seem to matter, now does it?" 

Chyna shrugged. "When I look back on the way I betrayed...everyone and everything, I just don't feel worthy of a man as loyal as Eddie." 

The Houdianian smiled sweetly. "Funny you should mention that. Ensign Guerrero is always saying the exact same mushy stuff about you. He doesn't know why a...er...." Crash flushed bright red. "...goddess would spend time with a mere mortal Wrestlefleet officer. He uhh gets gooey sometimes." 

"I don't wanna hold Eddie back." Chyna found she was glowing inside, thanks to Crash's kind words. But still..."He shouldn't hitch his wagon to a fallen star." 

"Ey Mamacita!" Ensign Guerrero's husky voice floated down the corridor. "Is that your sweet perfume I'm smelling from here? Latino Heat wants you in Astronomy so you can show all these stars exactly how to shine!" 

"Coming Eddie." Chyna realized she was tingling all over. When was the last time she felt like this....she wasn't sure she ever had. 

Ensign Crash continued to beam as he headed for Lt Benoit's research lab. So many fine ladies on the ship didn't have a clue about the spells they cast over certain lovestruck men. The young Houdianian thought romance seemed so simple and sweet. You fell in love, you shared your feelings, and lived happily ever after...why didn't anyone else follow that logic? 

* * *

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Off to another grueling, miserable shift in Engineering." Stephanie pouted prettily as she gathered up her equipment pack. "I may be gone, what, 11 or 12 hours since Ensign Lita has blown off her duties." 

"What a witch." Hunter oozed sympathy while his wife ran her fingers through her silky brown hair, so obviously trying to entice him somehow, some way. Pitiful, he thought. "I'd take a laser scalpel to her kneecaps if she was my ensign." 

Stephanie laughed. "You're awful sweetheart! Besides, I get more mileage out of punishing Lt Hardy in her presence." 

"Whatever you like." Hunter shrugged. 

She wanted to scream. How could mentioning Jeff's name NOT provoke her husband into a blinding jealous rage? For god's sake, the nasty Aerialian freak had pawed her all over the ship and played enough tonsil hockey with her...Hunter knew that! 

"Kiss me good-bye?" 

"Sure babe." Hunter pecked her on the cheek before disappearing into the dining area of their quarters. He waited until Stephie had stormed out the door, her eyes ablaze. That temper was almost beautiful, but not beautiful enough to save her if it came to that. 

"Computer, this is Ensign Helmsley." 

"Go ahead, Ensign." 

"Please turn over command of the WWF TitanPrize to Ensign Hunter Hearst Helmsley-Security Clearance Ten, Priority McMahon-Helmsley Alpha Beta. Manual Override Codes are now being processed from Commander McMahon-Helmsley's computer. " 

Hunter's fingers flew over Stephanie's computer, violating every security barrier it attempted to throw in his face, eventually yielding to the numeric sequences he had so deviously stolen from his wife's mind. 

"Computer, who is recognized as the Captain of this vessel?" 

"Captain of the WWF TitanPrize is Hunter Hearst Helmsley." 

Hunter smiled. Yes, he was _that damn good! _

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	37. Season 5 Episode 8 End Game, Pt 2

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 8

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! -- Elektra 

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 8: END GAME   
**PART TWO**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-SICKBAY 

"I am not delusional!" Ensign Matt cried out, bristling against the restraints that held him to the bio-bed under Dr. Taker's skeptical eye. "Lita's been kidnapped by those degenerates in the Smackdown! They're going to take over the ship!" 

"Boy..." Dr. Taker drawled out the word, spitting on the floor beside him. Yuck, Matt thought. "I don't know what you've been inhaling down in Engineering, but I'd almost like to get high off it myself." 

"Give me a blood test dammit!" 

"Take it easy." Dr. Taker didn't favor being ordered around by some damn fool ensign, especially not one that had burst onto the bridge, ranting and raving about that arrogant s.o.b. Hunter leading some mutiny. Four degenerates against the whole TitanPrize? The dark-haired Aerialian was in a dreamworld, if not on drugs. 

"Lita-" 

"Lita answered her comm badge." Dr. Taker said blandly, as he scanned Matt's body for narcotics. 

"She's being coerced then!" Ensign Matt cursed under his breath. He'd made a fatal mistake and overreacted to his date being kidnapped. Of course, his perfect officer brother would have never panicked. He had to fix this. "Look, they were going to disarm every phaser on this ship. We won't be able to fight back!" 

The dead man whipped out his personal firearm and fired it into the floor. Smoke rose from the soft carpeting. 

"I swear on Ensign Angle's gold medals that Hunter is planning on making himself the captain of this ship!" Matt was getting tired of this uphill battle. It was a damned eerie calm that possessed the doctor. "He'll kill Stephanie if he has to!" 

"Computer." Dr. Taker frowned at his patient. "Who holds all the command codes to the TitanPrize? Request has security clearance 9, Taker 2-9-2-5." 

"The WWF TitanPrize is under the command of Lieutenant Rock. Command codes are also held by Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Chief of Engineers." 

The computer's sugary voice made Matt want to throw up. He willed himself to relax. The doc couldn't think he was crazy - he'd never get out of here in time to help Lita. "I'm sorry. I'm just so darn tired and stressed out...." 

"Counselor Snow is here if you want to speak to him." Taker didn't have much use for all that psychology garbage-it was his opinion that people shouldn't find out what's really making them tick. It was like the monster under your bed, you know it's there, it's just too damn scary to look in the eye. 

"Nah..." No time. "It's just this...thing with my brother. It's like Jeff is in another world sometimes." 

"He probably is." Dr. Taker nodded. A world where he had his head stuck so far up - well the stupid kid was missing out on life, had been for some time. The little Hardy had already lost his woman. "He went through a war, and war is hell son. I should know. I got scars from a million of them." 

Matt shivered. Looking up at those pale gray eyes, he believed Taker could be telling the cold hard truth. "Yeah I know, I know. Look...if I could just go back to my quarters, maybe sleep this off..." 

"Snow - what's your stank ass have to say?" 

Al Snow glanced at H.E.A.D, nodding and squinting every so often. "A little geeky, but not psychotic." 

"Two days away from Engineering, Hardy." Taker said gruffly, releasing the restraints. "That's an order." 

Ensign Matt straightened his uniform, calmly unholstered his weapon and drilled both doctors point blank in the chest with an energized beam of light. His phaser was programmed to fire one level above high stun. 

"Aye sir." And with that, the Aerilian disappeared behind a hatch and into a maze of Jeffries tubes....   


* * *

ENGINEERING 

"I hope you won't find it rude when I don't invite you to me and Hunter's anniversary party in a couple weeks." Stephanie wrinkled her nose up at the handsome blonde android that stood next to her diagnostics console. "Actually maybe you could come. My hubby beating the living daylights out of you would be the best present ever." 

"Slutephanie darling." Jericho smirked at her. "First worry about your husband showing up, and _then_ concentrate on the guest list!" 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Stephanie demanded. "It's our wedding anniversary! He's very excited about it." 

"As excited as a man facing a firing squad." Jericho said dryly. "Of course the interspecies STD's would kill him off far quicker-" 

"Stow it, you silicon-coated slimebag!" Stephanie was filled with fury, a helpless fury. Jericho wasn't right about Hunter! How could she make him believe that? "What the hell are you staring at Hardly? I hope you know you aren't getting any more of this." 

Jeff rolled his eyes. Would the torture never end? 

"More?" Jericho cocked an eyebrow. "God, there couldn't possibly be any more of you to give, honey." 

"I am not your hon-" Stephanie was startled by the musical hum of the transporter beam. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when her husband and Tori apperared in the curtain of dazzling blue light, phasers trained on the crew. "Hunter-what the-" 

Lt Commander Jericho lunged for the computer console but it was too late-they had all been locked down and his security clearance wasn't the right key. His phaser cleared the holster in less than a second, but his lightning fast android speed couldn't compensate for the hollow click the weapon made when Y2J depressed the trigger. 

"You might as well stick it, Jericho." Hunter's smile was so frigid even the android felt the chill in the air. "Cause that thing's about as useless as tying my wife's legs together to keep her out of trouble." 

Stephanie gasped. 

"I must confess, Ensign, that's the first entertaining thing I've ever heard you say." Jericho seemed too cocky, too self-assured. "But it's not quite as amusing as this pathetic attempt to steal the ship from Captain Crocky, which you will nevvveeer evvvveerrrrr do." 

"Consider it already done." Several crewmembers gasped as transparent electrical force fields zapped into place around them, giving them a mere foot or two of personal prison space. "Computer, who is Captain of the WWF TitanPrize?" 

"Hunter Hearst Helmsley." 

"So Y2Jack-Ass." Hunter locked eyes with the 'droid. If looks could kill, neither man would be breathing. "Who has the power now? Who has all the strength now? A pile of cheap circuits can't ever compete with a master game-player, with a puppetmaster like myself!" 

"This is about competing with Jericho?" Stephanie was still dazed. "God, Hunter, you could go to a Wrestlefleet prison forever and ever!" 

"Shut the hell up little girl!" Hunter's voice was so full of rage it made Stephanie shrink back against the Y2J Unit. "Who gives a damn about that smug bucket of bolts, that, that thing! You damn McMahons never get it do you? I am so sick and freaking tired of your father playing games with all our lives, with his crazy ass decisions! And I won't ever forgive the way he trashed my brilliant career!" 

"Baby." Stephanie had never seen Hunter like this, never had accepted that he was genuinely capable of things she'd heard in stories. "You rebelled against the TitanPrize! What did you expect? A cookie and a pat on the back?" 

"You're going to help us sweetie." Hunter was dead certain about that, everyone there could see it. "X-Pac, bring Steph her reward for being a good little soldier." 

X-Pac materialized in Engineering, the bright red hair of Ensign Lita twined through his fingers. She couldn't keep her eyes open, and every one of her steps was a clumsy struggle as the degenerate dragged her over to Stephanie. 

"Lita!" Lt Hardy looked horrified. 

Stephanie smiled as Lita collapsed to her knees. The commander licked her lips, savoring the power she held over the fragile, drugged up ensign, enjoying the satisfying crack of her hand across that lovely Aerialian face. Lita moaned, not sure where the pain was coming from. 

"She's been nothing but trouble." X-Pac complained. "It's taken twice the normal dose of Aerialian sedative to keep her on her back." 

"Hmmm, you don't even _need_ sedatives for that, Stephie." Jericho commented. 

"I'd hate for you to be soo inconvenienced X-pac." Stephanie was in the process of opening the medkit she kept in engineering. She withdrew a hypospray, keeping her back to Hunter and the other degenerates as she filled it. Billy had taught her this trick before he'd disappeared into thin air-it was quick, dirty, and potentially dangerous to Lita's health. But there was no other way. 

"Good night, wench." The hypospray hissed like a venomous snake as Stephanie plunged it into the ensign's spinal column. Lita slumped over, her eyes wide and lifeless, her breathing trailing off like a whisper. 

Stephanie braced herself, knowing how Lt Hardy might react. He didn't understand, didn't have a clue. Jeff lunged alright, but he didn't get far with most of his fiery red and purple hair wrapped around Hunter's fist. 

"You." Helmsley nearly spit on the young lieutenant. "How does a mutant piece of Aerialian garbage like you get a higher rank than me anyways? You ain't nothing but a squeaky little freak with no guts whatsoever!" 

"And I'm still you're superior officer." 

"Maybe you do have guts, boy." Hunter lifted his knee up into Jeff's ribcage, cracking three or four of them in half upon impact. Lt Hardy wondered if he'd ever get his breath back. "I mean, you did liplock the Game's property plenty of times and we all know it takes brass ones to commit suicide like that." 

"Geez Hunter, all the handsome young ensigns are gonna have to take a number to get their punishment then." Jericho cracked. "You might need to clear your schedule for a couple weeks." 

"I wish your mouth would just rust shut!" Stephanie snapped at him. 

"The hell you do." Jericho shot her a sly smile. She scowled even harder. 

"You're lucky Rainbow Bright." Hunter sneered at Jeff. "I don't have time to beat the living heck out of you right now. You like to fly? Let's see how your unprotected skin enjoys zero gravity and extreme temperatures outside a TitanPrize airlock. X-Pac-stick him in Airlock 8 with Matt. Prepare to beam them outside the ship in twenty minutes." 

"Aye Captain." 

Jericho gagged loudly. 

"After they've suffocated to death, vaporize their bodies." Hunter added, looking pleased with himself. 

Stephanie blinked. Her husband was directing the methodical termination of her crew, her officers, with a smile on his face! What kind of man had shared her bed for so long? Her heart wanted to cry with joy that he was finally displaying a jealous streak, that he was so powerful, so commanding... but this.... 

* * *

"Was it really necessary to tie the crew up?" Stephanie whined, as she finished tying a knot that cut into Ensign Crash's skin. The poor little Houdianian had wandered in, looking for Jericho. "We have the force fields." 

"It's for their own good." Hunter snapped. He was being so mean and insensitive to her! "No need for any of them to try and play hero, get themselves killed." 

"Mercy is a rather ugly quality in a so-called rebel." Jericho kept getting his digs in, but he would pay through the nose, the Game would bet his life on it. 

Triple H initiated a shipwide hail, so that the entire crew could hear his words. "Officers of the TitanPrize, this is your Captain, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, speaking. The mood is about to change - your lives are about to change. Fighting this shift in command is like signing your death warrant, and you know you don't want to do that. We control the transporters. Bridge functions have been re-routed to Engineering. All personal firearms have been disabled. All non-degenerates will find themselves sealed inside force fields. Once we explain to Wrestlefleet the nature of our actions and Captain's McMahon's failure to lead us, you will be set free." 

"Do tell them how you're plotting to execute two young crewmembers to satisfy some personal grudge." Jericho encouraged him. 

Hunter hastily shut down the comm. "You know, Jericho, instinct tells me you're too damn arrogant to step off. I can't trust you as long as you're functional." 

"_Fully_ functional." Jericho winked at Stephanie. 

"Kill it, Steph." 

"What?" Stephanie's eyes widened. 

"Destroy the Y2J Unit." Hunter barked. "It's just a second hand heap of wires and data chips for god's sake! Melt it down." 

"But, but my phaser doesn't work." Stephanie protested. She realized her hand was shaking. Hatred was too kind a word for the powerful emotions that surged through her when Jericho was around, the way she felt almost feverish when she heard his voice, how her skin got those little goosebumps when his hand accidentally brushed against her uniform...and then there was that sickening feeling of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach when the light caught his synthetic blue eyes just so- 

No! What was her mind doing? She couldn't handle the stress of this situation! 

"Computer, release the safeties on Commander McMahon-Helmsley's phaser. Maximum kill setting only." 

How could Hunter ask her to do this? No husband in his right mind asked his delicate precious wife to kill! The Y2J Unit was just a big goofy looking computer-it didn't know enough to be scared of dying in the line of duty, and Triple H would never buy her loyalty if she didn't strip Jericho down to his bare circuits with a ray of plasma. So why, why did her hand tremble so much when she turned the phaser on Chris? Why were her fingers too paralyzed to punch the trigger? 

"He is programmed to be a dedicated Wrestlefleet officer." Hunter reminded her. Stephanie was having a hard time blasting the man she claimed to loathe, and he really didn't care what the reason was. "He will stand in our way." 

"Is this a joke, Hunter?" The Y2J Unit was laughing. "Slutephanie wasn't faithful before, why would she start now?" 

Everyone was staring at her. Oh god, why couldn't a wormhole open up in Engineering and pull her out of here? 

"Actually Skankanie." Jericho said thoughtfully. "The best thing you could do for everyone on the TitanPrize is to turn that phaser on yourself and hit the trigger! Not like we couldn't get another filthy, dirty, nasty, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag ho to replace you, and one that charges less than two credits!" 

He ignored the look of horror on Steph's face while his eyes subtly scanned Hunter's weapon. It was an illegally modified disruptor, a scary little piece that turned its victim inside out with unstable, super-charged plasma. The Game had it locked on a target, a target that was beating rapidly inside Stephanie's chest. 

"Go ahead, Steph... put that damn thing against your head and put us all out of our misery!" Jericho sneered at her. "You've already murdered Lita and earned yourself twenty years in the brig. Not a single officer in this department thinks you're worth a damn as an Engineer! That husband of yours would rather plan silly little mutinies with his peasant waiter buddies than spend a single hour in bed with you. And you must be one hell of a disappointment to Vinnie Mac, cause he's trying to make a better baby with mommy dearest back on Earth!" 

Stephanie was so blinded by tears she didn't care that Y2J had grabbed her by the hair and pulled her face close to his. How could he say such awful things.... 

"_Do it, Steph! Shoot me... before Hunter shoots YOU!!" _he thought. She still seemed hesitant, "Just think of how you could finally make me the happiest android in the universe if you just _do it_!" His smile was borderline insane. "I've been tormented long enough by your pitiful, nasty crush, your physical desire for me, and the thing is Stephie baby, the feelings are NOT mutual. Blow yourself away sweetheart, so I can get on with the business of dancing on your grave!" he finished, "_Please, Steph... shoot me already! He's losing patience!"_

"I'd rather be dancing on yours." Stephanie jabbed the phaser into his chest and fired, angry tears flowing like a river as lethal voltage spread through the stupid android's positronic net. 

"Finally!" Hunter said, exasperated. "X-Pac-find Road Dogg and raid the weapons locker. Stephie, you and I are going to take the bridge from the Crock. When we arrive at Wrestlefleet, I want to be in the Captain's chair. Tori-stay here and re-route control to the bridge on my command." 

"Aye sir." 

"Wait." Stephanie was hastily wiping tears away from her eyes. Her husband didn't even notice he was hurting her feelings! Why couldn't he at least reward her with some praise for the two murders she had carried out? "I'd like to personally throw the Hardly sisters out of the airlock." 

Hunter's face twisted into a grin. Maybe Stephanie did have a spot of that neon green blood in her after all...."Fine. Meet you on the bridge in five minutes, darling." 

* * *

AIRLOCK-8, ENGINEERING 

"Well, hotshot?" Matt would have glared at his younger brother, had they not been tied back to back with a shipping wire. "Doesn't the great Wrestlefleet lieutenant have some heroic plan cooking underneath his freaky rainbow hair?" 

"Are you gonna start in on the hair again?" Jeff wasn't in such a fine mood either. "You know it's not my fault I was born like this. Aerialian genetics say that only 2 out of 3 kids will have hair that changes color." 

"And of course, as usual, I'm the one that comes up short!" Matt retorted. "Tell me Jeffrey, is there something in your D.N.A. that causes you to be in the right place at the right time, cause that's the only reason you've gotten as far as you have!" 

"What are you saying?" Jeff demanded, as he struggled to free his wrists from the razor-sharp wire. It was pointless really; if he fought it too hard he'd cut clean through his skin and bleed to death. So would Matt, though it was starting to get tempting. "You telling me I haven't earned my push?" 

"Did I say that?" Ensign Matt spat the words out. "But let's face it little brother-you just happened to be in a Jeffries tube when Steph was getting attacked by that mutant crab, and you just happened to be the officer selected to go into the parallel universe to save Commander Kane!" 

"Oh well, I would have gladly switched places with you!" Lt Hardy was well on his way to being furious. "I would've loved to be safe and cozy aboard the TitanPrize instead of on that mission!" 

"Man, you're the same crybaby you always were!" Matt said scornfully. "If you can't cut it, get the hell out of Wrestlefleet!" 

"You got no idea how hard that was!" Jeff's voice trembled with rage. "There was a horrible war. I had to kill my commanding officer, I had to see things-I had to watch you...forget it! You're being such a stubborn jerk it's not worth it!" 

"Keep your little secrets!" Matt snapped. "I don't care! Have your little mood swings! Heck, your nutty behavior is probably the only reason Lita is even bothering with me! Ol' Matt Hardy makes a great consolation prize!" 

"You shut up about Lita!" 

"The hell I will!" Matt felt like he was ten years old again. "You shut up!" 

"Why don't you both shut up?" Stephanie rolled her eyes as she ripped the comm badges off their chests. "I'd think being on the brink of death would make you two saps all warm and fuzzy." 

"Look at this Jeff." Matt said snidely. "Your little girlfriend has come to kiss you good-bye." 

"Shut up!" Lt Hardy and Commander McMahon-Helmsley yelled at him. 

"Hold still." Stephanie carefully sliced through the wiring with a laser scalpel. That medkit in engineering was certainly coming in handy all of a sudden. "I'm guessing Hunter is too busy securing the bridge to care whether you're actually beamed outside or not." 

The brothers exchanged wary glances. 

"As long as it appears you've been shoved out the airlock..." Stephanie tapped her own comm badge. "McMichaels, I think you know what the score is. In five seconds, you will lock onto the Hardyz' signals and transport them outside of Airlock-8. Commander Kane, you will target photon torpedos and turn those freaks into space debris!" 

"Yes, ma'am." Debra's voice was shaking. 

"Now if we can count on that french fried weirdo to keep his mouth shut about having non-human targets..." Stephanie snapped the two badges onto empty cargo suits, suits that would normally be used to protect their wearer from zero-gravity conditions. "Now, McMichaels!" 

"All the Jeffries tubes have been sealed off." Matt felt a little queasy, watching his comm badge disappear, knowing it could've been him. 

"You give up too easy." Stephanie used her still active phaser to carve a hole in the ceiling. "There you go-right smack in the middle of the Jeffries tube. You can use this scalpel to disable the force fields manually from the inside. " 

"Lita-" 

"You don't worry about Lita, Jeffrey." Stephanie scowled at him. "You worry about repairing the Y2J Unit, cause if you don't, being thrown out an airlock will seem like heaven compared to what I do to you." 

"You're gonna kiss me again?" 

Steph ignored him, though she filed that little crack away. "Once your buddy Jericho is alright, all three of you report to the bridge. Don't keep me waiting." 

"Aye sir." 

"Oh, and Matt?" Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. "Your brother may have the higher rank but you are the better kisser. Stop feeling so inferior!" 

"Oh no." Matt stared at her. "You're going to tell Lita, aren't you?" 

Stephanie winked and exited the airlock. My how she did enjoy her little Hardy toys.... 

* * *

WEAPONS LOCKER-DECK 9 

"Plasma rifles." Road Dogg grinned as he tore open the best stocked weapons locker on the ship. "Photon grenades, confiscated disruptors." He whistled. "We're gonna take this ship doggy-style." 

X-Pac laughed. "I hope by that you mean it's gonna be a hardcore takeover." 

"Boys, there be a reason you're in me and Lt Farooq's personal artillery stash?" Bradshaw's voice echoed in the shadows. "Or are you just looking to find yourselves on the receivin' end of Wrestlefleet's most infamous ass-kicking?" 

Road Dogg cussed under his breath. How could he have missed the card table that had been set up near the locker? Where there were guns, there was Farooq and Bradshaw, complete with beer and poker chips. "Yeah well, the game is over Lieutenants-the degenerates now control the TitanPrize." 

Farooq laughed. "Son, what the hell did I tell you about bringing pot on this ship? Makes your punk ass crazy!" 

"We couldn't be any more sober." X-Pac smirked. "Hunter is now the Captain of this vessel, and your phasers are shooting blanks." 

"You just insult my manhood?" Bradshaw stood up. "If you ain't old enough to shave, you ain't old enough to tangle with me!" 

Farooq threw his weapon on the floor and crushed it with his heel. "I'll just have to beat your asses the old-fashioned way I guess." 

"Try us." Road Dogg fired his phaser between the two security officers, scattering cards and beer bottles everywhere. 

"You just spilled our beer." Farooq's eyes darkened like ominous stormclouds. 

"What are you going to do about it?" X-Pac wasn't grinning for long. He fell to his knees, writhing in pain. 

"Ey Mamacita-that is one heck of a move you got there." Ensign Guerrero looked adoringly at Chyna after clubbing Road Dogg on the back of the head with a lead pipe. 

Chyna blushed. "A low blow hurts more than a phaser burn. Learned that from these two jack-asses." 

"Damn girl, and you're just a waitress?" Farooq shook his head. No wonder Commander Kane was eyeing Mamacita so closely! 

"Dummies turned the safeties off just a little too early." Bradshaw chuckled as he loaded a long, black rifle with plasma capsules. "Grab some ammo boys and girls! We're gonna take back the TitanPrize!" 

Chyna armed herself with a disruptor, looking back at the fallen rebels with sad eyes. She had taken an oath to them, knew the neon green still burned inside her from time to time. She could never be one of them again-Chyna had stepped out of their dangerous world and was now trying to destroy it.... 

"Mamacita?" 

Chyna met Eddie's warm, compassionate stare. 

There was no question in her mind now. She'd made the right choice. 

* * *

THE BRIDGE 

"The Rock says this-when he gets untied, he's gonna kick your back-stabbing, degenerate candy-ass all over god's green universe." Acting Captain Rock was so furious he could've spit nails, but he had to spit catchphrases instead. "You think all these jabronis will follow you? Hah! We're talking about the thousands and thousands of the Rock's crew members!" 

"Crocky, Crocky, Crocky...." Hunter sighed dramatically, as he sat with one leg thrown over the arm of the Captain's chair. "You know, when all is said and done, I think I'm going to have one of your lungs removed." 

"Why is that jabroni?" 

"So you only have half the hot air to blow at the crew." Hunter smiled at him. "See ladies and gentlemen? I am nothing if not fair." 

"Ugh." Ensign Christian grimaced at the helm. "The scar from that operation would be sooo totally gross. I could never pose topless for _Galaxy Beat _again!" 

"Did you hear the reviews of that spread on Kanata?" Ensign Edge asked his brother. "Teenage girls thought you were so totally ripped!" 

"Er, one thing is troubling me though, good captain." Christian frowned, making sure to not frown too hard, lest lines appear around his boyish, pouty lips. "This whole...mutiny thing...I mean it seems radical and all, but yet there's something unethical and morally wrong about it." 

"So?" Hunter rolled his eyes. He would have thrown those two blonde nimrods out the airlock too, had they not been such talented pilots. And of course, they were easily manipulated through flattery. 

"Er well, your honor, it's just that my brother and I don't want to spend fifteen years at a Wrestlefleet Prison Camp." Edge explained. "Considering our stunning movie star beauty, we might be the targets of some..er..unflattering attention by prisoners who haven't seen women in some time." 

"Shut up you whining brats!" Stephanie glared down at them from the bridge's Engineering station. "Don't you know how good you look in the glow of the viewscreen?" 

"Good sweet lord brother!" Edge had whipped out his handheld mirror. "It's as if a god has taken over my perfect body!" 

"My hair is shining with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns!" Christian tossed his silky golden locks. 

"I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you, jerky!" Hunter's head whipped around as Lt Commander Jericho and his two Aerialian stooges stepped off the turbolift. "You see, the Y2J Virus is no longer dormant!" 

"Jericho!" 

"Very good Einstein." The Y2J Unit looked insufferably smug as Matt and Jeff dragged the prone, tied up bodies of X-Pac and Road Dogg onto the bridge. "Let's pretend this is a game, Hunter. I believe right now I should say...checkmate." 

"I'd rather see this ship explode than let you have the last laugh." Hunter face was bright red and taut with rage. "Computer, initiate TitanPrize Self-Destruct Sequence Helmsley 6-9 Alpha." 

"Cannot comply. Ensign Helmsley does not have the necessary security clearance." 

"WHAT?" Hunter was on his feet. "Explain dammit!" 

"All command codes rest with Ensign Lita." 

"Computer." Speak of the devil....."This is Ensign Lita. Please transfer command of the TitanPrize to Commander McMahon-Helmsley." 

Hunter felt himself being consumed by an amazing, white-hot fury, watching the "dead" Lita step free of the turbolift, a beaten, bruised Tori in her custody, but he was powerless to cool the heat in his blood. Stephanie! That rotten, evil little witch! He had blindly trusted that she would die if that's what it took to get his attention! 

Lt Commander Jericho had not received a fatal blast to his electronic heart. Instead, the damned walking, talking pile of scrap metal was pointing a live plasma rifle at his head. 

Stephanie didn't even have the guts to shove hotlips Hardy and his worthless big brother out an airlock. They were taking helm and navigation from Edge and Christian. 

"Put him behind a force field you tramp!" Jericho hissed, disbelief on his face as Stephanie actually hesitated to secure her violent, unpredictable husband. 

"You may be able to play the Game, Stephie dear, but you will never, ever survive it." Hunter's eyes betrayed nothing as he levelled the modified disruptor at his bride's chest.... 

...and fired. 

* * *

"Commander!" Lita caught Stephanie as the ship lurched violently, the impact of Hunter's disruptor fire on the computers sending shockwaves through the floor. Steph would've struck her head against the console hard enough to permanently knock her lights out.... 

"What the hell was that?" Stephanie asked breathlessly, trying to get her bearings as the ship was rocked again. 

"Ion lightning." Jericho reported grimly. "We're caught inside a storm. Another couple of strikes and our shields are toast." 

"See I told you!" Hunter glared at the officers who'd just taken him down. "If that idiot McMahon hadn't sent us into this damn nebula-" 

"Helm control is gone!" Lt Hardy called out. "Switiching to manual pilot!" 

"Get out of the way!" Ensign Helmsley grabbed Jeff by his collar and tossed him aside. "You don't send a boy to do a man's job, and I'm the only one who's flown this nebula before." 

"This is Ensign Guerrero in Engineering! We're secure here, but the ionization outside is making the warp core unstable!" Latino Heat sounded cool under the circumstances. 

"Everyone just shut up!" Hunter shouted, silencing the bridge crew. "You don't wanna trust me? Fine! You wanna turn me in like the bunch of pure-hearted Wrestlefleet zombies you are? Fine! But you wanna live to make that happen? Then stop flapping your jaws and let me fly!" 

"Please." Jericho spat. "I'm a perfectly precise robot. I could pilot this sucker out of here." 

"Chris." Chyna's voice came over the comm. "If our friendship means anything at all, listen to me. Hunter is acting like scum, that much is true. But I've seen him fly through worse than this-he's a daredevil, he's got the guts to fly through stuff that would make other pilot's toss their lunch." She sighed. "I'm not saying you wouldn't be good, Chris, but....god I hate to say this, sometimes human instincts can do things that machines can't." 

Jericho's expression didn't change. "Get us out of here Helmsley. Screw up, and I will kill you before the lightning has a chance to tear the ship apart. " 

"Aye you son of a bi-" Hunter muttered the words under his breath. There would be no mistakes. Being a hero right now would be the only thing to save him from a charge of treason..... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I thought I was a dead woman." Lita swirled a straw through the Aerialian cocktail in front of her, watching the beautiful liquid change colors. "I guess I could've died anyways....Stephanie took such a huge chance." 

"She's not the wicked witch we thought she was." Matt squeezed her arm affectionately, not forgetting how close he came to-well he didn't want to think about that now. "And I suppose we could say she's one hell of a fine officer." 

"Almost makes you wanna gag." Chyna grinned. "Kind of ironic that she used an old Degenerate trick against the best damn degenerate of them all. Injecting people with coded messages is a time-honored rebel method for sharing illegal information. It is dangerous though-the brain has to almost completely shut down for it to work." She frowned. "Not everyone wakes up." 

"Lita's too stubborn to die when the ship's in danger." Matt said with a smile, as Lita blushed. 

"Ey Mamacita, here is another one of my love potions, mixed especially for you." Eddie set a sparkeling glass of god knows what in front of Chyna, who beamed at him. "I'm so proud of this girl here-Commander Kane is seriously considering making her an ensign soon." 

"I don't know about that, Eddie." Oh man, was her face as red as it felt? "And you don't need to give me a love potion. You've already completed that mission." 

"Mamacita-you're so much sweeter than I thought!" 

"Tell that to Jericho." Matt teased her. "I think he's still reeling from those arm wrestling matches you guys had in his room the other day. Caught him rubbing his arm in engineering." 

Chyna laughed. "It's not like I won...yet." 

* * *

"What's your hurry?" Lt Commander Jericho asked, as Stephanie abruptly slid off her barstool, her synthehol half-finished. "We still haven't completed the duty roster for this week, and seeing as how we're short-staffed thanks to that twit you're married to...." 

"I have a date with said twit." Stephanie said coldly, not looking the android in his magnetic blue eyes. "Very romantic location too-our bedroom." 

"Really?" Jericho raised an eyebrow. It was taking a surprising amount of positronic control to keep calm. Bad enough that Hunter saving the TitanPrize from a massive and deadly storm had made him come out a hero, now Stephanie was going to be alone with the inhuman piece of human trash. "Now Hunter can see for himself what all those ensigns are talking about." 

"You're just so jealous." Stephanie wagged her tongue at him. "You want him to fail so desperately and now he's like...the man on this ship!" 

"Still an ensign, and still on probation with Vinnie Mac." 

"Hunter's waiting for me." Stephanie turned her back on Jericho. 

"Wait a damn minute." The Y2J Unit had her arm in a vice-like grip, refusing to let her leave. "I know you're not the naive, gullible little brat you'd like us all to think. Hunter is dangerous, Stephie. He was going to murder you in cold blood on the bridge! He would've done it sooner had you not blasted me away in Engineering." 

"Liar." Stephanie blinked. Yes, of course he was a liar. He was Jericho after all. "Hunter's weapon was set on stun, and he was aiming at LITA because she ruined his plans!" 

Jericho laughed. How else could he react to this? "Lita?! God, Stephanie... you are a _McMahon_! Wake up!" 

"Let go." 

"Fine you silly..." Jericho sucked his anger down as he watched Stephanie blaze out of the bar. "_Just don't blame me when he DOES decide you're more trouble than you're worth._" 

"Chris?" 

"Another synthehol, Terri." He smiled charmingly at the sexy bartender. "Make it a double." 

"Sure thing tiger." Terri wasn't sure whether to smile back or just shake her head. Talk about someone who knew how to waste a good chemically induced emotion, she thought. 

"You're letting her just walk away?" Lt Hardy was now warming Stephanie's empty seat. "She's going to be alone with that power-hungry nut Hunter, and you're just gonna let it happen?" 

Jericho shrugged. 

"Helmsley's a killer." Jeff persisted. "To him Stephanie is as expendable as the plasma disruptor he almost shot her with. You know..." The Aerialian was beginning to find the android's lack of human feelings frustrating. "If you were going to say anything about...well...you know...now would be the time." 

"Why don't you save it for someone who gives a damn, Hardy?" Jericho threw a handful of credits on the bar and walked away. He didn't need to hear this. 

"I thought I was, sir." Jeff said quietly. He looked around the Smackdown, saw his brother with his arm around Lita, obviously on some cutesy double date with Eddie and Chyna. 

And his brother thought Jeff was the lucky one? 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	38. Season 5 Episode 9 Etiquette

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 9 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 9: ETIQUETTE 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, Stardate 070320.00. We are currently hosting dignitaries from the corporate planet Viacoma. They have offered their support in sponsoring WrestleFleet ECW class and WWF class ships. Since impressions are very important, WrestleFleet has assigned us an Etiquette Officer..." McMahon looked at the name on the padd beside him, then turned back to his log, "Steven Richards. Hopefully he can whip my crew into respective shapes. I have let them do as they please for far too long. EO Richards will have his work cut out for him. End log..." 

With that, Captain McMahon headed to his bridge. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

Lt. Commander Jericho wandered around, inspecting the work of those under his charge, "Wait, Matt... try this... " he said, and punched a few commands into the Aerialian Ensign's station. 

"Hey, thanks Chris!" Ensign Matt replied.

"Are you doing Ensign Hardly's work for him, Lt. Commander?" an angry voice spoke. 

"I'm _helping_ him, Skankanie... but of course you wouldn't know about helping others..." Jericho replied. 

"Listen you waste of circuits, I am just as capable of helping people as YOU are!" 

"The only ones you help are young, inexperienced Ensigns..." 

"EXCUSE ME!" a voice interrupted. The two turned to see EO Steven Richards glaring angrily. "That kind of conversation is more appropriate in Earth gutters then on a Wrestlefleet ship!" 

"Earth gutters...?" Jericho repeated, then turned to Commander Stephanie, "How does HE know what you crawled out of?" 

"ENOUGH!" Richards snapped before Stephanie could retort, then turned to Lt. Commander Jericho, "The Viacoma dignitaries want to meet WrestleFleet's only android officer. You are to put on your dress uniform and meet us in the Starlight Lounge at 20:00h! There will be a dinner party tonight to welcome them aboard." 

"Starlight Lounge? Where's THAT?!" Jericho asked. 

"It's what you officers used to call _The Smackdown_. I took the liberty of changing the name to something more appropriate. Your orders are to disengage your emotion chip 

and---" 

"Disengage my emotion chip?" Jericho sputtered, not liking the sound of that. 

"Yes. The Viacomans have come to see the Titanprize's latest equipment, NOT a smug, arrogant android with an attitude problem. You WILL disengage your emotion chip and behave as a WrestleFleet officer should, or I shall report you to WrestleFleet Headquarters!" With that, EO Richards turned on his heel and left Engineering. 

"_Equipment_ my ass..." Jericho muttered bitterly, "Son of a..." he let the sentence trail and went back to his duties, trying not to punch a hole in the computer screen in front of him. 

Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley couldn't help but smirk. 

* * *

THE STARLIGHT LOUNGE (formerly The Smackdown) 

EO Richards walked in to make sure everything was set for the evening. He came upon Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq, drinking their beers, smoking their cigars, and playing poker. He quickly went up to them and grabbed Farrooq's lit cigar, "This is unacceptable behaviour!" he said. 

Farrooq stood up, "Hey boy... you give that back to me... and I mean NOW!" 

"No. It's not fitting for a WrestleFleet officer to be smoking... especially in HERE, where the dignitaries from Viacoma can easily just---" 

Bradshaw stood up now, "The dignitaries from Viacoma can easily just KISS MY ASS! No one messes with our beer, OR our cigars!" 

"Aren't you two supposed to be on duty somewhere?" EO Richards asked. 

"We're on duty HERE...." Farrooq replied, "Who knows when some barroom brawl may start up, right Bradshaw?" 

"Right Farrooq..." Bradshaw replied, "Who knows when someone might just... SNAP... and attack another officer..." Both security Lieutenants glared at the EO. 

"Umm... er..." he began, "Fine then... just... uh... be on your best behaviour tonight at the dinner party... in full dress uniform!" With that, EO Richards hightailed it out of the bar. 

* * *

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

EO Richards took a deep breath. Those two security Lieutenants had VERY bad attitudes! He should inform WrestleFleet.... 

"HEY! EO Stevie..." 

EO Richards looked up to see Ensign Godfather with some of his female... associates... "It is STEVEN," he snapped, and frowned at the entourage heading his way. 

"Oooh... sounds like you're under too much stress, man..." Ensign Godfather said, "Hows about you take one of my ladies and..." 

"I can't BELIEVE this!" Richards snapped, "This behaviour is COMPLETELY unacceptable! Get these ladies some clothes... and... keep them AWAY from the Viacomans! If they found out the things that go on aboard this ship behind closed doors..." he shivered. 

"What... afraid they may want to join in, Richards?" Ensign Godfather asked. 

"Just KEEP your associates away from them... and the bright orange vest over your WrestleFleet uniform is NOT standard WrestleFleet issue! Take it off immediately!" Richards commanded. 

How was he EVER going to get these officers to shape up while the dignataries were aboard for the next week? It was almost IMPOSSIBLE! 

* * *

STARLIGHT LOUNGE 

The music in the Smack---Starlight Lounge was soft and soothing. Terri hated it, as did the crew. They preferred the loud, aggressive music the barkeep usually played. 

"This is awful!" Terri muttered as she stood behind Lt. Commander Jericho. She was wearing a long evening gown that, knowing Terri's usual skimpy clothing, Jericho figured she hated with every fiber of her being. "EO Richards made me put this on," she smiled slyly, "guess I was too much woman for the prissy officer..." 

Lt. Commander Jericho would have laughed, had he been allowed to turn on his emotion chip... but heaven forbid a piece of WrestleFleet _equipment_ showed any sign of a personality to the dignitaries. 

Was he bitter? Even with his emotion chip OFF? 

Terri frowned, "You're really no fun when you stare blankly at everyone, Chris..." 

He turned to her, "WrestleFleet orders forbid me from activating my emotion ship. They are concerned the Viacoman dignitaries may find it unnerving..." 

Terri crossed her arms, annoyed, "The dignitaries can kiss my---" 

"Lt. Commander Jericho..." EO Richards interrupted Terri's rant. He was standing with the Viacomans a few feet away, "Would you please join us?" 

Lt. Commander Jericho did as he was told. He stood stiffly as the dignitaries walked in circles around him, studying him like he was some... some... _computer_. 

Was that bitterness again? He would have to run a diagnostics check on himself. Find out why he was experiencing these strange electrical surges with his emotion chip inactive. 

"How many calculations can it do?" One of the dignitaries asked. Jericho didn't catch his name, and mentally referred to him as dignitary 1. 

"Tell them, Unit Y2J," EO Richards commanded... as if the Lt. Commander were some sort of _dog_. 

"I can do over ten thousand calculations per second, " he replied. 

"What is its strength?" another dignitary asked. Dignitary 2. 

"I am able to lift over ten tons..." Jericho replied before EO Richards could _command_ him to answer. 

"And it's speed?" That was dignitary 3. 

"I have the ability to break the sound barrier if the situation calls for it," Jericho answered. 

"Impressive..." Dignitary 1 spoke again. "Can we study it further?" he asked. 

"The Y2J Unit is due for it's annual maintenance tomorrow at 11:00h," EO Richards told them, "You may watch the procedure..." 

_Annual maintenance..._ Jericho thought. He preferred to refer to it as his annual physical, something the other members of the crew had gone through a month ago. 

"Who does the procedure?" Dignitary 2 asked. 

EO Richards answered, "Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley..." 

Lt. Commander Jericho would have felt horrified and appalled if his emotion chip had been on. Why was SHE doing it? Why not Ensign Matt, or Lt. Jeff? 

"The Chief Engineer takes care of all the computer systems aboard this ship then?" Dignitary 3 asked. 

"Actually," EO Richards replied, "Lt. Commander Jericho is the diagnostics officer... but since it would be unable to give itself a full diagnostic, she is the one that keeps up the Y2J Unit's maintenance," 

There was that word... _maintenance_ again. He would have slapped EO Richards for continuously referring to him as a _thing_ if he had been capable of feeling anger at the moment. 

"Can its hair be cut, and grow back again?" Dignitary 2 asked as he tugged at Jericho's long ponytail. 

"It can replicate hair growth, yes," EO Richards replied. 

"Odd," Dignitary 3 said, "It wears its hair almost vainly..." he looked at EO Richards, "but then the Y2J Unit isn't capable of being vain, is it?" 

"No no!" EO Richards spoke quickly, "Of course not! In fact, I will have its hair cut tomorrow..." 

"Oh no you won't!" Chyna spoke up, overhearing everything. She had been waiting tables, and noticed the way Richards and the dignitaries had been treating Jericho, "You will leave his hair just the way it is!" 

"Excuse me, but I am a WrestleFleet officer! You are simply a waitress..." 

Chyna frowned, "And I will simply kick your---" 

"Uh.... excuse us for a moment," EO Richards said quickly, and pulled Chyna aside, "We are trying to make a good impression here! Keep your temper and language in check..." 

Chyna smiled sweetly, "Fine... but you're forgetting something... what do you think Chris will do to you if you try to cut his hair? I imagine it would be very painful. How would you explain to your dignitary friends WHY you have two broken legs?" 

EO Richards paled, "Fine. Fine. I won't touch its hair! OK!" 

Chyna nodded, and headed to some partons at the bar. 

_Thank you..._ Jericho thought to himself as Chyna continued to the next table. Was that _relief?_ Even though his emotion chip wasn't on, the very thought of cutting his hair seemed to... upset him... 

A soft song played over the PA, and various couples took to dancing. Lt. Commander Jericho looked at the dignitaries. They were now speaking to EO Richards as if Jericho wasn't even there. Did that mean they were done with him? "May I be excused?" he asked. 

"Oh… yes yes... dismissed..." EO Richards said. 

Lt. Commander Jericho went to sit at the bar and turned on his emotion chip. To hell with orders! "I'd like to take EO Richards head and stick it so far up his--" 

"Good! You turned it back on!" Chyna said happily as she sat beside him. 

"I was getting tired of standing there being treated like a brand new toy!" he muttered. "I'm a piece of _equipment _to them! Can you believe that?!" 

Chyna put an arm around his shoulder, "That's ok, Chris... you can always challenge EO Richards to a match in the holodeck later and kick his ass ..." That thought made Jericho smile. Chyna laughed, "Glad to see you showing LIFE again. You didn't even FLINCH when Richards threatened to cut your hair! It was creepy!" 

"Sorry... I had to be the good little WrestleFleet officer," he replied, "I owe you a drink for talking him out of THAT idea..." he then held out a hand to her, "Would you like to dance?" he asked. 

She smiled, "Sure..." she replied, "Eddie won't be here for another half-hour. He's got the early evening shift.." Jericho nodded, and the two headed onto the dance floor. 

The dignitaries noticed the Y2J Unit take to the floor with the waitress that had earlier interrupted their conversation. They looked at EO Richards, "I didn't think robots danced..." Dignitary 1 spoke. 

EO Richards looked at Jericho, then turned back to the dignitaries, "Pardon me, sirs. I shall be right back..." he went up to Jericho, who was dancing with Chyna, "You turned it back on, didn't you?" he accused quietly. 

Jericho looked at him, "What... and disobey WrestleFleet orders? I'd never eeeeeever do that..." he replied sarcastically. 

"The dignitaries are going to get curious...!" EO Richards said angrily. 

"Oh for..." Jericho frowned, then let go of Chyna, who glowered at the EO, "You are really starting to piss me off, Richards!" he hissed quietly. 

Richards quickly looked across the room at the dignitaries, but they were speaking to Commander Stephanie McMahon, who had just entered and quickly set about schmoozing.

He turned back to Jericho, "I am the Etiquette Officer here!" Richards replied, "You will speak with the proper respect! Now..." he stopped as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Xpac and Tori were dancing far too close for respectable comfort. "Turn it off. That is an order! " he said, and headed over to the steamy degenerates, pushing them apart. 

Chyna looked at Jericho, "Well..." she began, "You can always PRETEND to turn it off..." 

He raised an eyebrow, "Good idea..." he said, "Very good idea!" 

* * *

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

EO Steven Richards slumped against a nearby wall. This assignment was so draining! 

"EO Richards!" a voice called out to him. He turned to see Ensign Angle, and smiled. The one RESPECTABLE officer aboard this ship, "You look tired, sir!" 

"Yes. It's difficult to whip these people into shape..." he said. "You won't even believe what I heard about Commander Stephanie!" 

"Oh... those stories are untrue, sir! Commander McMahon-Helmsley is a virtuous woman with integrity! You need not concern yourself about her!" 

"Phew!" EO Richards said, "I was worried for a moment there," an idea came to him, "I don't suppose you could help me with this assignment, Ensign Angle... could you?" 

"Oh no, sir!" Angle said, suddenly looking very frightened, "Your assignment is one even a hero like MYSELF would have difficulty pulling off! It's true! Now... if you'll excuse me," he smiled, "I must go polish my gold medals," 

With that, Ensign Angle headed off. 

EO Richards wished he could just sleep through the rest of the week. 

* * *

SICKBAY

Stephanie stood before Lt. Commander Jericho. She had been informed that SHE was to do his annual maintenance check up late last night. It wasn't something she was looking forward too. 

The Viacoma dignitaries watched from behind a pane of glass as Jericho sat on the diagnostics bed in a pair of WrestleFleet shorts, "End this torment quickly," he muttered quietly, keeping his voice low so the dignitaries wouldn't hear, "The very thought of you putting your hands on me makes me ill..." 

"You had no trouble having Chyna's hands all over you yesterday when you were dancing..." Stephanie replied. 

He tried not to laugh. Had to pretend his emotion chip wasn't on to appease EO Richards, "First off, her hands were NOT all over me. She is FAITHFUL to her man... unlike SOME people I could name..." he replied, "Second off, she's one of my best friends. It was purely innocent! Or..." he paused, and tried not to smile, "Are you just jealous because it wasn't YOU?" 

Stephanie let out a harsh laugh, then quickly covered it, pretending it was a cough... lest the dignitaries wonder what she was laughing about, "Hardly!" she replied, "I'd much rather get caught in an ion storm then EVER dance with you!" 

"I'm sure I can arrange that for you...." he answered. 

The dignitaries couldn't hear what the Y2J Unit was saying to Commander Stephanie, but there was something happening between the two that confused the Viacomans, "There seems to be tension between the Chief Engineer and the Y2J Unit..." Dignitary 1 said. 

"Tension?" EO Richards laughed nervously, "The Y2J Unit is incapable of creating tension between himself and other officers..." he said. Why didn't the Y2J Unit just turn off his emotion chip? Was he PURPOSELY trying to make the EO's job harder? 

Stephanie gave a quick glance at the dignitaries, then turned back to Jericho, "Shut up, Chris... the dignitaries are getting suspicious..." 

"I don't recall giving you permission to call me by my first name, Skankanie..." 

"And I don't recall giving you permission to call me Skankanie!" Stephanie snapped quietly, "But yet, you still do!" 

"Touche..." he said. 

Stephanie stepped behind the Y2J Unit and studied his back and shoulders for any imperfections in his structure. She expected to feel cold metal under her fingers... but she was surprised. He felt so human... 

The Commander glanced at the tricorder sitting beside Jericho... and noticed the Lt. Commander's so-called pulse had quickened. She couldn't imagine why... 

"Stand up," she commanded. He did so. 

Stephanie came around the front, and stepped as close to him as comfort would allow. Of all people, why did she feel self-conscious around HIM. 

Once again, she felt for any imperfections in his structure... and gasped as her fingers prickled with electricity. She quickly took a step back, dropping her hands to her side, "You're giving off a lot of static..." she said loudly, trying to sound professional for the dignitaries. 

"My anti-static filters are in place and functioning at 100 percent," Jericho replied, loud as well, remembering to sound like the piece of _equipment_ they thought he was. He then lowered his voice, and hid an arrogant smirk from the dignitaries, "What's the matter Stephie? Do I make you nervous?" 

That smirk must have disgusted Stephanie more then she thought... if the feeling in the pit of her stomach was any indication.

"Of... of course not!" she snapped, and quickly looked away. Hopefully the dignitaries didn't notice how flustered she was administering this... _maintenance_ check up. Damned robot! 

She turned back to him and grabbed a handful of hair, jerking his head to the side as she ran the tricorder over the servos in his neck. It was all he could do not to scream as his pain receptors flared to life, "What the hell did you do that for?" he hissed angrily. 

"Just checking to make sure everything is ok!" she said innocently, and brought the tricorder back to her side. 

"I'll check your ASS for you if you eeeeeeeever touch my hair again, Skankanie..." he snapped quietly, then quickly put on his '_stupid piece of equipment_' façade when he realized the dignitaries could see his agitated state. 

Stephanie ran her tricorder over him for one more check, then put it away, "All done now..." she said, then turned to the glass as the dignitaries looked in, "They want to play some more with their new toy. Go appease them..." 

"Well... I know the type of toys YOU want to play with..." Lt. Commander Jericho muttered, then his expression went blank as he turned off his emotion chip and joined the dignitaries. 

Stephanie shivered. When he turned that thing off he became so... _cold_! The reality of what he was would hit her like a ton of bricks... and for some reason, it upset her greatly. 

* * *

GARDEN DECK 

Lt. Commander Austin lay under an Aerialian tree with Lt. Commander McMichael, both drinking beer and tanning under the artificial sunlight. 

EO Richards came in, and stood hovering over them, "Beer is not allowed on the Garden deck!" he snapped. "And it is not becoming of a WrestleFleet officer to sit here guzzling away..." 

"Hell, son... you been searching the ship just LOOKING for trouble?" Austin asked. 

"You are representatives of WrestleFleet as long as you are on this ship! If the Viacomans came here and saw..." 

"Saw what? A WrestleFleet officer off duty sitting with his woman?" 

EO Richards frowned, "Getting DRUNK with his ... lady friend...!" he snapped. 

"You want me to kick your ass, son?" Austin asked. 

"And your language is horrible!" Richards said. 

Lt. Commander Austin jumped to his feet, "You got a lot of problems with me... want me to set 'em straight?!" 

"Steven!" A voice called out. 

EO Richards turned to see Ensigns Edge and Christian making their way to him, "Steven, dude..." Christian began, "Think you can introduce us to those dignitaries? I mean...it would be SO cool if we got a huge corporate sponsor interested in using our beautiful faces in advertisements, don't you think?" 

"I don't know if they advertise---" 

"Well, they WILL when they see how many credits we can bring in for them! We're already adored on 15 United WrestleFleet Federation Planets! We totally reek of awesomeness!" Edge said, "Just think of what the Viacomans could do with us helping them!" 

EO Richards just shook his head, and quickly walked off the Garden Deck. 

"Steven? Hey... Steven?" Ensign Christian called out, but the EO ignored him. 

ONE more day... just ONE more day, and he'd be free of this ship, and the POOREST example of WrestleFleet officers he had ever had the displeasure of meeting. 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"I have been speaking with the Viacoman dignitaries, sir," EO Richards began as he spoke to Captain McMahon, "They are very interested in the Y2J Unit," 

"Well, I can have Stephanie write up a report for them listing all his functions and capabilities, if that's what they want..." Captain McMahon said. 

"No. They want IT... " 

Captain McMahon looked at EO Richards, "Want him? I don't quite follow..." 

"They want it aboard their ship," he explained. 

"Stephanie is more then capable of giving them all the information they need. I will not allow the removal of one of my officers." 

"Captain McMahon... it's more a computer then an officer..." EO Richards explained. 

McMahon stood up angrily, "I said NO, Mr. Richards! And I don't think Lt. Commander Jericho would appreciate you referring to him as merely a COMPUTER..." 

"IT, Captain. IT. You are giving it human qualities..." 

"If you spent enough time with HIM, then YOU would give him human qualities as well!" McMahon snapped, "Now get out of my ready room!" he demanded. 

"I will be back later!" EO Richards said, "I expect to see you at the farewell party in the Starlight Lounge tonight!" 

* * *

STARLIGHT LOUNGE 

"We find you very fascinating, Lt. Commander," Dignitary 1 spoke as he studied the Y2J Unit, "We would be most interested in bringing you aboard our ship ..." 

Jericho didn't like the sound of that. He may have to pretend his emotion chip was off... but he didn't have to pretend he found the offer inticing, "No thank you, sirs..." he said blankly. 

"But just imagine what we could do with the knowledge we acquire from studying you!" Dignitary 2 spoke, "We are already sponsoring all WWF class ships, but we would not mind sponsoring you as well!" 

"I am afraid I do not understand..." Jericho replied. 

"We are a big corporation. We have decided to... branch out, shall we say?" Dignitary 3 spoke. 

"We are currently developing our own artificial intelligence, and we think you may be just what we need to---" Dignitary 1 was interrupted as Stephanie brushed passed Jericho, arm in arm with Hunter. "OH! Commander McMahon-Helmsley?" Dignitary 1 called out. Stephanie turned to him, and politely excused herself from Hunter, joining the dignitary and Lt. Commander Jericho, "I was just saying to Lt. Commander Jericho that---"

"Chris!" Chyna called out from the bar, "We need you over here for a moment!" she said. 

"Excuse me, sirs…" Jericho replied, not caring that he was behaving rudely. He really didn't want to hear what the dignitaries needed him for. 

Jericho sat down at the bar, grateful for the interruption. 

"You owe me a drink..." Chyna smiled. 

Jericho smiled, "Yes... I _did _promise you a drink for talking EO Richards out of cutting my lovely locks off..." 

Dignitary 1 came up to the bar with Commander Stephanie McMahon, determined to finish what he was saying. He sat down beside Lt. Commander Jericho and spoke, "I'm sorry, Lt. Commander. But I really must speak to you and your Engineer," The dignitary then smiled, "As I was saying earlier... we think you may be just what we need to advertise our Artificial Intelligence program!" 

"Advertise?" Jericho repeated. THAT was it? They wanted a spokesperson? From the way McMahon had talked, Jericho thought they wanted to dismantle him and study his parts! "Well... I …" he seemed at a loss for words, forgetting to pretend he didn't have an emotion chip. 

The dignitary looked at him, confused, "He seems to be malfunctioning..." he said to Stephanie. 

"Uh.. yes... yes.. he does that a lot!" she covered with a smiled, then smacked Jericho hard on the back of the head, "There we go, all fixed," 

Jericho offered her a scowl, then turned back to the dignitary, hoping he didn't notice, "I am unable to comply..." he said, just like a good little piece of _equipment_. "My duties on the WWF Titanprize prevent me from finding things elsewhere to occupy my time. However..." he looked in the corner of the lounge, and saw Ensigns Edge and Christian fixing their hair in a shiny tabletop, "_They _will be more then happy to assist you in your endeavor. They are already popular on 15 United WrestleFleet planets and would perhaps be more fitting to such a public position... " 

The dignitary looked towards Edge and Christian, "Oh! Perhaps then..." he said with a smile. "I shall have to talk it over with my associates. Thank you very much! You are indeed one of a kind, Unit Y2J!" 

Jericho nodded respectfully, and the dignitary left. 

Chyna burst out laughing, "Ensigns Edge and Christian will be grateful to you forever!" 

Jericho made a face, "Ugh... their gratitude probably consists of a full-sized photo to hang on a wall in my quarters..." 

"Better THEIR face then YOURS..." Stephanie replied, "Now if you'll excuse me..." 

"There IS no excuse for you, Skankanie... but... go away anyhow..." Jericho replied. 

Stephanie frowned, and quickly headed off to join her psychotic husband at his table. Jericho watched her with a frown. Hunter might have been able to get away with staging a rebellion, thanks to the protection of his blindly devoted wife, but one day she would come to her senses!

Chyna tapped Lt. Commander Jericho on the shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts, "Where's that drink, Chris?" she asked. 

"Right," Jericho replied, "Terri... two synthehols..." 

"Coming right up, babe!" Terri smiled, "And just think! Now that those dignitaries are gone... we'll NEVER have to see EO Steven Richards again!" 

The other two nodded in agreement. 

Yes, all was good aboard the WWF Titanprize! 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	39. Season 5 Finale Episode 10 The Powers T...

Wrestle Trek: Season 5, Episode 10 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON FIVE 

****

EPISODE 10: THE POWERS THAT BE   
**PART ONE**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 070120.00. We have met with the Emperor from New Woah-yah in an attempt to get their planet to sign a cease-fire with the United WrestleFleet Federation. The Woah-yah people have battled with WrestleFleet for many years now, and seem overly aggressive. We must step lightly around them. So far, everything seems to be all right between us... but yet I have a feeling that just under the surface, the Woah-yah's may be a few cards shy of a deck. End log." 

Captain McMahon took a deep breath. These were very stressful negotiations! Emperor Ulti-mat was a difficult man to deal with. Either he would not show up for their meetings, or he would simply sit there staring, looking ready to explode at any moment. It's not that Captain McMahon would upset him in any way. Quite the opposite. It just seemed to be Ulti-mat's natural personality. 

The Captain stood up slowly, and headed to the meeting room to continue the negotiations. As enemies, the Woah-yah's were a threat... but as allies, they could be WrestleFleet's greatest blessing. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"They contacted me last night..." Nurse Bearer began. Dr. Taker didn't have to ask WHO. "It seems They are disappointed in you, Taker... they do not think you have provided sufficient positive use of your gift since They returned you...." Nurse Bearer spoke. 

Dr. Taker scowled, "I don't give a damn WHAT They think!" he said. 

"The reason behind uniting us was to keep an eye on you and influence your behaviour. What am I to tell Them?" 

"Tell Them They can kiss my stank ass! I am here because They couldn't find a place for me, and I shall continue to exist as I see fit! After TEN years, NOW they decide to check up on me?" 

"Time means nothing there. To Them, it has only been a number of days..." 

"What are They expecting me to do?" 

"I do not know..." Nurse Bearer said, "I am simply the link between you and Them. I am unaware of what They think or expect. They have informed me that if you do not use your gift for something other then destruction, torment, and fear, they will have to take drastic action... " 

Dr. Taker put his feet up on his desk and leaned back in his chair, "and what drastic action would THAT be? They gonna kill me?" he chuckled coldly, "Now wouldn't THAT be something..." 

* * *

MEETING ROOM 

"I believe the terms in this contract will be acceptable to you..." Captain McMahon said, and handed a padd to Emperor Ulti-mat. 

The Emperor looked through it, and frowned, "Unacceptable. These provisos do not meet with my predilection!" 

McMahon blinked. _What the hell did he just say?_ McMahon guessed it was something about not liking the terms and conditions. One thing he had come to accept is that Emperor Ulti-mat seemed to have an entirely different grasp of the Universal WrestleFleet language then everyone else. Captain McMahon shook his head, "I don't understand, Emperor. What is it that you dislike?" 

"We were negotiating for full utilization of WrestleFleet technology. Not this wretched limited percentage," 

"Emperor, with all due respect," McMahon began, "We cannot possibly give you full use of our technology. Because of our history, surely you understand that." 

Ulti-mat stood up angrily, "Until you produce particulars on which we can both acquiesce, our negotiations are concluded!" 

"Emperor Ulti-mat..." Captain McMahon began, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt, "Give me a few days to speak to WrestleFleet. Perhaps we can come to an agreement that would please you..." 

"Very well. You have 5 days to provide me with a covenant I shall be content with! Now..." he looked at the Captain, "If you would permit us a tour of your interstellar vessel, it would perhaps eradicate my current disposition!" 

"Fine," he tapped his comm badge, "Commander Kane, please come to my meeting room. Our guests would like a tour." 

In a few moments, Commander Kane arrived and took the Emperor and his entourage from McMahon's hands. 

The Captain shook his head and sighed. Things would be so much easier if WrestleFleet hadn't assigned him to be their mouthpiece in these peace negotiations! Damn them! 

McMahon stood up, and headed to his ready room to inform WrestleFleet of Emperor Ulti-mat's response to the contract. 

This would NOT be easy. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Your father knows how to pile on the bull. I wouldn't worry about the negotiations falling through, Skankanie…" Lt. Commander Jericho began. 

"Would you STOP calling me that, bits for brains? Can't you think of---" she stopped as the Engineering doors opened. 

Commander Kane walked in with the dignitaries and Emperor from New Woah-yah. 

Commander Stephanie quickly quieted herself, and turned back to her station, trying to look busy. Lt. Commander Jericho followed suit. They would have time to insult each other later. Right now, making a good impression for Emperor Ulti-mat was more important. 

Unit Y2J studied the Emperor out of the corner of his eye. He was a big, hulking man who seemed to be pumped up on some unknown stimulant. Perhaps that explained why the man seemed to shake with an undignified rage even in the simple act of walking through Engineering. 

He could only imagine how much trouble the Captain was going through to make this guy happy. 

Emperor Ulti-mat walked by the Hardys and Ensign Lita, then came up to Jericho and Stephanie's positions. The Emperor took a moment to study Stephanie, "What is your name and position?" he demanded. 

"Commander Stephanie McMahon, Chief Engineer..." she replied. 

"You are the Captain's daughter, correct..." 

"Yes, sir... I am..." she replied. 

He nodded, "Interesting..." he said, "Perhaps I shall see more of you later..." he replied, and walked on. 

Commander Stephanie looked at the Y2J Unit, but he seemed at a loss to explain the Emperor's sudden interest in her as well. 

Then again, he was at a loss to explain ANYONE'S interest in Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. 

* * *

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker tended to the messy cut on Ensign Christian's face. The Ensign was noticeably upset, "_Please_ tell me there won't be a scar! Edge and I have another _Galaxy Beat _shoot next week! I can't have anything blemishing this perfect face!" 

Dr. Taker rolled his eyes. He found Ensigns Edge and Christian perhaps THE most annoying crewmen on the ship... though Ensign Angle was second in that position. "You will be fine. When I am done, there shall be no sign you were ever hurt," 

Ensign Christian almost cried, "Oh thank you, Dr. Taker. You are SO the man!" 

"What happened, boy?" he asked. 

"One of the Woah-yah's attacked me in The Smackdown. I mean, just because I told him his hairstyle was SO out of date, he goes and whacks me! You'd think he'd be HAPPY for the fashion tip!" 

"Woah-yah's do not take kindly to fashion tips. In fact, they do not take kind to ANYTHING. I suggest you steer clear of them from now on..." 

"Well DUH!" Ensign Christian replied, then looked at the doctor, "Am I beautiful again?" he asked. 

Dr. Taker put his tools back, "You are normal again, yes." he replied. 

"Thanks, Dr. Taker! You totally rule!" with that Ensign Christian jumped off the diagnostic's table and left Sickbay. 

Nurse Bearer came up to Dr. Taker, "Perhaps this is a test. An situation in which you can use your gift to Their liking..." 

Dr. Taker scowled at Nurse Bearer, "A test my ass! I will do what I wish. THEY do not dictate to me!" then he allowed a cold smile, "Besides, what would they do if I chose to ignore Their _test_?" 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S MEETING ROOM - 5 DAYS LATER 

Captain McMahon smiled and handed Emperor Ulti-mat the latest contract. Surely he would be happy with this! Wouldn't he? 

"UNACCEPTABLE!" The Emperor thundered angrily. 

McMahon was taken aback. How was that unacceptable? It was actually quite reasonable! In fact, it was more reasonable then what they had provided other planets during similar negotiations. "Emperor! I don't understand!" 

"I ask for unlimited access to WrestleFleet technology and you still have not granted it!" 

"But you know our reasons!" 

"You do not trust me! Hardly fitting for allies!" Emperor Ulti-mat snapped angrily. 

"Forgive me, Emperor... but WrestleFleet is only willing to give to you what you are willing to give to _them_..." McMahon replied. 

Emperor Ulti-mat stood up, "Very well! Then you can inform your fatuous WrestleFleet that these reconciliation negotiations have concluded. I shall be returning to my ship now, CAPTAIN!" with that, the Emperor stormed out angrily. 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"I don't know what to do, Linda!" Captain McMahon said to his wife, the Chief of Chiefs at WrestleFleet headquarters. He studied her lovely face on his Vid Phone, "They refused every offer! They want complete access to our technology while protecting their own!" 

"That's impossible, Vince!" Linda said, "It puts us in a precarious position should they try and turn on their agreement!" 

"I know!" McMahon replied, "But do we just let it go or what? Any OTHER Emperor would have accepted our terms! But Ulti-mat---" 

Suddenly, the Titanprize jerked violently, and Captain McMahon and the Vid phone flew across the room, "Vince?" Linda's voice called, "Vince, are you ok? What's going on there?" 

The red-alert klaxons sounded, "We're under attack!" he said 

"Bridge to Captain McMahon. Your ass... bring it!" Lt. Rock spoke over the comm. 

The Captain didn't need to be told twice. 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"Hey! Nice catch, Chris...!" Ensign Matt applauded the Y2J Unit. Jericho had caught Commander Stephanie, who had fallen off the balcony near the top of the warp core when the ship had shaken. 

"Yeah," Lt. Commander Jericho muttered, "Too bad..." He then dropped Stephanie ungracefully on her rear. 

"OUCH! You stupid piece of SCRAP! Don't you know how to treat a lady?" she shouted. 

"Lady? Where is there a lady?!" Jericho replied. 

"Shut up, Jericho!" Stephanie snapped, then noticed Lt. Jeff snickering, "You find this FUNNY, Lt. Hardly?!" she shouted. 

Jeff quickly stopped snickering, "No, Commander..." he said, then turned back to his duties, hiding a smile. 

Stephanie frowned from her place on the floor, "What the hell happened anyway!" 

"Well, Skankanie, I'd say someone fired on us..." the Y2J Unit replied. 

"But WHY?" 

"Because they hate us? Just a guess..." Jericho replied. 

Stephanie opened her mouth to say more when a shimmer of light suddenly surrounded her, "What the---" she didn't get the last words out. 

Commander Stephanie McMahon disappeared completely from the WWF Titanprize. 

* * *

BRIDGE 

"Return my daughter to me, Ulti-mat!" Captain McMahon demanded. 

The Woah-yah Emperor appeared on the Titanscreen, his face now decorated in battle paint, "Not until you immolate what we desire!" 

"It's not my choice, Emperor!" 

"Then what we do to your female offspring will not be MY choice either," 

"We cannot provide you with more then we have already offered, Emperor. We're sorry..." 

"Yes... Captain... you will be VERY sorry! Or more like... your DAUGHTER will be..." 

Suddenly, weapons discharge followed by a scream could be heard through the Titanscreen from the Woah-yah ship. 

"STEPHANIE!" McMahon shouted. 

The Emperor spoke, "You are yelling for a specter, McMahon...." 

"What .... what do you mean?" he said. 

He smiled cruelly, "Your cherished daughter, Stephanie, has expired..." 

END OF SEASON 5

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	40. Season 6 Premiere Episode 1 The Powers ...

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 1

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 1: THE POWERS THAT BE   
**PART TWO**

By: [Elektra ][2]and [][3]X_C

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 070120.00. The Woah-yah ship ran off at warp speed. We have neither heard nor seen from them since ---" Captain McMahon stopped. He couldn't say it. It would make it too real. 

This day would forever tarnish his soul. The day his daughter Stephanie died in the line of duty. 

He closed his log book, and headed onto the bridge. 

* * *

ELSEWHERE 

"Where am I?" Commander Stephanie asked. Everything was dark. So dark… "Hello?" she called out. Nothing. Stephanie put her hands on her hips, "You know... this is VERY rude! I am Comander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley of the WrestleFleet ship WWF Titanprize! I demand you tell me who you are and where I am!" 

"We are your judges," a voice finally spoke. It was loud, and seemed to echo through the blackness, "It is your judgement day…" 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "Judgment day? What .... am I supposed to be dead or something?" The silence was all the answer she needed. She lowered her voice, confused, "I don't understand! How could I…?" she stopped, and shook her head, her voice a mere whisper, "No. It can't be!" 

"She is under my charge…" another voice spoke. A voice Stephanie recognized. A voice that made her shiver more then the empty darkness. 

It took her a moment to gather her wits about her, "Dr. Taker… what are you doing here? What IS all this?" Stephanie demanded. 

"It doesn't matter ..." he turned his attention back to the voice, "Do not judge her yet. There is something I must inform you of first. I shall return shortly…" he replied, then was gone. 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

Lt. Commander Jericho sat quietly sipping his synthehol and watching the others in the Smackdown. 

"When is the memorial?" Terri asked as she leaned on the bar behind him. 

"At 21:00 hours…" he replied, then put his glass down, half-finished, "Triple H is taking it well..." he said bitterly. 

Triple H sat with his fellow Degenerates, chatting it up as if they were on a random night out. 

Soon, Triple H felt the android's eyes on him, and turned to the Y2J Unit, "You got a problem?" he asked. 

"Forgive me. I don't mean to interrupt you as you mourn the loss of your WIFE, Trip…" Lt. Commander Jericho replied, and turned away. If he stared at Triple H any longer, he would let his emotion chip go random, and toss the man across the bar. Why was he so… so... ANGRY? 

"What are you getting at, bot?" Triple H asked. "You think I don't miss her? You think I didn't CARE about her?" 

Jericho shook his head, still not looking at him, "I don't doubt you DID care for her once…" Jericho replied, "But apparently you cared more about POWER." he muttered. 

He heard Triple H stand and walk up to him, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

Jericho turned to face Triple H, "You may have been able to convince Stephanie you meant her no harm during your little mutiny, but I'm a lot more perceptive then that!" 

"SHUT UP!" Triple H shouted, and swung a fist at the Y2J Unit, who rolled off the barstool gracefully. Triple H let out a shout as his hand met the wooden bar instead of Jericho's face. 

Jericho jumped to his feet and looked at Ensign Helmsley smugly, "You don't want to start with me, Trip. You really don't!" 

"YOU'RE the one who started it running your mouth!" he snapped angrily, and swung again. Once again, Jericho ducked. 

The Y2J Unit grabbed his glass of synthehol and threw it in Triple H's face, "You really need to cool down, Trip. This type of behaviour is unbecoming of a man who just lost his wife…" 

"I said shut up!" Ensign Helmsley snapped as he wiped synthehol out of his eyes, "I will dismantle you, then rip your circuits out of your chest before you can blink!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho quickly turned off his emotion chip. If he hadn't, he would have done something unforgivable to Triple H. But why? Because of the rebel's indifference to Stephanie's death? Surely if anyone should be indifferent, it should be the Y2J Unit! After all, he always seemed to be arguing with her, "I am afraid my presence is needed in Engineering," Lt. Commander Jericho spoke, all signs of earlier emotion gone from his voice, "Now that Commander Stephanie McMahon is dead, I am taking over her duties…" 

"That's right! Go to your duties, robot! Avoid confronting me!" Triple H sneered angrily. "Don't worry! We'll finish this later! I'll make sure of that!" 

"It IS finished, Ensign Helmsley," The Y2J Unit spoke, "I am leaving now. Surely that would dictate that our confrontation has concluded…" 

"Why do YOU suddenly give a damn about her anyway?" Triple H snapped angrily. 

The Y2J Unit paused for a moment. He blinked, trying to bring logic to his illogical behaviour. While he never seemed to get along with the Commander… without her presence, there seemed to be a void. Odd he was still feeling this void even after his emotion chip had been turned off. 

"She was a good officer..." he replied, unable – or unwilling – to find another reason to explain it. 

The Y2J Unit turned on his heel, and quickly headed to Engineering. 

* * *

ENSIGN EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

"Stop hogging the mirror brother!" Christian reluctantly stopped smoothing out his dashing black dress uniform long enough to elbow Edge in the ribs. 

"Chill out Christian!" Edge said, giving him a look of calculated pouty anger. "This glass is large enough and so totally powerful enough to absorb the high volume of beauty we are directing at it!" 

"Oh please Edge." Christian rolled his eyes, admiring how they sparkled on their way around. "No man-made object can handle that!" 

"If the color black was a person, he would be down on his knees thanking me for making him look so good." Edge declared, as he spit-polished the snaps at his shoulder. 

"Do you think Galaxy Beat will be covering the Memorial Service for the Commander?" Christian asked. "The way my eyes shine when I cry looks so totally hot on camera!" 

"I've been practicing making my lower lip tremble." Edge said, acting it out for his brother's benefit. "What do you think?" 

"What do I think?" Christian gasped. "And the Oscar goes to...." He gestured grandly to his older brother. 

"Come!" Edge said impatiently, as the door beeped, announcing a visitor. Alas, it was only Ensign Angle, and not an eager and admiring photographer. "Ensign Angle. Ready for the gala funeral event thingy?" 

"I fear I am, fellow ensigns." Kurt sighed heavily. "It is always such a tragedy when such moral purity and youthful innocence is snuffed out by an enemy with no integrity." 

"Er, someone besides Stephanie kicked the bucket?" Christian asked. 

"I have asked Captain McMahon for permission to speak at the Memorial." Kurt continued gravely. "But since you're such devoted officers, I'll let you have a sample of my speech." 

He coughed and closed his eyes, reciting from memory. 

__

"Stephanie was like a flower, full of beauty, full of grace.   
_ A generous heart, lovely smile, a pretty face_   
_ Sweet when she laughed, a doll when she danced_   
_Virtuous even with all the Ensigns in her pants-"_

"Dude!" Ensign Edge looked horrified. "Get out!" 

"Yeah, well, do you like it?" Angle asked, frowning. 

"Uh... yeah right man." Christian was shoving him towards the sliding door. "Make sure you use that poem at the Memorial-it'll so get to Vinnie Mac!" 

"Bye fellow Ensigns!" Kurt called out as he was squeezed through the exit. 

Edge and Christian looked and each other, making an _L_ with their fingers. Kurt could be such a total loser sometimes! 

***

ELSEWHERE 

"Let me go!" Stephanie demanded, "Keeping a delicate young woman like myself in this... PLACE... is cruel!" 

"It is your judgement day…" the disembodied voice spoke. 

"It is _not_…" Dr. Taker replied. Stephanie jumped. Where had he come from? She had thought he had left… or gone back… or whatever he did. 

"Pardon?" the voice said. 

"She has not passed on yet…" 

"WHAT?!" the voice thundered, "You have brought a MORTAL here then?!" 

"To save her life, yes. Isn't this the type of action that you wanted?" 

"We never wanted you to bring a mortal here! It is against the rules!" the voice shouted angrily. 

"I have used my GIFT to save a life! She was about to be destroyed by a phaser rifle. I displaced her before the laser connected. Therefore, I have gained my privacy and the right to exist _without _your interference for the next ten years! I have complied with your wishes and expectations, and provided a … _positive _..." he seemed to choke on that word, "… resolution to an otherwise negative scenario!" 

Many disembodied voices muttered quietly among themselves. The single voice spoke again, "We will discuss this matter amongst ourselves and will contact you in 24 of your hours…" 

All was silent. The voices had left, and Stephanie was left with Dr. Taker. Within a few moments, even HE was gone. 

Stephanie sat by herself in the dark... thinking. Thinking of Hunter. Thinking of the Y2J Unit. Thinking of the others on the ship. Thinking of other ways her life could have turned out... 

Just thinking. 

***

DECK 10 

"I thought I might find you up here." Lita said breathlessly, as she spiraled her flexible body around the narrow ladder that lead to the Garden Deck's spacious balcony. There wasn't an Aerialian alive that didn't thrill to dizzying heights, and the upper reaches of this flora-filled deck not only provided a magnificent view of the greenery below, but an oval-shaped window treated the eyes to a glorious expanse of space. "Matt's worried sick about you." 

"Yeah, well, I seriously doubt that." Lt Hardy swung his legs out over the open air, staring down at the gleaming marble floor. He hadn't forgotten the cruel words Matt had cut with him when they were about to be thrown out an Airlock in Engineering. "I think I've stretched his brotherly love a little too thin." 

"Hasn't broken yet!" Lita tried to stay cheerful as she sat beside the Lieutenant. Jeff had seemed to be coming out of his shell, hanging out with her and Matt and Lt Commander Jericho, but now...now he had withdrawn more than ever. "He tells me you're thinking of skipping the Memorial Service." 

"Maybe I am." 

Lita sighed. "It looks bad, Jeff. You served under-I mean you worked with Stephanie. Vince won't forget it if you blow this off." 

"To hell with Vince." 

She silently counted backwards from ten, though there was not much that could restrain her fiery temper. "I'm worried about you, okay?" 

"Really?" Jeff looked at her with cold eyes. "When do you have time for that, Lita? Do you schedule that in between kissing my brother and your shifts in Engineering?" 

Lita bit her tongue. "I'm shocked you even noticed, what with your nose glued to Commander McMahon-Helmlsey's a-" 

"Don't!" Jeff's eyes went from ice to fire in a matter of seconds. 

Okay. That had been insensitive. Jeff was right. "It's funny. Before she...died, I was actually starting to respect her a little. I mean, the way she took the TitanPrize back from that scumbag husband of hers...I didn't think Steph had that much guts. She risked her life for us, people who treated her like garbage most of the time." 

"Yeah like Hunter cares right now." Jeff said scornfully. "I saw him laughing and joking with X-Pac in the Smackdown. He's sub-human." 

"Maybe Stephanie just wanted to be loved." Lita hated this feeling, this streak of compassion she was experiencing for the catty commander. "Sometimes...." She took a deep breath. "Sometimes when you can't have what you want, you go for the next best thing." 

Jeff looked at her. "You know?" 

Lita flushed bright red. "Know what?" 

"About the thing between Stephanie and Lt Commander Jericho." he replied, eyeing her flustered expression curiously. "What else?" 

"Uhhh yeah." Lita nodded, a wave of relief washing over her. "Poor Chris. Probably imagining what might have been." 

"I told him what an idiot he was to keep it inside, but he denied he even HAD any feelings for her. " Jeff allowed a wry smirk, "He claims he doesn't have a heart, you know…" 

"Well, technically, he doesn't…" Lita replied. 

Jeff grew serious again, moving his feet around in random circles. Restless. "I think if you really care about someone… heart or no heart … you should tell them, before something like this happens." 

"I agree." Lita was feeling restless too-it was too warm, too humid up there. "So..you coming to the service or not? You can sit with me and Matt." 

She got to her feet. Jeff didn't follow. 

Lita knelt back down beside him, and put an arm around his shoulders, absently brushing his hair out of his eyes. "You're just so damn sweet....you care too much about everything." 

Jeff suddenly realized....Lita was touching him. "You have no idea." 

His eyes were as intense as ion lightning as they met hers. They were so vivid, so angry with emotion....but his breathing was so warm and steady against her skin.....no! 

No. No way! She jerked away from him as if stung by a wasp. 

"Oh...my...god!" Right or wrong, her red-hot temper had boiled over. "You are crying! Over her! Over that!" 

"What?" 

"Stephanie....well I'm really sorry for your loss Lieutenant! Maybe you can kiss your damn pillow at night and pretend it's her!" 

Jeff's face hardened. "Pardon me, Lita. She _is_ a human being after all. Most normal people mourn the death of a living thing!" 

"Lita?" Matt peered up the ladder. "He up there?" 

"Oh yeah Matt, he is." Lita turned her back on Jeff, inhaling deeply like Counselor Snow had taught her, trying so desperately to get her jealousy, no - her anger under tight control. 

"Jeff?" Matt called out. "You wanna come with us?" 

Lt Hardy could see the genuine concern etched on his older brother's face. "Uhhh no. I'm gonna stay here, think a little. Come back and get me after the service, okay?" 

"Well..." 

"Please Matt." Jeff watched Lita slip down the ladder, until she was out of reach... "I need to deal with this alone." 

Matt nodded, pretending he understood. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Everyone was dressed in their smartest uniforms. Nurse Bearer stood at the head of the memorial pod, filled with Stephanie's clothing and precious belongings. It was to be jettisoned as a final farewell, to float in space endlessly, as Stephanie herself would have liked to. 

Chief of Chiefs, Linda McMahon had come in from WrestleFleet and stood in black, sobbing as Commander Shane and Captain McMahon tried to comfort her. 

Nurse Bearer began to speak, "We are gathered he today to pay our respects to Commander Stephanie McMahon…" he started, "A daughter, sister, and loyal WrestleFleet officer…" 

Chyna went up to Lt. Commander Jericho, but his expression was so unreadable, she wasn't even sure he had his emotion chip turned on. 

Everyone stared at the pod indifferently. Commander Stephanie McMahon wasn't exactly the most loved person aboard the ship. 

The Y2J Unit looked off to the side, and saw Triple H, seeming to mourn with the rest of the McMahon family. Chyna saw a flicker of anger in the android's eyes. 

Yes, Chyna decided. His emotion chip was definitely on! 

Nurse Bearer droned on, "Commander Stephanie McMahon will be missed by many…" 

Ensigns Edge and Christian stifled their coughs. Bearer looked at them, then turned back to the pod and continued. 

"And now," Bearer continued, "without further adieu, we send our memories of Commander Stephanie McMahon out into space, where she shall be forever at peace with the stars…" 

Bearer pressed a button on a nearby console, and the pod was beamed away. It could be seen floating out the window, until it finally disappeared among the stars. 

Within ten minutes, the Smackdown was back to normal. Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farrooq were busily involved in a card game, Terri was flirting with her patrons, and Chyna was waiting tables. 

Dr. Taker, who had been at the memorial a few minutes ago, had seemed to disappear into thin air. 

***

ELSEWHERE 

Were the 24 hours up yet? The waiting was killing her! Stephanie had managed to sleep in this… PLACE… but her dreams gave her no comfort. 

Stephanie hugged herself. Would the creatures here at last let her go? 

"Have you made your decision?" a voice said beside her. Stephanie jumped yet again. Dr. Taker had a habit of popping in out of nowhere. 

"Yes." The disembodied voice spoke, "We have. For now, she will return. Her judgement day will come… and we will consider this act a brief respite for you, Dr. U. Taker… on the conditions that you will make sure that the last 48 hours never happened…" 

With that, the voices disappeared… and Stephanie soon felt herself falling … falling… falling… 

***

ENGINEERING - 48 HOURS EARLIER 

"Hey! Nice catch, Chris...!" Ensign Matt applauded the Y2J Unit. Jericho had caught Commander Stephanie, who had fallen off the balcony near the top of the warp core when the ship had shaken. 

"Yeah," Lt. Commander Jericho muttered, "Too bad..." He then dropped Stephanie ungracefully on her rear. 

"OUCH! You stupid piece of SCRAP! Don't you know how to treat a lady?" she shouted. 

"Lady?? Where is there a lady?!" Jericho replied. 

"Shut up, Jericho!" Stephanie snapped, then noticed Lt. Jeff snickering, "You find this FUNNY, Lt. Hardly?!" she shouted. 

Jeff quickly stopped snickering, "No, Commander..." he said, then turned back to his duties, hiding a smile. 

Stephanie frowned from her place on the floor, "What the hell happened anyway!" 

"Well, Skankanie... I'd say someone fired on us..." the Y2J Unit replied. 

"But WHY?" 

"Because they hate us? Just a guess..." Jericho replied. 

The ship shook once again and a loud, thundering noise echoed throughout all of Engineering. 

"Ok, bits for brains… what the hell was THAT then?" Stephanie asked. 

Lt. Commander Jericho went up to the nearest Engineering station, "What the…?" he furrowed his brow, "It seems Emperor Ulti-mat's ship EXPLODED! Apparently there was a malfunction in their weapons array when they fired on us! A power surge built up around the torpedo bays and…" he shrugged, "It took the whole ship!" He said, then raised his eyebrows, "Ships seem to explode A LOT around us..." 

Commander Stephanie stood up and brushed her pants off, "If Emperor Ulti-mat's ship is gone, who is daddy going to negotiate with NOW?" 

***

MEETING ROOM – ONE WEEK LATER 

"It's been a pleasure meeting with you, Emperor!" McMahon shook the hand of the Woah-yah Emperor in front of him. 

The new Emperor had stepped up to take the expired Ulti-mat's place.

"The pleasure is all mine! I am sure our new contract with each other can only lead to a strong, long-lasting relationship! WrestleFleet has been more then generous in sharing what they can of their technology, and we will kindly repay them!" 

McMahon smiled, "We have a special dinner prepared in the Smackdown, Emperor. We want to show you our appreciation!" 

"It would be my honour!" The Emperor replied. 

Captain McMahon, the Woah-yah Emperor, and the rest of the dignitaries and negotiators headed to the Smackdown. 

Dr. Taker watched the group as they walked down the corridors. 

Yes. All was as it should be…   
  
... even the sounds of Lt. Commander Jericho and Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's amusing bickering as it echoed throughout the halls of the Titanprize. 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com
   [3]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	41. Season 6 Episode 2 Sacrifice

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 2

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 2: SACRIFICE 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 061553.00. I don't want to brag, but I think the whole crew's noticed the huge grin that my wife Linda's been wearing, and who put that on her gorgeous face? The love machine, Captain Vincent Kennedy McMahon, that's who! Computer-end l-" 

Whoops. 

"As for the TitanPrize, we're plowing through some unexplored regions of the D'masian galaxy and it's boring as heck. You know, there are times when you just want to get on your hands and knees and beg for a little excitement..." 

"Computer. Now end log." 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Terri, you are being, like, sooo totally unfair!" Christian said indignantly, as the petite blonde tried to shove him away from the back of the bar. "This is perhaps one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time!" 

"It's just a mirror!" Terri said in exasperation. 

"Just a mirror?" Ensign Edge was looking at her like she'd just sprouted horns. "Just a mirror? Terri, the lighting around this miraculous pane of glass has enhanced our natural beauty exponentially! There must be supernatural forces at work!" 

"And if it can make us look this totally awesome." Christian said enthusiastically. "Just think of what it can do for a righteous skank like you!" 

"That's it!" Terri fumed. "I'm calling Commander Kane!" 

"Commander Kane?" The few drops of Aerialian D.N.A. in their blood moved Edge and Christian like greased lightning. You only played with that kind of fire if you wanted to get burned! 

* * *

"Idiots." Ensign Matt shook his head, watching the blonde Kanatians beat a hasty retreat from the Smackdown. 

His brother, Jeff, half-smiled. "You're warming up to them. Yesterday they were morons." 

"That hasn't changed." Matt frowned into his synthehol. "Sorry. I'm not in the greatest mood today....I'm uhhh....in the doghouse, I guess you'd say." 

"With Lita?" Lt Hardy almost laughed. Matt apologizing for being in a bad mood? _He_ was the one who'd been such a depressing, self-involved twit lately. "I mean, I noticed that she was sort of....unhappy with you earlier." 

"What gave it away?" Matt demanded with a scowl. "My black eye or the way she closed the Holodeck door on my hand?" 

Jeff did snicker this time. "She has a bit of a temper doesn't she? And I'll bet she was talking to Stephanie before that." 

"Most people don't tell chicks with short fuses about sucking face with their boyfriends!" 

"I'm actually surprised Steph waited this long," his little brother said. "It's like sticking a catchphrase in front of Lt Rock, you know he's just got to use it." 

"Jericho's right." Matt rubbed his throbbing wrist. Women.... "Commander McMahon-Helmsley is the devil." 

Jeff suddenly leaned across the table, a mischievous gleam in his eye. He really wasn't interested in discussing his brother's love life...for some irrational reason it made his blood just boil..."Hey, you know that Resian facial cream Edge and Christian keep harping on?" 

"Of course." Matt nodded. "They've only beaten that dead horse into a pulp." 

"So...." Jeff grinned. "What if it were replaced with....oh...I don't know." He mocked being deep in thought. "Aerialian Emeroxide?" 

"Emeroxide?" Matt raised an eyebrow. "Yeah but that's pretty much just green hair dye." 

"As Ensign Edge might say." Lt Hardy lowered his voice. "Give me DUH for two hundred credits." 

"Jeff, man." Matt was laughing so hard his stomach muscles started to cramp up. _God, when was the last time we had this much fun together?_ "Geez kid, you're a Lieutenant now. You can't mess around like that." 

"That's true." Jeff frowned. "I am a Lieutenant." 

His eyes clouded over. Matt felt his heart sink. 

"And, dear brother, who but a Lieutenant would have the necessary command codes to override two cocky Kanatian ensigns' private room locks?" 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"And so these two skanks walk into a bar...." Lt Commander Jericho already had the young Houdianian in stitches, even though he wasn't sure Ensign Crash even _knew _what a skank was. 

"I suggest you stand at attention when a superior officer enters the room, Jericho!" 

The Y2J Unit was sure he was experiencing a malfunction in his respiratory array, what with the way his artificial breath caught in his throat. Commander McMahon-Helmsley stepped off the turbolift, hands on hips, eyes on fire, glossy chestnut hair falling in soft waves to her shoulders.   
  
She looked well for a woman that had just gotten over a violent flu the day before. 

He pulled himself together. "Unable to comply, Commander. Though I'm sure there are plenty of young Ensigns at attention right now." 

"Hmpf! And here I thought you were becoming somewhat respectable towards me, Lt. Commander!" Stephanie replied, and tossed her hair as she stomped over to her station. 

"Au contraire," Jericho winked at Crash, who knew a potential battle when he saw it. No way did he want to get caught in this crossfire! "That's French for 'I think you're a tramp', by the way." 

Stephanie fixed him with a cold smile. "Ahhh yes, very amusing Chris. And of course, I would be an expert on French wouldn't I?" 

Darn, he thought. She was getting quicker all the time. 

"Hmmm you are in a PMS-level mood aren't you Stephie?" Jericho's eyes narrowed as he scanned his internal chronometer. "You must be going on... five minutes without a young Ensign trying to aim his ... *ahem* _phaser_ at you." 

Stephanie willed herself to ignore his crass jokes. "Where's that Hardy creep?" 

"Jeffrey is finishing a game of basketball with Ensign Too Hottie in Holodeck 9." Jericho replied. "And I suggest you don't call him on it. The extra time off is doing wonders with what little personality he has." 

Stephanie shrugged as she focused on her warp core diagnostics. Menial, detail-oriented tasks were just what her mind needed right now. The commander smirked. She'd shown that catty Aerialian Lita a thing or two earlier; told her all about kissing Matt in the Airlock, exaggerated how much he'd responded... 

"Commander!" Before she knew what hit her, Lieutenant Hardy was hugging Steph cheerfully. She stiffened. "Welcome back! Finished puking?" 

"Did you just touch my backside, Hardy?" 

"Gosh Commander." Jeff didn't crack a smile. "It's kind of hard not to, isn't it?" 

Jericho couldn't exactly restrain the laughter that exploded from his chest. He high-fived the young Aerialian. 

"Did you just give me lip, Lieutenant Hardly?" Stephanie demanded, trying to quash the fury that was rising inside her. He seemed to be hanging around Lt. Commander Jericho FAR too much lately. 

"Er....not in the past week, no." Jeff appeared mildly confused, but before Stephanie angrily turned her back on him, she could have sworn he blew her a kiss.... 

* * *

ENGINEERING - 10 HOURS LATER 

"Oh." Stephanie wore the expression of someone who'd just had a dead cat thrown in her lap, at least that's how Y2J would've described it. "I forgot you _things_ didn't require sleep." 

"I think you took a wrong turn, Skankanie," Jericho didn't look up from his padd. "Men's bathrooms are three doors down." 

"Why would I want those?" Stephanie snapped. 

"Just thought you might like to erase all those nasty messages Ensigns have been scribbling in the stalls." he replied. "Call Stephanie McMahon - will do anything on her back for two credits." 

"And no doubt they're in your handwriting." Stephanie retorted, as she approached the warp core, tri-corder in hand. 

"Didn't you have an anniversary party tonight in the Smackdown?" Jericho gazed at her out of the corner of his eye. She was in her civilian clothes, silk that shimmered so prettily on her in the blue glow of the warp core. He blinked quickly. "Not that _I_ received an invite to the social event of the year." 

"I've discovered a few minor anomalies here." Not that she could read them. Her eyes were swimming, the digits on the tri-corder blurring in a river of hot, stinging liquid. An unbearable lump was crystallizing in her throat, making it hard to breathe. 

Hunter had spent ninety percent of the night laughing it up with those degenerates of his, making it very clear that they would always be just that tiny bit more important than her. Oh and the gift...his heart-warming anniversary gift, a diamond necklace Stephanie had seen with her own two eyes being purchased by Tori! 

God, Tori had picked out her anniversary gift two weeks ago! Hunter had probably never touched the sparkling piece of jewelry until he'd put it around her neck that very evening! Steph suddenly wanted to rip it off her throat and throw it into the deadly plasma generator at the base of the warp core, watch it explode in a blinding flash of light.... 

"What've ya got?" She felt Jericho's warm breath against her hair. He was leaning over her shoulder, blue eyes focusing on the tri-corder. "They don't look that bad Stephie. No need to cry, for pete's sake." 

"Like I care about the damn warp core." She angrily brushed several tears away from her face, wishing she had just pretended her work was making her weep. She'd never give Jericho the satisfaction...."That silly wench Lita wore the same dress as me tonight! It was so awful! The way Edge and Christian laughed and pointed, like they were the freakin' fashion police!" 

"These anomalies aren't anything but loose ions that cleared our filtration system." he assured her. "Happens all the time. Just forget about it and get some sleep." 

Stephanie reluctantly let the hand with the tri-corder drop to her side. 

__

She doesn't want to go back to her room, Jericho realized, _because there's no one to go back to_. 

Hunter had gone through the motions of celebrating his marriage for a couple hours, and he wasn't gonna give much more than that, no matter what his wife needed from him. 

Desperately needed. 

"Actually." he said quickly. "Maybe you ought to watch those ions for a couple hours - never know when the jerky little things might cause trouble." 

Stephanie shrugged. "Fine." 

"Keeps the Ensigns safe too, having you in the standing position." Jericho added hastily. 

Stephanie punched a few buttons into the tri-corder, requesting the current temperature. It was so cold all of a sudden - her blood felt like slushy ice, the delicate hairs on the back of her neck and all along her arms stood as if being touched by a chill breeze. The arctic snap in the air curled around her nerve endings, icicles formed in the pit of her stomach. 

All her Engineering instincts kicked in. She KNEW this ship! She KNEW when something wasn't right... and right now, something DEFINITELY wasn't right! 

The ions in the warp core were----- 

"Jericho!" Stephanie threw herself at the android, a surprising rush of strength and adrenaline combining to force him to the ground. A sudden surge in antimatter forced the core to vent a stream of plasma, the ray of turquoise fire attracted by the natural electrical charges in Commander McMahon-Helmsley's body. 

The nerves at the base of her spine died on impact. 

"Stephie baby," Jericho shoved her off, like deadweight. "I know you want me, but geesh, couldn't you be more subtle about it?" 

Stephanie was too stunned to speak. She waited for the initial shock to wear off, for the tingling in her legs to just stop. It did. Then there was nothing, absolutely nothing. 

"Stephanie?" 

"Chris..." She gazed up at him with wide, pleading eyes. "I can't, I can't move." 

"Just take a few deep breaths." Jericho was running his own tri-corder over her limp body. Dammit! He was an android - his hands should have been more steady than a surgeon's! "Plasma makes the nerves go into shock for a few seconds. You'll be fine." 

The tingling danced up her arm. She couldn't....it was getting harder and harder to force breath in and out of her lungs. She started to gasp, trying to swallow as much air as she could. It felt like it was running out.... 

"Chris-" 

"For once in your life Stephanie, shut up!" Jericho hadn't meant to sound cruel, but the commander was struggling to draw in oxygen as if she were drowning. Talking wasn't helping! He fumbled with his comm badge, knowing he needed to get Sickbay now! 

He looked over his shoulder, up at the promenade that wrapped around Enigneering, a balcony set up so other species and visitors might observe the operations of the TitanPrize. Jericho wouldn't have bet his valuable android life on it, but he could have sworn he saw a fleeting shadow, a flash of blonde hair.... 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"So when's the operation, Doc?" Stephanie sounded meek, child-like as her eyes peered up at Dr. Taker. They seemed like puppy dog eyes, innocent in the way they begged him to tell her something he couldn't. 

Dr. Taker stared placidly back, ignoring the thing that stabbed at his big dead heart. What was that? Emotion? He spat on the ground, deciding that human feeling tasted worse than almost anything. "Commander, you're a Wrestlefleet officer, so I know you'll take this like one. It might be different if your spine was crushed or snapped, but the nerves in your back have been fried by unstable plasma. There might be therapy..." 

Dr. Taker's voice trailed off. Oh yes, Stephanie would take this like the Wrestlefleet officer she was. Besides, what was the point of crying if you couldn't enjoy the satisfaction of good, full-bodied sobs? 

"So there is no real therapy?" Stephanie smiled bitterly. "And hey, how safe can this condition be? I could die at any moment right?" 

Dr. Taker frowned. Far too young to be such a realist. One thing he hated about Wrestlefleet was how it made Federation youth jaded to the whole idea of death.... 

"Stephanie...your heart could spontaneously stop, your lungs could collapse, you could experience a lethal blood clot that you can't feel coming. But-" Dr. Taker's had a smile of his own, and it chilled her with its ghoulish determination. "I'm gonna make damn sure that doesn't happen." 

"My nerves are dead." she murmured. "But not all dead things stay that way, do they?" 

A minor facial twitch was all that gave away Taker's surprise. Did she remember...? 

Stephanie tilted her head slightly. Something or someone had caught the doctor's eye. "Chris." 

His jaw was set stubbornly, his bright blue eyes burning laser holes through her bio-bed. 

"You stupid little-" Jericho shook his head in disbelief as he loomed over her. "What the hell is wrong with you?" 

"Uhhhh, you're welcome, jerk." Stephanie rolled her eyes. Thank god that part of her still worked. 

"You want me to thank you?" Jericho hissed, banging his fist against the surgical tray next to her, scattering gleaming stainless steel scalpels and hyposprays all over the floor. "Oh yeah, thanks for nothing, skank! Do you realize how _easily_ my positronic net could have absorbed that plasma?" He sneered at her. "Or did little Miss Stephie read in Cosmo that wheelchairs were the latest thing in fashion accessories?" 

Stephanie felt the moisture on her face, couldn't stop it at all. "Why are you so angry? I was just acting on instinct - I couldn't, I wouldn't _willingly_ save your second rate robot behind!" 

"Don't upset her, Jericho." Dr. Taker's warning came over them like a dark shadow. "Your stank ass doesn't want any part of me." 

Jericho's emotion chip was experiencing wild surges that his android logic couldn't keep up with, couldn't comprehend. He was so damn angry, so full of rage, but not at Stephanie. Yet it was towards Stephanie, the foolish, foolish thing she'd done, the unnecessary sacrifice....He knew he was looking down at such a fragile thing, that her life, whatever it was worth anymore, could just expire at any moment. 

Humans, he thought scornfully. The way they got attached to each other was just plain stupid. Their lives just got snuffed out in the blink of an eye. 

"Look Steph." Jericho said briskly. "I'll find out who did this." 

"It was an accident." she said quickly, too quickly. "Or is your paranoia program as fully functional as the rest of you?" 

She'd seen something, someone. Jericho was certain of that. And if she wasn't willing to talk...."Hang in there. They will pay for this." 

Stephanie gulped and watched him leave. No, what she had seen was an illusion. He wouldn't.... 

* * *

SICKBAY-2 HOURS LATER 

"You got more visitors." Taker announced without ceremony. 

Stephanie was starting to feel like some sort of freakshow, on display for all the little officers to gawk at. It was a wonder they hadn't started taking pictures. 

"Oh lord." She sighed. "You've come to get your revenge haven't you? Here I am, laying all helpless on the bio-bed, numb from the neck down, and you've come to get a piece." 

"You have a really high opinion of us." Matt said dryly. 

"Well...I did sort of hint at Lita that we... er... you know." Stephanie hoped she sounded more regretful than she felt. 

"Hint?" Matt arched an eyebrow. "You showed her a bruise on your neck and said I gave it to you when we were necking." 

"Did I?" Stephanie asked innocently. "Not my fault the silly girl believed me." 

"Actually Matt and I are here for purely friendly reasons." Jeff assured her solemnly. "We wanted to see if it were true that you were on your back and fully clothed. Considering how the chances of that are equal to lightning striking in the same place 

twice--" 

"Lieutenant Hardly!" Stephanie snarled at him. "You've really picked a bad time to get your sense of humor back! When I get off this bio-bed I am going to officially kick your skinny ass!" 

"It's a date." 

"Pardon?" Stephanie sighed. She was very tired all of a sudden. "Did I mention this was a really bad time to hit on me too?" 

"Well, I'll tell that to the next fine young ensign that comes in with two credits." Jeff told her. "But I'll tell ya what...as soon as you walk out of Sickbay, I'll let you take the first shot." 

Stephanie smiled up at the young, rainbow-haired Lieutenant, shuddered at the memory of his icky, nasty lips on her, his snide little cracks. Oh yes, one shot at Jeff Hardy was worth trying anything for a miraculous recovery. "When I'm done mopping the floor with your freaky head, you just remember you asked for it!" 

"Boys." Lita gave them both a friendly tap on the shoulder, although Matt was certain she had tapped hard to leave a mark. "Steph." She made a face. "I'm here Dr. Taker! Let's rock and roll!" 

"You do understand this is highly experimental." Taker's voice was flat. "I can't make any promises, Ensign Lita..." 

Stephanie found that her mind was seeking out sleep; her eyelids grew heavier and heavier...Why was Lita here? Maybe Taker had decided to put her to sleep, and that red-headed witch had volunteered to handle the lethal hypospray. 

"Lita?" Jeff looked at her quizzically. "What's going on?" 

"Oh nothing special." She smiled and hopped up on a bio-bed to await Taker's probing scans of her spinal column. "Just saving Commander McMahon-Helmsley's life!" 

The Hardyz exchanged worried glances. From the radiant spark burning in her beautiful eyes, there was no doubt this little rescue mission carried a high degree of risk. 

And Lita was enjoying every minute of it! 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"You know what Chris?" Jericho shrank back as the Ninth Wonder of the Universe leaned over the bar, her dark eyes boring into his. "I think your attitude totally sucks!" 

"I asked for a synthehol, Chyna." he said with a sigh. "Not a lecture." 

Chyna thrust a mug at him, spilling all the foam and half the drink. "Believe me, Chris, I am the last person who would defend Slutephanie McMahon, but the way you've treated her since the accident is disgusting! Hunter ignoring her is more compassionate than whatever you're trying to pull!" 

"I'm not paying for this." 

"Great." She smiled sweetly. "Then you won't mind if I do this." 

Jericho watched as the golden liquid was poured onto his lap. It was cold, but not as frigid as the feeling inside his data chips. 

He was an android. He could answer any question in the known universe, solve any equation, unlock ancient puzzles....but he couldn't find one damn simple answer to one very simple question - why in the name of all that was holy did Stephanie step in front of that plasma blast? 

He always knew everything, could find the key to any mystery. It infuriated him to come up so short... 

* * *

"Dr. Taker is a certified nut!" Jeff ran his hands through his tangled red and purple hair, a nervous gesture he'd had since childhood. "What's he thinking?" 

"Sounds kind of logical to me." Matt said. "Injecting Stephanie with nerve cells from an Aerialian female...they're extra tough, flexible, could work." 

Jeff kept hearing the words of Dr. Taker....highly experimental, potentially fatal. Jamming a huge needle into the center of Lita's spine to withdraw the valuable cells, so many things could go wrong..... 

Matt watched his brother, watched the brightly colored Aerialian ice cream melt in prism-like puddles in front of him. "Hey." He poked Jeff's arm. "Imagine if it's 100% successful? Stephanie could have a spine so flexible she could serve two Ensigns at once!" 

Lt Hardy laughed, despite himself. "Hey...remember that time Lita put this gooey stuff all through my hair! Took Mom two hours to wash it out." 

Matt was quiet for a moment. He had a very vivid snapshot in his mind of that warm summer day, when he'd been 14, Jeff a couple years younger. Lita, of course, had been developing her firecracker temper since the day she'd been born. "She was so mad at you....caught you kissing that Kanatian exchange student. You're lucky I talked her into the ice cream." Matt grinned. "She was gonna set flesh-eating blue grasshoppers on you while you slept." 

"I thought she was mad cause I beat her during the cliff-diving competition." Jeff said with a frown. 

Matt sighed. "You little dope." 

Jeff carefully checked the time on his tri-corder, and Matt pretended not to notice. Lita and Stephanie had been in surgery for four hours, and it was driving him just as crazy. At least he could show it though. No matter how much baby brother tried to fake his way through this, his agitation, his concern went beyond lifelong friendship. Matt was starting to realize he'd stepped into something he shouldn't have, put the natural flow of certain relationships off....but how did you fix something that didn't seem to want to be fixed? 

"Lt Commander Jericho is being a real s.o.b. about this whole thing." Jeff's eyes darkened. Course, his fierce loyalty to his commanding officer was a real obstacle to true love as well, never mind Matt's involvement. "I mean, he's just peeved cause Steph did something selfless for him and now he has to confront the fact she might actually care about him. God forbid!" 

"Like it's such a newsflash." Matt rolled his eyes at the android's lack of romantic comprehension. "He just better tell her before this death thing actually sticks to her. He keeps getting it too cushy if you ask me." 

Jeff nodded. He kept meaning to tell Lita, he did...should have told her today, before Dr. Taker had sedated her and thrown them out of Sickbay. He'd been having these dreams about her...dreams of her lips almost touching his on the balcony of the Garden Deck. It seemed so real, the way the starlight coming through the windows would highlight the jade color of her eyes and the fiery red of her hair....but then his dream would have to come at the expense of his brother's. 

And he couldn't do that. Could never do that. 

"Lt Hardy!" Ensign Edge seemed to appear out of thin air. "I-I fear I won't be able to report for work for....for as long as it takes for my beautiful Kanatian skin to recover it's lunar-like glow!" 

There were actual tears sparkling in Edge's eyes, and they did look quite dazzling set in his almost neon green face. The brothers almost had to bite through their own tongues to keep from laughing. 

"Er, there is something a little different about you, Ensign." Jeff said seriously. "Are you trying a new shampoo?" 

"Uh, hello Jeffrey!" Edge was wide-eyed. "Fortunately my fabulous mane of gold was unharmed by this totally uncool prank! If this creme of Dr. Taker's doesn't work soon, I fear I will have to become a recluse!" 

"You were just in Sickbay?" Matt demanded. "What about Steph? Lita?" 

"Stephanie? Lita?" Edge gave them dirty looks. "If there was a spotlight here, it would be focused on me right now! This a drama starring....just me!" 

But the Hardyz weren't sticking around for Act 2-they were running for Sickbay.... 

* * *

SICKBAY 

"Be careful Hunter, I'm still a little woozy." Stephanie swayed, almost off the bio-bed, as her husband helped her sit up. "I think I might throw up." 

"I would too." he said grimly. "If I had that tart's cells floating around in my spine." 

"Geez Hunter." Stephanie gripped his broad shoulders to keep from tumbling. He went rigid when she touched him, but he was probably just tense...and worried about her. "That tart saved my life. I wouldn't be sitting up right now if it hadn't been for Lita." 

"You can thank Dr. Taker." he insisted. Hunter was feeling restless. He was only here cause Vinnie Mac had been badgering him about Steph's condition...."Any old Aerialian nerve cell would do." 

"Well, I know he just pulled off one heck of a history-making operation." Stephanie conceded, leaning on him, feeling only cool where she should have felt warmth. "But considering Lita was the only Aerialian female on the ship, and this was such a risky procedure..." 

"Yeah, yeah." Hunter looked over the hypospray Taker had dropped in his hands. Anti-Rejection medication. "Don't forget to take this four times a day babe." 

"You could remind me..." 

"I'm very busy on the bridge hon." Hunter said impatiently. "You understand." 

"Sure." 

Like hell she did! 

* * *

"Lita." Matt practically whispered, so as to disturb the sleeping Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley in the next bio-bed. Jeff was in charge of Engineering for a shift, while Lt Commander Jericho conducted an investigation of the warp core accident that had paralyzed the Captain's daughter. 

Only thing was...Jericho was the sole officer who thought it was worth investigating. A million people's trace evidence had been found on the engineering promenade, and security logs showed no one up there at the time of the near-fatal plasma discharge. 

It was just a few loose ions - usually a harmless condition. 

"Hey, Red." Matt kneeled down beside Lita, touched her hair lightly. She'd gotten the nickname for her tendency to go from happy to angry in a matter of seconds, not for her boldly-colored locks. "You did it girl." 

Lita's lashes fluttered. She was still doped up, her eyes almost crossing in the most goofy, adorable way. "Hmmmm?" 

"You're a hero." he told her with a smile. "Steph's sitting up and everything." 

"Jeff?" 

"Jeff..." Matt closed his eyes. He knew, but it still felt like an Aerialian dagger right through his heart. "He'll be here soon, don't worry." 

Lita smiled an intoxicated smile, as she drifted back into a blissful state of drug-induced tranquility. 

Matt sighed, squeezed her hand. "I do love you Lita." 

"Love you too Jeff." 

"Visiting hours are over son." Dr. Taker's hands were on his shoulders, turning him towards the doors. "And I think you've had enough." 

The doctor was right. Enough was enough. 

* * *

  
TURBOLIFT 18A-ENGINEERING 

"Don't you think you're pushing it a little?" Jericho watched with carefully concealed concern as Stephanie hailed the main turbolift in Engineering. "Wasn't it just three days ago you were flat on your back, sweetie?" 

"I've been meaning to discuss that with you, Chrissie." Steph rolled her eyes. "Thing is, I'm not your sweetie, no matter how hard you dream of it!" 

"Truth is I _have_ dreamed of it." the Y2J Unit dripped sincerity. "Then I wake up screaming, clinging to my bedsheets." 

"I think my being around quarters so much is getting on Hunter's nerves." Stephanie said casually, as she tapped her foot impatiently. Damned turbolifts were just sooo slow. "Guy like that...needs his space you know." 

_Yeah_, Jericho thought. _Needs it so much he's willing to vaporize you with a phaser_.... 

"Maybe I'll ride with you." Jericho said. "Sorry, let me rephrase that so you don't get confused. I will ride in the turbolift, stand a few feet from you, and get off - no I mean _step_ off the lift when I arrive at the Smackdown." 

"Ride with Jeff and Lita." Stephanie jerked her head towards Turbolift 19. "Doubt _they've_ had fantasies about chucking you down a lift shaft." 

"Nah." Jericho accompanied the Commander onto the speedy TitanPrize elevator. "I think they want to be alone. Poor Lita was dumped by Ensign Matt, probably needs comfort." 

"Cry me a river." Stephanie tapped a few buttons on the control panel. "Though...I've been thinking, ever since Lita saved me from a life on my back - and you don't need to say word one here Chris, that well....when I was lying there, unable to move, all I wanted in the world was to be able to walk again. She gave me that." 

"Your compassion for her romantic plight is thanks enough." Jericho assured her. 

"Ooooh... funny," Stephanie scowled at him, as she reached her hand underneath the panel and carefully loosened two strategic wires. "Anyways, it came to me...what if I could just give Lita the one thing in this whole entire universe that she desired?" 

"You're going to jump off a bridge?" Jericho asked. "Hey! What the-" 

Jericho experienced a brief moment of chaos, as every single light in the lift blew it's fuse, the pitch blackness that descended making the lurching of the passenger car even more disorienting.   
"Disaster." he muttered. "Must be your fault." 

He could almost see her angelic smile and shrug in the dark. "Tried to persuade you to take another lift." 

"Slutephanie-" 

"Don't fry a circuit Jericho." Stephanie cut him off. "We should only need an hour for Lita and Jeff to realize that sparks are flying." 

"Stephanie." he groaned. "Nothing good has ever come of you interfering with the Hardyz and Lita! Knowing how your magic touch works, they'll probably kill each other in ten minutes." 

"Please. I'm an excellent matchmaker." 

"Cupid with poison arrows." Jericho corrected her. He tapped his comm badge. "Jeff? Lita? You alright?" 

"Er besides this bump on the back of my head, we're fine." Lt Hardy answered. "What happened?" 

"Complex turbolift malfunction." Stephanie sang out. "Should take about an hour to fix. Commander McMahon-Helmsley out." She pushed on Jericho's comm badge to cut the communication. 

"Ground rule #1." the Y2J Unit said with a sigh. "Touch me _not_." 

"Worry not," Stephanie slumped against the wall, fatigue creeping up on her like some sort of ghost in the shadowy darkness. Maybe she had pushed herself too hard today. 

"What's the matter?" Jericho asked sharply, as heard the familiar hiss of the hypospray being injected into someone's skin. In the pale watery emergency lights, Stephanie's face seemed as colorless as a corpse's. 

"I think I just put off my medication for too long." Stephanie said faintly. She didn't need this now - having Jericho play nursemaid once was yucky enough. She closed her eyes to shut out the vertigo that was spinning the small space around, tried to pretend her spine didn't feel like it was melting.... 

"Steph, not again!" Jericho tapped his comm badge. It chirped. Then there was a storm of static. "You still there?" 

"Yeah." But she didn't know for how much longer. She could feel the pins and needles in her feet, her heart being compressed..."I don't think the medication is working Chris." 

Jericho reached underneath the panel, tried to activate the comm from there. "Taker? Sickbay? Anyone? We have a medical emergency in in Turbolift 18A! Stephanie-" 

"Lt Commander Jericho!" Lita's voice interupted him. "It's no use. The comm is dead in the water! Lift to lift communication is barely functional! What's wrong with Steph?" 

"I think she's rejecting your cells." Jericho replied urgently. "She just gave herself another dose of meds, but it seems to be making her worse." 

A pause. 

"Chris..." Lt Hardy seemed reluctant to offer up whatever was weighing on him. "You said you thought someone was purposely out to hurt you or the Commander right? Check her hypospray." 

Jericho whipped out his tri-corder, which took a few minutes to blaze to life. "It's not her prescription. Dammit! It's a muscular stimulant of some sort." 

Hunter! He was the only viable slimebag suspect in this. The Y2J Unit wanted to tear a hole in the metallic flesh of the turbolift and stalk that piece of dirt down, tear his throat out-no, no, no. Couldn't think of that now-there was no real proof and it wouldn't help the patient. 

"Jericho..." Lita's voice was very soft. "Aerialian biology is such that muscle stimulants make our cells go crazy, and since Stephanie is still so weak...." 

"Thank-you Ensign Lita."   


* * *

TURBOLIFT 19 

"The original malfunction seemed to come from Steph's turbolift." Lt Hardy reported matter of factly, as he scanned what he could with his own tri-corder, which turned on and off at random times. "Oddly enough, it had to be caused through man-made sabotage." 

Ensign Lita laughed as she sat on the floor of the lift. She wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what Commander McMahon-Helmsley had been trying to, after all, she'd tried it before. 

"That's funny?" 

"Oh Jeff...." Lita slowed it down to a giggle. "You wouldn't understand." 

"Guess not." He frowned and returned to his scanning. "Then there seems to be a shipwide malfunction - major flux in all power systems. Other than that..." He angrily threw the instrument on the ground. "Damn piece of bargain basement Wrestlefleet garbage!" 

"Oh my goodness Jeff." Lita realized she was laughing uncontrollably, but couldn't keep it bottled up. "I thought you'd forgotten how to lose your temper!" 

He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't get you, Lita. Steph is dying in the next lift and it's all a big joke? Maybe you could explain the punchline?" 

"It's just that she-she." Lita's shoulders were shaking, and the salt the she suddenly tasted on her lips told her it wasn't from the humor of the situation. "She was trying to thank me." 

"Thank-you? Oh man." Jeff kicked the wall in frustration and then sank down beside her when he realized that wasn't going to get him anywhere. "If that's true, she's more twisted than you are." 

Lita sniffed. "Your brother's a jerk." 

Jeff looked at the carpeting, studying the decorative swirls as if they were deeply fascinating. "About that...I kinda feel-well-responsible. I think Matt has some crazy ideas running around in his head." 

"Really?" Lita drew her hand across her eyes, hoping he didn't notice her girly little tears. "What crazy ideas are those?" 

She wasn't supposed to ask. Then again, Lita was more direct than an electric charge sometimes. "Ummm… this is really, like, psycho and stuff, but Matt seems to be under the impression that I, uh, that I sort of have a crush on you or something." 

"Well?" 

"Well what? Ow!" 

Lita had kicked him. "Don't play stupid! Do you have a crush on me or what?" 

"If I did, you just cured me of it!" Jeff rubbed his leg; she had connected with that tender spot just beneath the shin. Good lord.... 

"You're as bad as Jericho is with Stephanie!" she snapped. "Makes me wish I'd had those flesh-eating grasshoppers 12 years ago..." 

"Surprised you didn't sick em on me after I played kissing games with Stephanie." Jeff taunted her. "You seem to have a real problem with me doing stuff like that." 

"I hope you caught Resian lice from her!" Lita folded her arms and turned her back to him. 

"Here's a credit!" He threw a coin at her, which got tangled up in her fiery red mane. "Call me when you grow up!" 

Well, so much for that delicate exchange of feelings..... 

* * *

TURBOLIFT 18A 

"Skank?" Jericho nudged her with his foot, determined not to let her taste his fear, his stupid illogical... who the hell knew where it came from... fear. It would only upset her, make it harder to breathe...."Try and stay awake would you. Pretend it's the early shift on a Greenwich street corner." 

"Too bad you're fireproof, Chrissie." Stephanie's voice was a hollow whisper. "Cause I'd just love to pop a photon grenade between your lips and watch you go up like a roman candle." 

Jericho grinned. "Bloodthirsty little wench aren't you?" 

Stephanie opened her eyes a little. "Hunter likes that about me." 

"Hm." Jericho scanned with his tri-corder again. Major power flux all over the ship, if the blinking piece of tin were to be trusted. And something else too....bizarre bio-signals outside the hull. Nah. D'masian space was empty, dead, except for the fuel-burning of massive stars. There was nothing alive out there. "Can you still feel your legs? Want me to pinch them again?" 

"No." Stephanie frowned. "It still stings." 

"Whoops." the Y2J Unit winked at her. "Didn't mean that of course." 

The lift began to sway. Sway? Gravity should have held it firmly in place. But, Jericho realized grimly as the floor seemed to disappear beneath his feet, that gravity was no longer playing nice.... 

* * *

TURBOLIFT 19 

"Lita?" Jeff almost passed out as a sharp pain traced a path through his head, making the world tilt wildly for a second. "Lita?" 

Lita groaned. "What the hell was that?" 

Jeff gingerly eased his badly twisted leg out from underneath her, one hand on his tri-corder. "Ow, damn, seems our lift plummeted 12 decks before we were caught by an emergency gravity field, and none too gently either." 

"Wow." Lita sat up and absently touched her cheek, which felt tender and swollen. "Your leg Jeff....it's broken. That must hurt like a bi-" 

"It's fine." Jeff said hastily, straightening it out the best he good, trying not to throw up as white-hot lightning bolts of pain shot from his knee to his ankle. "Your face?" 

"Just a scratch." Lita assured him. "Though if I were Edge or Christian, I might be arranging for plastic surgery." 

Jeff laughed, cringing as the slightest movement made him want to jump out of his own body. Aerialians did feel pain alright, they were just more stoic about it.... 

"Geez Jeff, don't try and run this scam on me." Lita sighed. Why couldn't men just cop to their agony? She lightly touched his knee, frowning as his eyes almost rolled back in his head. "Tell me it hurts, Hardy, or I swear I will squeeze the joint right out of its socket." 

"Man, you're evil." Jeff was grinning though. "It hurts so bad I'd almost rather listen to one of Ensign Angle's nursery rhymes than suffer like this." 

"There's no medkit." Lita chewed on her lip. She could almost feel her own knee throbbing in sympathy. Turbolifts didn't carry First-Aid, as they were supposed to be easily accessible. People didn't get trapped in these ultra-modern elevators. 

At least, not until today. 

"I'll live." Jeff was starting to sweat bullets. Of course, he couldn't pass out, that would be too merciful. "And I _do_ have a crush on you." 

"What?" 

"Just wanted you to know." He shrugged. "In case the pain killed me." 

"Wow, that's real romantic." Lita scowled at him. 

"Take it or leave it." 

Lita frowned, but was careful not to nudge his injured leg as she leaned over him...and finally discovered what it would've felt like to kiss him, like she came so close to doing in her dreams night after night. 

Dreams paled next to reality, that was for sure.... 

* * *

TURBOLIFT 18A 

"This is a nightmare." Jericho muttered, hovering over Stephanie, who clutched at his uniform, desperately trying to drink in air as she went into cardiac arrest. Her eyes were wide with pure panic. 

"Chris-" 

"There's no freaking medkit!" He was furious. Whichever idiot had engineered this oversight would be shot! "Slow your breathing down Steph! Don't lose it on me now." 

"Jericho! I can hear you." Lita sounded mildly out of breath herself. "What's happening?" 

"Total heart failure." Jericho heard his own voice crack. What the-? "Dammit Lita, she's stopped breathing!" 

He touched her neck - barely a pulse fluttering beneath her skin, no soft breathing coming from her lips.... 

"Lt Commander Jericho!" Jeff snapped him back to reality. "CPR!" 

"Huh?" 

"Old-fashioned way to start the heart Chris!" Lt Hardy sighed in exasperation. "Mouth to mouth, chest compressions, you know?" 

"Right!" 

Mouth to mouth? 

* * *

"Chris..." Stephanie murmured. "Ummm, _Jericho!_" Her half-hearted attempt to push lightly against his chest didn't register. Maybe it was an oxygen depravation dream, waking up in a dark turbolift with his mouth pressed against hers.... 

"Steph...." 

"I'm ok now, Chris." She smiled. "Thank-you." 

Jericho pulled back abruptly, tugging at his uniform to smooth it out. "Uh yes well....it was touch and go there for a minute." 

"More touch than go it seemed." Stephanie's lips were tingling, but she was pretty sure it wasn't the Aerialian cells this time. 

"I'm a little rusty with my CPR, okay wench?" Jericho said defensively, relief flooding his positronic net as the lights in the lift flared back on, accompanied by the steady hum of the engines. "Don't flatter yourself." 

"Jericho..." Stephanie met his gaze squarely. "What did you whisper to me when I stopped breathing...?" 

"You were blacked out," he said, his eyes hard as polished stones. "I didn't say anything..." 

"I heard you say _something_, Chris." 

He turned his back on her as the doors opened. "I'm telling you I _didn't_, Steph! There was no oxygen getting to that silly, frivolous brain of yours! You didn't hear me say _anything_!" 

Stephanie watched him storm down the corridor, into the Smackdown. She didn't follow. She really needed to get to Sickbay. Even if the effects of the stimulant on her Aerialian cells had worn off, she was obviously delusional from lack of air.... 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"This really was all our fault..." Matt said, bowing his head in mock shame as Road Dogg practically threw three Aerialian cocktails on the table. No one seemed to mind as bright orange liquid sloshed on the surface. "If Christian hadn't been so distracted by what we did...." 

"....He wouldn't have driven the TitanPrize into an entire field of microscopic interstellar life forms...injuring thousands of them...." Jeff said. 

"...And ticking them off so much they invaded our ship's systems to teach us a lesson." Matt finished with a sigh. 

Lita just stared at them. 

"What?" Jeff asked. 

"You guys are like so totally creepy." she declared, sipping on her rainbow-colored drink. 

Matt and Jeff looked at each other and shrugged in unison. They were worse than twins, the way they finished each other's sentences and sensed what the other was thinking. It would've been sweet, had it not been so weird. 

"Hey don't forget we're going on the Holodeck hiking trip with Chyna and Eddie." Lita reminded Jeff with a smile. "It's at 1400 hours sharp." 

"I won't." Jeff squirmed in his seat. He wished she wouldn't be so obvious in front of his brother.... 

"You guys have a lot of nerve." Matt's tone could have frozen hell over. 

"Matt, I'm sorry..." Lita sometimes spoke before she thought-she knew that. 

"You should be." Matt frowned at them. "Dr. Taker told me Jeff's leg had been broken. You guys didn't need to keep that a secret did you?" 

Jeff almost laughed with relief. "Just didn't want you to go calling mom is all." 

"Lieutenant Hardy?" Stephanie smiled sweetly at him. She seemed a little too sweet at the moment, but hey, it wasn't the usual nasty smirk she greeted him with. 

"Stephanie?" He stood, as was proper protocol when addressing a superior. 

He wished he hadn't. She kicked him so hard and so viciously that while he was seeing stars he hoped that Lita never wanted to have children... 

"You did say I could have the first shot, Hardly." 

"I guess she's got you on a technicality kid." Matt consoled his brother. 

"See you at work tonight." Stephanie nodded at Jeff and spun on her heel to leave. 

Lita found she had to stifle a smile. Maybe during that transfer of Aerialian cells, Steph had also gotten a little bit of her temper too..... 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	42. Season 6 Episode 3 Haunted Ship

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 3

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 3: HAUNTED SHIP 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Genetic Jackhammer's Log, Stardate..awww what's time when you're feeling the feverish bliss of rekindled romance? I could tell stories about Linda and I that would make a ladies man like Ensign Malenko blush, but I don't wanna burn out the data chips in my computer.... 

While we're on the subject of the McMahon family's grapefruits, let's talk about sweet little Stephanie, who recovered from total paralysis just a few weeks ago. She's taking bumps like big brother Shane, and Daddy is so proud. I wish I could have been by her side the day of the operation, but Linda and I did have that island paradise reserved months in advance and I'm certain Hunter was holding her hand all the way." 

Captain McMahon shot a glance at the padd that Lt Commander Jericho had left on his desk. Being an android, Chris rarely made irrational leaps of logic, but some of the things he was suggesting about Hunter...impossible. Vince would know if his daughter was in danger. Heck, Steph was a McMahon - _she'd_ know. He pushed the padd away dismissively. 

"The TitanPrize has received a distress call from the surface of Waltman-10, a stormy Federation moon at the edge of the Syxian Galaxy. It's been decades since the last mission to this lunar world, and the signal is very weak. Chances are good that there are zero survivors and plenty of wreckage. An away team led by my little darling will perform search and salvage." 

The Captain closed his log book. Waltman-10? Piece of cake! 

* * *

SURFACE OF WALTMAN-10 

"Trash." 

"Yes, Lieutenant Hardy?" Stephanie said absently, as she kicked at a piece of twisted metal on the scarred surface of the abandoned Federation moon. 

"Ummm..." Jeff grinned. My, Jericho did have her nicely trained, didn't he? "This emergency beacon - it's garbage. Thing's only giving off signals due to an internal malfunction." 

"Oh okay. Whatever you say." Commander McMahon-Helmsley hugged herself tightly as a gritty blast of air whipped at her uniform. The weather was violent, unfriendly. Unstable ion clouds created multi-colored streaks of lightning that stabbed the rocky lunar skin. Why couldn't Daddy send her on exciting, glamourous missions? 

Missions that would allow her to show off bravery and talent! Missions that would force Hunter to notice her! 

Lt Hardy tapped his comm badge. "Lt Commander Jericho? Stephanie and I didn't find jack-" 

"You and Stephanie hit the sack?" Jericho's voice crackled through the electrical interference. 

"Oh yeah, jerkweed." Commander McMahon rolled her eyes. "Jeff is just the catch of the day." 

"Well, speaking of fish-" 

"This is a waste of our valuable time." Stephanie cut him off. "Lieutenant Hardy and I are transporting back to the ship. Care to join us?" 

"A three-way... transport?" the Y2J Unit asked slyly. "Golly, I think Jeffrey's a bit young for that Stephie baby." 

"Drop dead Chris. That's an order." 

"Three to beam up, McMichaels." Jericho and his beloved commander could finish their flirting on the safely shielded TitanPrize. 

"Aye Lieutenant." Debra's bubbly voice responded. "Stand by please. Attempting to compensate for ion interference." 

Stephanie closed her eyes, waited for the bright, ethereal wash of blue light to scatter her molecules. Some officers were spooked by the transporter, thinking it stole slivers of their D.N.A with each journey, afraid it might spit them out as something completely different on the other side. Commander McMahon-Helmsley loved it. The warm tingling sensation, that quick, magical feeling of free-fall.... 

When you were nothing more than a genetic ghost in a beam of light, there wasn't a thing in the universe that could hurt you... 

* * *

WWF TITANPRIZE-TRANSPORTER ROOM 1 

"-signals are weak!" 

"Electrical interference is playing havoc with the matter streams-" Commander Shane yelled from across the room. He'd been summoned seconds ago, when his sister failed to materialize. 

"Lt Hardy is locked in, the Commander is locked in-" Debra was ready to punch the console. "Jericho...we've got a wicked chemical rain in the lunar atmosphere, he's fading-" 

"Get the damn humans back, McMichaels!" Come to think of it, Shane really didn't give a flying leap if Jeff Hardy's molecules were splattered all over the surface of Waltman-10. "Now!" 

Stephanie went limp with relief as she felt the familiar static rush of the transporter pad beneath her feet. Coinciding aftershock and loss of adrenaline dropped the little princess to her knees. 

"Commander." Her rainbow-haired inferior was helping her up. "Geez Deb, I've never had a ride quite like that before!" 

"Oh please Hardy." Stephanie stubbornly shook him off. "You're so innocent and saintly that you've probably never had a ri-" 

"Have you been talking to Matt?" 

"Don't listen to her Jeffy." Jericho winked at him, as the sapphire blur of the transporter morphed into the steely, well-lit interior of the ship. "If bed-hopping was a religion, we'd all be worshipping Stephie as the patron saint of dirty, filthy, skanky, nasty, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho's!" 

Stephanie's eyes narrowed serpent-like in his direction. "McMichaels?" 

Debra shook her head. "Nothing-" 

"Move!" Commander McMahon-Helmsley pushed her out of the way. "You're obviously too blonde or too smashed on your boyfriend's cheap beers to handle this!" 

Jeff stepped over Debra's crumpled form, ignoring the spite that blazed in her eyes. "There's nothing in the buffer Commander. We've lost the damn lock!" 

Stephanie manipulated the transporter array with shaking hands. "No! We can get it back! We can get the signal back!" 

"Steph?" Jericho frowned as he watched her work almost feverishly, racking his memory banks to remember if there had been an ensign on the Away Team with them. The rough trip back must have jolted something loose in his positronic net..."The gang's all here, unless you secretly took your own portable love slave along." 

She whirled around, flushed and angry. "Do something Hardy!" 

"Oh man, oh man." Shane was sweating up a storm. "Pops will murder me if I lost his best gadget! I'll be working off millions and millions credits down in Sanitation to pay for this." 

"Shut the hell up you idiot!" Stephanie yelled at her big brother. "Don't just stand there Jeff! Scan the moon again - just stop looking at me like that!" 

Lieutenant Hardy had to forcibly wrench his commanding officer away from the console, his expression neutral as she kicked and screamed and flailed around like a petulant child. Holding onto her was like trying to embrace unstable plasma-damn near impossible and potentially dangerous. 

He felt something wet and warm slide down his cheek - blood. 

"He's gone Steph." 

She stopped scratching at him, trying to escape. Their eyes met, and she knew. 

"You bastard." 

Commander McMahon-Helmsley started to cry. 

* * *

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"I said the damn credits were already on their way!" Captain McMahon growled at the placid face of the Irvine Inc. swine who had contacted him by vidphone. Oh how tempting it was to punch a nice ragged hole through the screen..."What more do you want out of me?" 

"Damn suits." Lt Commander Austin wiped some foam away from his mouth. "Listen up you dumb s.o.b, you got the money coming back at ya, you want more? You'd have better luck getting blood from a stone. We don't owe you-" 

"The Y2J Unit was perfect." Vince was chilled by the stoic blue eyes that accompanied the voice. "A technological masterpiece! We thought it could be trusted with the WrestleFleet flagship, but we were wrong! You should be demoted back to Ensign-" 

Captain McMahon threw the phone across the room, watching with unconcealed pleasure as it shattered. 

"Cap." Jericho leaned on his desk. "This was funny for about five minutes, but come on! I'm too gorgeous to be ignored!" 

"Silly son of a bitch." Austin shook his head. "You'd think a 'droid would know better than to stand under an ion storm during transport." 

"I didn't detect it until I was in the matter stream!" Jericho protested. 

"Steph's taking it hard." Vince buried his head in his hands. "Like she blew his molecules all over the moon personally." 

"You know Vinnie Mac." Jericho needed a new approach. For a shipwide prank, this was pretty bizarre, not to mention annoying. "Just caught a glimpse of your old bag stepping into the shower. I've seen raisins with less wrinkles. I mean have you got failing eyesight? Senility? Insanity perhaps?" 

"I always thought that robot was a second rate jabroni." Rock muttered, turning his head so no one could see the drop of liquid forming in his eye. "A monkey's ass could've held his rank and done a better job." 

"So when do you take my place, Crocky?" Jericho smiled bitterly. 

If he didn't know any better, didn't have the benefit of android logic... he'd think....   


* * *

HOLODECK 4 

"Alright, just think. Think!" Stephanie flung her long, dark hair out of her face, hair that was getting tangled and mussed from neglect. "Jeff and I came through a window in the ionic interference. We weren't caught in the matter stream long enough for our signals to degrade. Neither was Chris...." 

She stood in the middle of Transporter Room 1. Actually, it was a grim re-creation, painted over the yellow and black grid of the Holosuite. Time had stretched past the midnight hour, but minutes, hours...they were irrelevant here, in this piece of frozen history. 

"There are trace amounts of Carellium, Resium, Titanium in Lt Commander Jericho's matter stream." Stephanie said wearily. But so what? There were millions of crazed chemical atoms bouncing around in the moon's atmosphere. 

"Jericho's unique genetic material cannot be detected on Waltman-10 by our bio-scans." Again, so what? Interference might drown out such specialized readings. "There are no traces of him in the transporter buffer." 

Stephanie looked down at her uniform. Normally she would have pitched a fit to see herself in such a wrinkled get-up. 

"How can he just disappear?" 

"Computer. End program." 

Commander McMahon-Helmsley stared blankly as her fake little world was stripped away. 

"You're obsessed, Steph. We left orbit five hours ago. Jericho isn't coming back." 

She shivered. "Man you're cold Hardy. I thought you were the sensitive one." 

"Believe me, I am." Jeff smiled at her. "But I also remember how much of a jack-ass I was when I let my grief and anger almost eat me alive. Dr. Taker was scheduling personality transplants and Chris kept scanning me to see what I had up my - well I guess you know how his mind works." 

"Straight from the gutter." 

"Funny, that's where he thought you were plying your trade." Lt Hardy teased her. "The thing is Steph, Jericho wouldn't want you to let yourself go like this. If 'droids have souls, then Chris is out there somewhere wondering what happened to your sharp tongue." 

"That's not true." Stephanie's eyes were glistening. "He's probably waiting for me to stick it down some ensign's throat." 

Jeff laughed. "I could call you Slutephanie for the rest of my service aboard the TitanPrize if it helped." 

Stephanie felt the corners of her mouth twitch. "There's no body. How can someone be dead and there just be no, no trace of them?" 

"Poor Chris." Jeff stabbed at the control panel, easing the doors open. "He really wanted his gorgeous body put on display. Had a town square in Kanata all picked out." 

"Tell me you're kidding..." Stephanie's voice trailed off as she followed the Aerialian through the twisting corridors. 

Lt Commander Jericho raked a fingernail across his skin, watching as manufactured blood oozed through the cut, as perfectly crimson as any human's. 

For once in her skanky life, Stephanie was one hundred percent right. 

He had a body. He couldn't be dead. 

* * *

MATT AND JEFF HARDY'S QUARTERS 

"Darn it. I totally forgot about tonight." Lt Hardy bit his lip, feeling awkward as Stephanie scornfully swept her gaze around the shadowy, candlelit room. His brother and girlfriend would soon be stepping off a shuttle after another grueling round of classes at Wrestlefleet Academy, and well... he'd thought he'd take a shot at a romantic evening with Lita, complete with her favorite Aerialian chocolate and soft music. 

"Gee whiz Hardy." Stephanie shook her head, making a beeline for his closet. "You really are the original sap aren't you?" 

"What are you doing?" he demanded. 

"Oh nothing." Commander McMahon-Helmsley was doing a whole lot of nothing with his clothing. "Just checking the rumor that you and Lita traded outfits." 

"Maybe you should sit down." Jeff steered her away from his wardrobe and towards the sofa. "You look tired." 

"Maybe I should just go." Stephanie stood back up. "You've obviously got some sickening Aerialian mating ritual planned and I really hate to be a third wheel." She frowned. "I hate to be a liar. Actually I don't want to gag all over the place while you and Lita mush and gush all over each other." 

"Well, thanks for sparing my feelings." Jeff said dryly. "But with Hunter on the bridge...." 

"I'm going to have a nervous breakdown if no one watches me?" Stephanie laughed. 

"Of course not, but-" Lt Hardy hovered over the replicator, trying to recall what Chris said was Steph's favorite drink. Strawberry malt maybe? 

"How'd you know?" Stephanie accepted the glass, smiled sadly at the sweet-looking pink liquid. 

"Can't keep my eyes off of you." he said sarcastically, trying to make excuses for Lita appear out of thin air. But all Jeff could think about was what Jericho had asked him just weeks ago, after the failed mutiny by the degenerate rebels. _Hunter could be dangerous. He could just be a terrible husband. _Lt Hardy suspected both_._

__

"If something happens to me, someone has to watch out for Stephanie, protect her from Helmsley. I trust you Jeff...." 

Logic told him that androids didn't become ghosts, but instinct told him he didn't want to tangle with the idea of supernatural vengeance either. 

Jeff had almost needed to sign an oath in blood, promising, swearing on Matt's life he would never repeat the conversation to Stephanie. So if the commander found his behavior a little strange... too bad. 

"It's funny." She was twirling the straw around in her drink, watching it stir up cotton-candy colored bubbles. "You don't even question my grief." 

"I may be a saint, Steph. I'm not naive." Jeff left it at that. 

"Whatever happened between you and Lita in that turbolift, St. Jeffrey?" 

"You want some chocolate or something?" His skin slowly turned eight shades of red, only to be outdone by his hair. 

"Nah." Stephanie watched enviously as the young Aerialian picked up a slender box wrapped in shimmery silver paper that had been resting on the table, glowing beneath the flames that tipped the candles. Roses. Lita was getting roses. Hunter had bought her flowers once... hadn't he? "Better not. Yesterday Hunter said my thighs looked chubby." 

"Yeah well, Hunter's a-" Jeff finished the sentence with a choice Aerialian curse once he was safely inside his sleeping quarters. If he said that to Lita, he wouldn't be able to apologize thanks to the life support tube crammed down his throat... He probably should put the roses away for the night - wouldn't be too romantic, what with his commanding officer present and all. 

"Hey baby!" Lita called out, after punching in the override code for his door lock and waltzing into the room. "Your brother met Eddie out in the hall and they're gonna go to the Smackdown, shoot some pool with Edge and Christian. Actually, they're probably going to hustle them, but those two geeks could use a few less credits to buy shampoo with anyways. Oh wow!" She suddenly noticed the mood music, the beautiful candles. "Is this for me?" 

"It sure isn't for me." Stephanie smiled sweetly. 

"Commander?" 

"It's not the Easter Bunny." 

"Steph, you really need to get out of that uniform." Jeff emerged from the bedroom, carrying a pile of clothes. "I know you don't like Lita's style, but - Lita." 

"I knew you had a soft spot for her Jeff." Lita said coldly. "But I didn't know you had such a freaking soft head." 

"This really is not what it looks like." he assured her. 

"It sure isn't." Stephanie chimed in. "I don't think little Jeffy is ready for his first time yet." 

Lita stared her down, one hand on her hip, considering whether or not proper Wrestlefleet protocol was enough of a barrier against her volcanic temper. If only Etiquette Officer Richards had been here to advise her...she could have punched him in the mouth and gotten it out of her system. 

"Chris is dead, Lita." 

Stephanie's wet, sparkling eyes were fixed on the carpet. She wouldn't - she wouldn't dare utter those horrible words...no, as much as the two women resented each other, the fact was Lita had recently saved Stephanie's life. The commander would never sink so low as to hurt her like this... 

"How?" 

"Transporter accident." Jeff said quietly. 

"Geez, I thought that guy was immortal." Lita sank into the sofa, shell-shocked. 

Stephanie sighed. "When I was paralyzed from the neck down, and I couldn't feel anything....I wish I was like that again - comfortably numb." 

"I'm sorry Commander." Lita hugged her. 

Jericho hadn't doubted that the Aerialians would take care of Stephanie - they all had those painfully good hearts, even the hot-tempered Lita, who was now coddling little Miss McMahon like a baby sister. Course, Steph would make the ensign pay for the warm moment in spades.... 

Lt. Commander Jericho grinned. When he figured out what the heck was keeping him hidden from the crew, he'd have so much dirt to bury the little tramp in... 

* * *

"Your dad said what?" Lita sugar had turned to spice with lightning speed. She paced the room, eyes blazing. "I wonder how he'd like to be fed his grapefruits!" 

"If anyone deserves a funeral, it's Lt Commander Jericho!" Matt was furious. "He's not just some damn footnote in Wrestlefleet history!" 

"There's no body." Stephanie hugged herself tightly, wondering what Jericho saw in these Aerialian geeks. They were just so caring and kind and concerned - what the heck was it all about? Didn't they realize she'd just as soon step on them as to look at them? "No exact proof of death. He's missing in action." 

"Missing means they can be found." Matt insisted. "And yet no one's trying to find him." 

"He's gone." Jeff said firmly. "No point in deluding ourselves." 

There was no point in hurting Stephanie with wishful thinking is what his little brother meant, Matt realized. The commander hadn't come out and said it...but she acted more like a widow than anything. 

"I don't accept this." Lita was fired up again. "Chris Jericho's memory deserves better than to be spit on!" 

"Er Lita." Jeff frowned. "You're not gonna do anything crazy are you?" 

"I'm going to the Smackdown!" Lita declared. "Dammit, if we can't acknowledge the guy is dead and mourn like a normal crew, we are sure as hell going to celebrate his life!" 

"Count me out." Stephanie seemed bored as she watched Lita storm out of quarters. "As far as I know, all Chris had for a life was calling me a slut and picking on Hunter. Unfairly I might add." 

"You could at least say good-bye as a fellow officer." Jeff couldn't get angry, even though the spoiled brat had no idea how much Jericho would've given to protect her. Steph was only trying to shove her misery some place dark and deep inside, and he couldn't fault her for that. 

"Kiss my-" 

Lt Hardy grabbed her arm, prevented her from leaving. "I think I've kissed you quite enough. Don't you think I don't know why you're so messed up right now. You shoulda told him Steph. You know you should've!" 

"Tell him what?" Stephanie jerked away, but her smile... angelic innocence with the devil in her eyes - "Unlike Jericho, I have no secrets to take to _my_ grave..." and with that, she walked out. 

This time, Jeff didn't stop her escape. 

* * *

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Are you even listening to me, Steph?" 

"Yeah, something about Lt Benoit throwing a drink in Rock's face or something." Stephanie murmured, watching her sad eyes stare back at her in the full-length mirror. Onyx-colored silk shimmered in the starlight; the blouse was modest compared to the skirt, which none of Ensign Godfather's girls would have the nerve or beauty to pull off with such class... 

And Hunter was wrong-her legs were perfect! 

She actually smiled. Jericho could now call her a slut from the other side, if there was such a place. She hoped if there was a hell for androids... 

_Oh god, I don't want him to be there._

She blinked. "Hunter, I'm sorry. What was that?" 

"Baby, you're too tired to go out tonight." He was standing in front of her, studying her pale, drawn face. "Especially to a party for that - that toy soldier of Vince's!" 

"He was a fine officer." she said faintly. "And he was under my command..." 

"He was scrap metal waiting to happen. A freak." 

"Don't Hunter." Can't he see I'm dressed like a sl-all sexy? Doesn't he have a single hormone in his body? 

"Are you defending it?" Hunter demanded. "Why? Cause maybe he kissed you?" 

Stephanie's jaw dropped. "How did you-?" 

"This!" Hunter threw a padd at her. She squealed and stumbled backwards. "You won't even deny it?" 

"You - you read my personal logs!" Her heart was beating a mile a minute, but not from being intimidated. Those were her private emotions, hers and hers alone! Stephanie could feel her face burning. "You invaded my privacy! How - how dare you! I'm your wife, not to mention your freaking superior officer! Where do you get off?" 

"Don't shove this onto me!" Hunter growled. "X-Pac was goofing around in here and you know what a computer whiz he is! He hacked a few of your files. Like I don't have the right to find out?" 

"I wonder how your little fuzzy friend would like to fool around in a Wrestlefleet Prison Colony?" Stephanie was screaming - she didn't care who heard her. 

"Take it easy." he hissed. "I don't care if you were being held hostage by the Ja'Ret! How could you let that thing put its slimy synthetic lips on you?" 

"The Ja'Ret?" Stephanie's shoulders sagged with relief. That was it? "I was about to be executed. He was providing a distraction. In his own perverse way, I guess he was trying to be kind." 

"Robots don't have emotions Stephie! They don't have the capacity for kindness." 

__

Don't you dare Hunter! Don't tell me Chris can't feel! 

"Lt Commander Jericho is dead." she reminded him. "It's over. There's no point...." 

"It's lucky it's dead." Hunter laughed, an ugly, chilling sound. "Cause I would take that bucket of bolts and a disruptor out to a shuttlebay and make it wish the hell it had never been assembled!" 

"I'm sorry." 

"You're sorry?" He laughed again. "God Steph, he's the one who forced himself on you when you were frightened and scared. He took advantage, violated you! Why didn't you tell me?" 

The way he was looking at her right now, like he genuinely cared that another man had harmed her, the jealousy burning in his hard, dark eyes... and it was all based on a lie, that Chris was some sort of monster. She shook her head. Why did everything in her life come with all these strings attached? 

"Don't go." Hunter took her hands, gently. "After what he did to you, he doesn't deserve to even have you fake it." 

"Ensign Helmsley!" Lt Rock snapped over the comm. "You are two minutes and the Rock means two minutes away from your candy ass being late! Know your role jabroni, and get to the helm before I vaporize this piece of monkey crap Edge!" 

"Dude!" Edge cried. "Don't stress me out! It causes wrinkles!" 

"I'm on my way." Hunter tapped his badge off. "Lt Crock." 

"I'll think about what you said." Stephanie sat on the foot of their bed. It was actually more like _her_ bed - she couldn't recall the last time they'd slept in it together. 

"C-ya in the morning." Hunter kissed the top of her head and was gone. 

"After what I did?" Jericho seethed, kicked the bedpost so hard it should have shook. "You kissed _me_ that day Stephie baby!" He could put his hands around her throat and strangle her and she wouldn't even know it. So tempting...."Hey what should I expect really? Honesty and McMahons go together like Ensign Too Hottie and decent dancing! You even deceive yourself in your personal logs!" 

Stephanie picked up the dented padd, erased the data that X-Pac and Hunter had seen. "You just see whatever you want to see, don't you Hunter?" 

"Like you don't?" Jericho was yelling at the top of his lungs. Damn! It felt good! "You think he loves you now cause he's a little jealous? Here's some headlines news for you sweetie! He'd be laughing it right up now, spending your money hand over fist if _you'd_ been zapped by the transporter! Where was he when your spine was being operated on, when you thought you would be on your back forever? Ol' Trip was shooting pool and guzzling synthehol with his backstabbing degenerates buddies like you meant nothing!" 

Her head was down, and a waterfall was pouring from the little princess' eyes. "I know what you'd be saying right now if you were here, Chris. That I'm a naive, desperate, insecure fool! But Hunter... he's not a wussie like Lt Hardy, always running around, wearing his heart on his sleeve. He just doesn't know how to show me..." 

"I don't understand you, Steph," Jericho shook his head, sat beside her. "You're a brilliant engineer, tough as nails, as slutty as all get out, well, never mind that part...how on earth did you come down with this case of selective blindness?" 

"I could be wasting these tears too." She laughed bitterly. "What if I'm believing what I want to believe, that you're even capable of feeling? Anything you experience, even with your emotion chip, is just complex programming and chemical reactions. If I just swallow that, then this pain goes away." 

Stephanie touched her hair, shivered as a cool breeze fluttered a few strands. 

Jericho brushed a few glossy dark locks out of her eyes, which shined with moisture in the dark. "I don't think I'm self-aware enough to answer that one, Sl-Stephanie. You know, if you keep missing me like this, I won't even want to come back. Kind of awkward you know? You're supposed to be evil 24 hours a day." 

"I wish I'd never met you, Chris." Her voice was as brittle as glass. She meant it. 

"Feeling's mutual." He touched her hand, lightly, careful to avoid the gold band that kept her bonded to Hunter. He kissed her on the cheek. _How can I taste her tears if I'm dead?_

Stephanie stood and smoothed out her revealing piece of silk. She reached up, gently wiping away tears with the back of her hand. Sometimes, if she concentrated hard enough, she could feel his lips on her skin... and she didn't want to go there ever again! Not as long as she lived! 

"Too bad we can't go back in time and avoid each other altogether." Jericho watched her leave. "And by the way, what are you doing attending a party in my honor dressed like a high-priced tart?" 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Ey Mamacita... it breaks my heart a thousand times over to see your pretty eyes filled with such sorrow!" Ensign Guerrero clutched a hand to his chest as he and Chyna sat on the counter behind the bar of the Smackdown. 

Loud music shook the walls, balloons and confetti swirled in the air as strobe lights shot rainbows through the dark, and it should have seemed just plain callous and wrong. Yet, no one there disagreed that Lt Commander Chris Jericho wouldn't have loved this party atmosphere.   
  
"Oh Eddie." Chyna managed a smile. "You're too sweet. Jericho would have just said to me, hey, life's a bitch and then you die." 

Ensign Guerrero laughed. "See, we need to focus on that! What a great guy he was!" 

"Lt Commander Jericho swore?" Crash asked, wide-eyed. 

"Er, only when he was tipsy." Chyna assured the little Houdianan. Man, he was just the picture of innocence! "One thing I am happy about is that Chris and I made nice before - well I'm just glad I finally had his respect. Didn't think it was possible after that big fight we had..." 

"I still maintain it was your fault." Jericho winked at her, even though she couldn't see. 

"He was the funniest officer on this ship." Eddie grinned, remembering as he sipped at an old-fashioned rootbeer. Didn't want to influence Crash the wrong way of course. "That Rock thinks he's so clever, but Chris, his material was so fresh! Engineering could be like comedy hour if Commander McMahon-Helmsley wasn't there to shut him up." 

"I don't think Miss Stephanie had much success in that department." Crash said. "What was that one Lt Commander Jericho was telling me a couple days ago? There were these two er...sluts and this one skank who walked into the Ensigns training camp, and-" 

"Come on Elroy!" Jericho frowned. "You didn't even get that one! And it was two skanks for pete's sake!" 

"Speak of the devil." Chyna's eyes strayed towards the entrance. "Could her skirt be any shorter?" 

"Sure." Eddie tried not to gawk at Stephanie, who strutted into the bar like she owned the place, moving like she was meant to wear as little clothing as possible. "Then she'd be naked." 

"Oh golly." Crash turned so red Chyna thought she might have to hail Dr. Taker, who of course, was not at this fiesta. "Golly, golly." 

"It's kind of cute." Mamcita had to admit. "You know that would be the perfect outfit for Chris to see her in. Stupid Jericho could start World War 7 with the kind of nasty comments he'd make, and she'd love every minute of it!" 

* * *

"Commander!" Ensign Angle huffed and puffed his way over to Stephanie, wrapping her slim body up in a red, white, and blue earth-style windbreaker. "I don't mean to alarm you, but some amoral prankster had transported half your skirt off the ship." 

"Kurt," Stephanie snapped. "It's supposed to look like that!" 

"Pardon?" He seemed baffled. "Whoever sold you this scrap of cloth obviously has no integrity! You should get your money back from this heinous seller of inferior garments! Why, you look just like a common streetwalker and it reflects very badly on your virtue!" 

"Angle." She sighed. "You wouldn't know virtue if it kicked you in the ass, and guess what?" Steph smiled. "I hope it does." 

"Commander!" Kurt spluttered. "That is some very unladylike language. The Captain needs a bar of soap to wash your mouth out with!" 

"Fashion DON'T!" Christian stepped in front of her. "Uhhh hello - everyone knows micro-minis went out like three months ago! Totally tired, girlfriend!" 

"Let us not be so hasty, brother." Edge said. "Perhaps Stephanie is attending the ho convention on Copeland-9 tomorrow. Such an outfit and make-up combo would be all the rage!" 

"Uhh talk to the hand boys." 

"What hand?" Christian asked. 

"This one." Stephanie slapped them both across the face and slipped into the mass of people, until she found a quiet table by herself where she could look at the stars and not be bothered. She hoped no one would ask her to speak about Jericho.... 

As the dizzying whirlwind of music and lights hypnotized her senses, she thought back to her desperate attempts to find the key in the holodeck... 

_"Jericho's signal is lost. His D.N.A. is lost. Trace amounts of Carellium, Resium-"_

Carellium! Of course! 

Stephane zig-zagged through the crowd until she stumbled across Lt Hardy, who was pulling Lita onto the dance floor. 

"Hey-Rainbow Bright!" she gasped, out of breath. "You're with me in Engineering." 

"Aw geez Steph." Jeff sighed. He had Stephanie to thank for putting he and Lita together, and lately he had her to thank for keeping them apart at every possible moment. "Have a heart." 

"Maybe later." Stephanie said impatiently. "Right now I'd rather save Lt Commander Jericho." 

Lita nodded at Jeff, silently communicating that they should give Steph this one last shot in the dark. Maybe she had to realize the truth on her own...."I should rescue Matt from the evil Tori's clutches anyway." 

* * *

ENGINEERING 

"What do you know about Carellium, Lieutenant?" Stephanie's eyes were bright, nearly feverish with what must have been a profound discovery. 

"Carellium." Jeff frowned. "Uhhh...gosh, they haven't used that for fifty, sixty years. It's a man-made element, created by a top Wrestlefleet scientist." 

"What did they use it for?" 

Was this a pop quiz or a rescue mission for pete's sake? "Well, I learned in Technological History that it was standard base element in primitive cloaking devices." 

"Not as dopey as you look, huh Hardly?" Stephanie grinned. "I found Carellium particles in the matter stream that should have contained Lt Commander Jericho. I didn't think anything of it at first, but I should have. Maybe it wasn't enough to hide a ship, but there are atoms enough to cloak a human being, or android as it were." 

"Of course!" Jeff exclaimed. "Carellium is man-made. No way should it occur naturally in Waltman-10's atmosphere!" 

"It had to come from that old Wrestlefleet wreckage!" Stephanie felt the familiar adrenaline rush she always got when she solved some complex engineering problem. "And how do you expose a Carellium-cloaked ship? You hit it with a concentrated blast of Resian oxide. All we do is flood the ship with RO and we get our pain in the butt back!" 

"Not to mention knock us all out for about 30 minutes." Jeff frowned as he uploaded some data from the Waltman-10 wreckage site. "Commander, we should have seen this before. Carellium is so powerful that it's hard to dilute with other elements. Wrestlefleet stopped using it because it would eat away at the hulls of ships and cause minor breeches. That's what happened to the ship we found-Carellium degraded the titanium alloy skin so badly it crashed the vessel." 

"Well then..." Stephanie had already accessed environmental controls, preparing to send the Resian Oxide in breathable form throughout the TitanPrize. "We'd better get moving hadn't we?" A sudden realization struck the Commander. "Oh my god! All this time that pig could have been watching me sleep, take showers, get undressed..." She shuddered. 

"Jericho is invisible, Commander, not _desperate,_" Jeff smiled, wondering if Chris had been around to hear that. "Shouldn't we warn the crew they're about to pass out." 

"Heck no, Hardly." Stephanie said firmly. "Jericho is running out of time." 

* * *

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Chrissie?" 

"Eyes in the back of your head now, Skankanie?" Lt Commander Jericho sat across from her, eyes wandering carefully around the half-full bar. 

"No." She looked up from the padd she'd been slogging through. "I can smell pond scum from a mile away." 

"Guess being married to Hunter helped sharpen that sense." Jericho nodded at Chyna to bring him a nice, stiff synthehol. "Miss me?" 

"Oh yes." Stephanie smiled. "As much as being paralyzed from the neck down." 

Jericho returned the smile, much more coldly. "So I hear you and Lita went shopping down on Kanata yesterday. Didn't realize you liked those Aerialian's so much." 

"We weren't doing any female bonding if that's what you're thinking!" Stephanie snapped. "Like I'd ever be friends with the jobber crew! I mean, it was a charity case - when you and your boyfriend are dressing alike it's a cry for help." 

"Here I thought Lita's style might rub off on you." the Y2J Unit said. "You know, introduce you to skirts that cover your fat a-" 

"That is enough, Lt Commander Jericho!" Stephanie lashed out. "I'm still your superior, or better yet Chris, you are still my _inferior_! And when I say inferior - wait... What happened to your eye?" 

Jericho reflexively touched the tender bruising that marred one of his gorgeous blue orbs. "Why you're hubby Trip punched me in the eye. Cheap shot too. Typical Helmsley maneuver." 

"Hunter did that?" Chris had pretty realistic human skin, but it still took a lot to scar him. 

"Yeah." Jericho nodded. "Seems a little birdie told him that I forced my beautiful lips on you." 

"Oh that?" Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Hunter is a jealous brute. What can I say?" 

"Here's an idea Stephie." Jericho leaned across the table, his posture menacing. "How's about....Oh Hunter, I was the one who tried to suck Lt Commander Jericho's face off, or oh Hunter it wasn't the first time I tried to vacuum all the spit out of Chris's mouth!" 

"I explained-" 

"Yeah, you explained I was coddling you while the Ja'Ret planned to ice your sorry behind." Jericho hissed. "But then you let him believe I violated you in some way!" 

"Chris." Stephanie sighed, kept her voice low as Chyna set a foamy glass of synthehol in front of Jericho. "He just....it seemed to wake him up you know? He cared, I mean, more than usual." 

"I don't really give a damn about your unholy union, sweetie." He pushed his drink away. "I have a reputation. I don't need the officers on this ship thinking I'm some sort of predator." 

"Robots don't have reps, Chrissie." Commander McMahon-Helmsley couldn't meet his eyes. "Like Hunter says, how can an inanimate object really care?" 

"Oh god!" Jericho laughed. "He's brainwashing you now, and with so little material to work with!" 

"It's not like it's gonna leave Hunter's and my bedroom." Stephanie said impatiently. "If it helps me out, just leave it the hell alone!" 

She was so pathetic it almost hurt. Jericho shook his head. "Stay in your bedroom? Like the inter-galactic STD's that have colonized in your wake? I don't think so honey. Only thing bigger than Trip's nose is his mouth." 

"Like all those losers you hang with will believe anything Hunter says!" 

"Fix this!" Jericho seethed. "Before he melts me down for spare parts and your dad ships me back to Irvine Inc. in five pieces! I will not be looked at like some skank-loving freak of nature!" 

"I think you should look at this." Stephanie thrust the padd in his direction. "Ensign Edge lodged a personal complaint against you, considers it a faux pas of the highest magnitude for you to be copying his haircut. I'm not the person he needs to file this with." 

"I know exactly where that pretty boy can file this!" Jericho spat, snatching the padd up off the table. "Just when I think you're as bottom-feeding as you can get, you manage to chew your way down another layer." 

"Good-night, Lt Commander." Stephanie lowered her eyes, watching him walk away through her long, dark lashes. She hoped he hadn't detected how hurried her respiration had become... 

To think, she'd come so chillingly close to giving into some insane feeling, something that couldn't be real if it couldn't be returned...it had been the grief talking of course. Grief made you believe in emotions that didn't exist or were exaggerated. If it could nearly drive Lt Hardy to a nervous breakdown, why couldn't it lure her into caring when she really didn't? 

_It's just a bundle of wires and data chips and titanium and complex chemical reactions. It's not human._

Jericho strode towards Engineering, Steph's words ringing in his ears. He was a robot, when you came right down to it. It shouldn't bother him to hear it said so bluntly. 

And if he were just a robot, and his "emotions" were really just based on mathematical calculations performed by his positronic net, then there could be a glitch, a malfunction. 

Jericho would let Ensign Hardy get in some valuable training, allow the kid to perform an in-depth diagnostic and mess around with his emotion chip. 

Whatever he found, Matt could be trusted to keep his lips sealed....   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	43. Season 6 Episode 4 Return of Russo

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 4 ****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 4: RETURN OF RUSSO 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 070420.00. All is relatively calm here. One of our Smackdown employees, Chyna, is currently being trained by Commander Kane for Titanprize secruity. He has been suitably impressed by her skills and recommends that I reinstate her as a WrestleFleet officer. His recomendation is under consideration. End log." 

With that, Captain McMahon closed his log book and headed to the bridge. 

***

BRIDGE 

Captain McMahon sat in his chair, watching his crew and bridge. Everything was running as it should be. Even the big grey planet looming in the Titanscreen was as devoid of life as Ensign Blackman's personality. 

Reso-7. How boring! 

Suddenly, Ensign Edge straightened up in his chair, "Woah! Captain! Sensors indicate a shuttle heading towards the planet in freefall!" 

"On screen!" The Captain commanded. The hull of a damaged shuttled appeared on the Titanscreen, "It's a _Nytron_ shuttle!" 

McMahon knew the Nytron's all too well... but Nytron High Commander Russo had been locked away in a WrestleFleet maximum security prison for a year now. McMahon and his crew had helped put him there after the power-hungry man had created his own faction from the members of the WCW Thunder crew. Rebels. They had even claimed their own sector of space. Nytron space.

Luckily, McMahon had stopped the Nytron faction before it was too late... 

Or maybe it already WAS too late, if the Nytron shuttle that was spiraling towards Reso-7 was any indication. 

"Lock a tractor beam on the shuttle before it crashes! Commander Kane, get a security team together and meet me and Dr. Taker in Shuttlebay 4! Shane, you have the bridge!" 

"Thanks pops!" Shane replied happily. 

With that, the Captain headed off. 

***

SHUTTLEBAY 4 

Commander Kane, Lieutenants Bradshaw, and Farooq, and Security Trainee Chyna had joined McMahon and Dr. Taker in the shuttlebay. The damaged Nytron shuttle stood before them. 

"Open it," McMahon ordered. Commander Kane did so, holding his phaser ready. He looked inside, and gave McMahon a nod, which indicated that either the shuttle occupant was unconscious, or dead. 

Dr. Taker went in the shuttle for a few moments, then came back out, "A woman. She's unconscious," he said, and turned to his assistants, Nurse Bearer, and Nurse Saturn. "Take her to sickbay." 

The assistants headed into the shuttle with a gurney and emerged with Dr. Taker's latest vict-- er... patient. 

The doctor and Commander Kane followed Saturn and Bearer to sickbay. Bradshaw and Farooq were given permission to return to their card game in the Smackdown. 

***

SICKBAY 

"What is your name?" Dr. Taker asked his groggy patient. She sat up on the diagnostics bed carefully, so as not to aggravate her injuries -- bruised ribs, and a sprained wrist. Trainee Chyna stood behind Dr. Taker with Commander Kane, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice. 

The woman spoke quietly, "Ensign Kimberly," she said, "Formerly of the WCW Thunder..." 

"And a Nytron girl..." Dr. Taker said gravely, scrunching his nose as the smell of her strong perfume invaded his nostrils. Odd that his patient would have time to put perfume on while she was spiraling towards certain death... 

Kimberly shook her head, "No. Not a Nytron anymore. I'm a defector..." 

Dr. Taker raised an eybrow, "Really? I find that difficult to believe ... but... " he tapped his comm badge, "Dr. Taker to Captain McMahon. Your presence is needed in sickbay." 

Within a few minutes, Captain McMahon arrived, "I've been told you're a defector..." he said to Kimberly. "Are we supposed to believe you?" 

Kimberly looked at him, stricken, "Yes!" she said, "Look at my shuttle! I ran away, and they tried to kill me!" she pouted. It was quite an attractive pout, which seemed to affect both McMahon and Kane. 

Chyna and Dr. Taker gave each other a brief glance, then turned back to Kimberly, "Tell me," Captain McMahon started sympathetically, "Tell me all about it..." 

"Well..." Kimberly sobbed softly, "Bishoff -- Russo's second in command -- and I, we..." she seemed uncomfortable, "We grew close... and he told me stuff. LOTS of stuff... about how he was taking over the Nytrons and how we were going to be better then Russo ever dreamed of! And... how he was going to attack the Toysrus Colony to prove that he had more... brass... then Russo ever did..." Tears began running down her face, "He was power mad! I mean, the Toysrus Colony is mostly an orphanage for abandoned Children sponsored by WrestleFleet! I couldn't imagine..." she began sobbing hysterically. 

Captain McMahon took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. She wiped her eyes and apologized, "It's ok, my dear... you've been through a lot. Now... what happened when you voiced your displeasure over Bishoff's plan?" 

"He threatened to leave me on the colony with the children since I cared so much for them!" she shook her head, "I just can't believe he'd let power corrupt him like this! To let innocent Children die to prove that he's a big tough guy..." she shivered again, "I had to get away! I HAD to!" McMahon put an arm around her shoulders, comforting her -- and smiling as he inhaled her sweet-smelling perfume, "He's going to do it! I know he is! We have to stop him! We have to save the children!" she cried. 

"It's ok... we'll take care of it..." McMahon turned to Chyna, "See her to the guest quarters and take care of her..." 

Chyna blinked, "Me?" she asked, speaking for the first time, "But sir, I don't think I'm trained enough yet to...." 

"You're female!" McMahon replied. "That's all the training you need! She needs a woman's compassion, Trainee Chyna, not a security officer..." 

"But, sir..." Chyna was at a loss. Why wasn't Commander Kane saying anything? Kimberly was still a Nytron! She still needed a proper security escort! Unless the big red security officer was as much sucked into her tears as McMahon. 

"Vince..." Dr. Taker spoke up, "Chyna has a point. She is not yet trained to properly escort a security risk throughout the ship..." 

"_Thank goodness for Dr. Taker!"_ Chyna thought, and for once was grateful the grim doctor had a heart of ice. He would never be moved by a woman's tears. Actually, he would never be moved by ANYTHING. That much she was sure of. 

"Your point is noted, and ignored, Doctor..." McMahon replied, then turned to Chyna, "I am hearby taking Kimberly off Security escort. She is obviously no risk to us. Now escort her to her room, and help her with anything she needs. From here on, you will be her body guard, not her security escort! Some members of my crew are not so willing to listen to her story! You are to protect her from them, is that understood, Trainee?" 

Chyna opened her mouth to protest, but the Captain's glare was all it took to shut it. Chyna frowned, "Yes sir..." she muttered, then looked at Kimberly, "Come on. I'll show you to your quarters..." 

Kimberly smiled slightly, and slid off the diagnostic's bed, following behind Chyna very closely as the two left Sickbay. 

***

WRESLTLEFLEET MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON COLONY 10 

A hidden WrestleFleet communicator crackled to life, "Phase 1 of the plan is in place. Phase 2 is currently being plotted. Waiting for further orders." with that, the communicator went silent, and the listener quickly hid it back under his pillow. 

"Russo! Dinner time. Stop talking to yourself!" A WrestleFleet prison guard spoke as he came up to Russo's cell..." 

"Talking to myself? Well, it ain't like there's anyone else to talk to here... unless you'd like to sit and keep me company for a bit!" 

The prison guard just handed him his food, and headed on his way. 

Russo smiled. Yes. This would be the greatest act of his life! He would play WrestleFleet like the fools they were... and reap the benefits! 

And then... and then, he could get revenge on the man who put him in this hell hole! Captain Vincent K. McMahon! 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Chyna watched Kimberly chatting with the other crewmembers. She hated being forced into such a difficult position. She was a security trainee... not some rebel's bodyguard! 

"Something wrong, girl?" Terri asked as she leaned against the bar. 

Chyna sighed, "I'm stuck bodyguarding that Nytron rebel!" she muttered. 

"You don't trust her." Terri said matter-of-factly. 

Chyna frowned, "I don't trust her as far as I can throw her..." 

"But with your strength, you can throw pretty far I imagine..." Terri smiled. 

Chyna smiled in return, "Perhaps that was a bad analogy..." she grew serious again, "I know Eddie used to serve with her on the WCW ship..." she said. "I wonder if he could tell me a few things about her..." 

"So did Lt. Commander Jericho, Ensign Malenko, and Lt. Benoit," Terri offered. Then looked at who was coming towards the bar, "Speak of the devil..." she muttered, and quickly went back behind her bar to look busy as Lt. Benoit came and sat down. 

Chyna looked at him. She had never really talked to him before... but.. there was always a first time... "Um... Lieutenant?" she asked. 

"What?" he replied sharply. 

Chyna cleared her throat, "I ... um... was just wondering... did you serve with Kimberly?" 

He looked at her, "Yes. Why?" 

"What was she like?" Chyna asked. 

He shrugged, and turned back to the room, "I never paid much attention to her," 

"Well... was she trustworthy?" Chyna asked, "Or was she the type that ... well... could use her tears and such to manipulate people?" 

Benoit narrowed his eyes and glared at Chyna, "You think she's faking?" he asked. 

Chyna shrinked under the glare. Had Lt. Benoit been tricked too? And here she thought he was one of the least emotional guys aboard the ship, "Well..." Chyna began, "Maybe..." 

"Hm..." he said, and leaned back in his chair, studying Kimberly - who was now cozying up to Ensign Malenko, "Most likely. She was a wench when I knew her. I don't see how much could change." 

Yup. He was still a cold fish. 

Chyna brightened, "You think so?" she asked, "So I'm not totally insane?" 

"I don't know about your mental facilities..." Benoit said, "But I never trusted her. Always had to get her way 'cuz she was everyone's favourite diamond girl!" 

"Kind of like Stephanie..." Chyna muttered, then turned to Benoit, "Think you can help me keep an eye on her?" 

"No." he said. 

Chyna's face fell, "But ... why not?" she asked. 

"Because I dislike you. I dislike working with you. I dislike talking to you," he then smiled coldly, "And do I give a damn if she messes with this ship?" he shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe not. I can always find another ship to be stationed on." With that, he stood up, and left. 

Chyna frowned, and mentally crossed Lt. Benoit off her list of those who could help. Next... Eddie. She knew at least HE was friendly with her. Chyna giggled. Yes, he was VERY friendly with her... 

***

CHYNA AND ENSIGN EDDIE GUERRERO'S QUARTERS 

"Sweetie... you know Kimberly, right?" Chyna asked as they snuggled together on the couch. Someone else was bodyguarding Kimberly for the night. 

"Ya. I knew her from a while back. Why, Mamacita?" Eddie asked. 

"Well... I was just wondering... do you believe her?" 

"What… about the Toysrus Colony attack?" he smiled, "Ay, Mamacita... she wouldn't lie about that!" 

"But what if she DID?" 

"You saw her shuttle. It was trashed, Mamacita. She almost crashed on Reso-7. You think she'd go through all that just to lie to us?" he asked. 

Chyna sighed. Obviously Eddie had fallen prey to Kimberly's charms too, "Never mind..." Chyna muttered, a tad jealous. Just because a beautiful woman happened to come on board, the male crewmen suddenly felt there was no need to think rationally! Even Commander Kane didn't protest the slacking security around the woman! 

"Ey... Mamacita... you mad at your Latino Heat?" he asked, almost pitifully. 

Chyna turned to him, and saw him pouting. It was just too cute... and sad. 

Chyna quickly smiled, "No. I could never stay mad at you ..." she said, and hugged him tightly. The hug then turned into a kiss... and then... well... things just followed their natural course. 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Chris! Got a minute?" Chyna asked as she rushed into Engineering. 

Lt. Commander Jericho looked up from his station, "I've always got a minute for you, Wonder Woman," he said. 

Chyna smiled at the nickname. Jericho seemed to be the only male crewmember completely comfortable with her new-found strength, though that was probably because he was STILL stronger then her. "I wanted to talk to you about Kimberly," She said. 

"Oh, Skananie's evil twin?" he replied. 

"So you're not affected by her sob story?" Chyna asked. 

"I'm not affected by much," he said, and tapped his chest, reminding Chyna that what lay inside was merely wires. 

Chyna could have sworn he sounded sad for a moment there, but no matter. Back to the task at hand, "I'm suspicious. I've talked to everyone on board and only three males - you, Lt. Benoit, and Dr. Taker -- seem to be the only ones NOT under her spell..." she sighed, "Lt. Benoit wouldn't help me, and Dr Taker..." she shivered, "Well, let's just says he's the last person I want to owe something too... so I was wondering if you---" 

"No can do, Xena," Jericho interrupted politely, "Skankanie's decided to take a few days off to spend what she considers 'quality time' with Hunter -- which pretty much consists of her cozying up to him, and him pushing her out an airlock when she isn't looking," he shrugged, "Anyway, I'm stuck doing HER job and my own. It's pretty much 24/7 for the next little while," 

"Oh," Chyna said, not hiding her disappointment. 

"I have a suggestion, though. Stay as close to Kimmy as possible and see if your suspicions are valid," Jericho offered, "You're supposed to be her bodyguard, right? Use that as an excuse to snoop around. Claim it's for her own safety." 

Chyna nodded, "Yes... that would work!" she smiled, "Thanks Chris! I appreciate it!" 

"No prob. Good luck!" he said. 

Chyna waved, and quickly left Engineering to set about her task. 

***

WRESLTLEFLEET MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON COLONY 10 

A beautiful woman ran up to the front desk, "Help me!" she cried. "Please! You have to help me!" 

The Guard stationed there quickly stood up, "Who are you?!" he demanded, knowing better then to leave his post. 

"I'm...." suddenly she collapsed across his desk. He was torn between staying at his post, and aiding her. He took a deep breath, and smelled sweet perfume. 

The hell with his post! This woman needed help! He quickly went to her aid. 

She looked up at him as he leaned over her, eyes hard, "I'm Chae... " she smiled a cold smile, "And YOU'RE dead!" 

Before the guard could protect himself, Chae plunged a hypospray into his neck -- something that had been easily hidden by the metal detectors at the doors. 

The guard looked stricken. He tried to speak, but his throat closed... cutting off his vocal chords and oxygen. He hit the intercom, but was unable to give his warning as he slumped over his desk... lifeless. 

Chae looked at the closed-circuit TV monitors, and saw nothing but a blank entrance way being viewed in a constant feedback loop. Her fellow Nytron girl, Chameleon, had succeeded in disguising herself and 'fixing' the security cameras... and obviously disposing of the WrestleFleet security officers who were stationed at them. 

Chae picked up the communicator hidden in her pocket, "Chae to Syren. All clear!" 

A few seconds later, another Nytron girl entered the building. Chae shoved aside the poisoned guard, and called up the location of Russo's cell on the computer. She nodded to Syren, and grabbed the dead guard's phaser. She turned on her communicator, "We need some guards at the desk..." she said with a smile. 

Within a few moments, Nytron girls Chiquita and Spice entered the building wearing WrestleFleet security uniforms. They quickly used their phasers to disentigrate the guard that lay sprawled on the floor, and took his place behind the desk. 

Chae nodded her approval, then she and Syren quickly headed off in search of their commander. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - KIMBERLY'S QUARTERS 

Chyna watched Kimberly as she neatened her temporary quarters. Kimberly looked at her, "You don't have to watch me so closely. I don't think anyone is going to hurt me..." she smiled sweetly. She was about to open her purse when Chyna stopped her. "What is it?" Kimberly asked. 

"I must insist I look through that first..." Chyna said, "No telling when someone might plant a bomb in there..." 

Kimberly furrowed her brow, "But..." 

"No buts!" Chyna tugged the purse out of Kimberly's hands, and opened it. She rummaged through it carefully, as Jericho has suggested, but found nothing but a bottle of perfume. "What make is this?" Chyna asked as she held up the perfume bottle. 

Kimberly quickly grabbed it from her, "It's a special blend made just for me..." she said, "Don't touch it!" 

Did she sound nervous for a moment? Chyna looked at her, hiding her suspicions, "Fine. Sorry. Mind if I look around? I have to make sure everything is safe..." 

"But you didn't do this the other day!" Kimberly protested. 

"It was my oversight, " Chyna said, "As I mentioned, I'm a trainee. Excuse me..." with that, she began looking through the cupboards and closets. Nothing! 

"I think you've looked through quite enough now!" Kimberly said, getting impatient. "I'd like to go to sleep, if you don't mind..." 

"Go ahead..." Chyna said, and sat down on a chair across from Kimberly's bed. 

"Um..." Kimberly looked uncomfortable, "Shouldn't you be standing watch outside my door?" she asked. 

"No." Chyna replied, "I can protect you better in here..." she smiled, "Besides, we're both girls. We don't have to worry about modesty!" 

Kimberly was about to protest again, but realized it was pointless. With a sigh, she went into the washroom... 

***

WRESTLEFLEET MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON COLONY 10 

"Report..." a voice came through Chae's communicator, crackling with static. 

"We're in," she replied. "How are things on your end?" 

"We're heading towards the Toysrus colony!" 

Chae smiled, "The perfume worked then. The men fell for your story!" 

"Yes," came the reply. "It will take a while before I can convince them to head towards your coordinates, however. I must gain their complete trust... but I'm sure you'll have everything under control when we DO get there." 

"Of course we will! The Prison Colony is almost ours now! Lots of weapons for us to play with here..." 

"Good. Tell Russo I have a small problem though... there's this amazon woman who's been assigned as my bodyguard. She seems very concerned with watching me. I don't know how many times I will be able to contact you..." 

"That's ok. Syren and I know what needs to be done," Chae said. "And we're sure you'll be able to take care of the amazon if she gets too curious, Kim..." 

"Yes. I WILL be able to take care of her..." Kimberly replied, and let out a quiet laugh. 

"Good. You'll hear from us soon enough!" Chae finished, and with that, she cut the comm link. 

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" a voice shouted. 

Chae looked up to see a guard at the end of the hall. Without a second thought, she fired her phaser. The guard fell to the ground, dead. Chae and Syren quickly ran down the hall. 

Russo's cell was nearby. 

Within a few moments, and after a string of dead guards, the two Nytron girls came upon their high commander. 

"Sir!" Chae said as her and Syren put a fist to their chests and bowed their heads respectively, "We're here to free you!" 

"It's about damn time!" Russo snapped. "What the hell took you ladies so long? I've been rotting away here for a YEAR!" 

"Sir..." Syren began, "We're sorry... but... we..." she hung her head, "We were unable to pull ourselves together any faster after your capture. We were… leader-less. Kimberly finally came up with the plan and Bishoff tried to stop her, saying it was too dangerous... but---" 

"Bishoff tried to STOP her?" Russo asked, suspicious, "Now why would my second in command try to STOP me from breaking out?" 

"He thought it was too dangerous, sir..." Chae repeated. 

"Dangerous my ass! I never DID trust him...." he shook his head, "No matter! Get me the hell out of here!" 

Syren nodded and Chae put on special earplugs, "Prepare yourself sir," Chae said. Russo quickly covered his ears. 

Syren closed her eyes, and opened her mouth. An air shattering high-note rang throughout the WrestleFleet prison, and within seconds, the forcefield in front of Russo's cell malfunctioned and collapsed in on itself. 

Russo quickly walked out of the cell, "What is the latest?" he asked. 

"The Titanprize is on a wild goosechase, sir, and the Nytron Ship Thunder is on it's way..." Chae replied. "All is going according to plan! The Prison Colony is now ours! And in a short while, so will McMahon's ship!" 

"How short a while?" Russo asked. 

"Well... sir... Kimberly wasn't specific. You see, she has gained their sympathy, but not their trust yet." 

"Then we have some time to wait. That is fine. I've waited YEARS! Ever since being stationed aboard the Titanprize taking McMahon's crap, I've wanted to show him EXACTLY who he is dealing with! He is NOTHING without me, and it's about time he realized it! Until then, let's say we free our imprisoned friends here...." he said, "We can use them..." 

"What if they try to attack us, sir?" Chae replied. 

He took her phaser, "They won't," he replied, "And if they do, we'll take care of them!" 

"How?" Syren asked. 

He smiled coldly, "Never underestimate the power of a Phaser, my dear. It can make death quick and painless... or long and torturous!" 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - KIMBERLY'S QUARTERS 

Chyna waited impatiently for Kimberly. What was taking her so long anyway? 

Finally, Kimberly came out of her washroom, dressed in a frilly robe. She plopped herself on the bed, and closed her eyes with a smile. She fingered the small phaser hidden in her robe, unseen by Chyna's eyes. If she had to use it, she would. 

"Sleep well, Kimberly..." Chyna replied, and studied the so-called Nytron defector. Her suspicions remained but... what could this little woman do anyway? Chyna was twice her size, and had 100 times her strength! 

Chyna was sure that if Kimberly tried anything, she would be able to stop her. 

"Commander Kane to Chyna...." Commander Kane's scratchy voice came through Chyna's comm. 

"Chyna here, sir. I'm watching Kimberly," 

"I am taking you off bodyguard duty..." he said. 

"WHAT?!" Chyna shouted, then quickly covered her mouth, lest Kimberly wake up. She lowered her voice, "But sir..." 

"She is in no danger here..." Kane replied. "She is safe from the crew..." 

"But... is the crew safe from HER?" Chyna said, not meaning to mutter it aloud but... ah well... why not let her suspicions be known?! 

"She is no threat..." Kane replied. "You are to report to Security and continue your training... NOW!" 

_Damnit! _Chyna thought. She took one last look at Kimberly, and left the Nytron's quarters, fuming. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"So, Kane seems to think Kimberly is no threat, hmm?" Terri asked as Chyna sat at the bar after her training session. 

"I can't believe that! How... un-security-like for him!" she shrugged, "But what can I do?" 

"Keep an eye on her..." Terri offered. "She's going to be with us for a while. McMahon granted her Asylum..." 

"So it seems..." Chyna sighed. 

"Come on now... think about this! What harm can that one woman actually do aboard a ship this big?" Terri asked. 

"Oh not you too, Terri!" Chyna started. 

"Well... I don't have a lot of pity towards crying women, " she smiled, "But I AM trying to be open minded about this..." 

Chyna sighed, "You're right," she said. "Russo IS locked away in a high security Wrestlefleet prison colony. Really, there IS nothing she can do... but..." Chyna shrugged... BUT... 

She was still suspicious_._

__

Terri patted her shoulder, "Here... have a synthehol. On the house!" 

Chyna gratefully accepted, "Thanks Terri. I need it!" 

***

WRESLTLEFLEET MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON COLONY 10 

Russo sat in the Warden's chair, the warden himself having been disposed of a few minutes ago. 

"Sir," Chae began, saluting -- hand over her heart, and a bow of the head -- "The Nytron ship Thunder is in orbit!" 

Russo smiled, "Good. Bring me Bishoff. We need to talk..." 

Ah yes. Things were falling into place nicely. VERY nicely... and soon, the Titanprize and Captain Vince McMahon would fall into place too. 

Now all he had to do was wait... and after being locked up in prison for a year, he had gotten quite good at waiting... 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	44. Season 6 Episode 5 Conspiracy

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 5

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 5: CONSPIRACY 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 070820.00. Y2J is whining up a storm because I've permitted sweet Stephie and Hunter to take a second honeymoon on the paradise moon of Copeland-9. Hard to believe the devoted Lt Commander Jericho would throw a hissy fit about a little extra work in Engineering, but the news made him real crabby...

"In other news, Kimberly is fitting in quite well with the staff and crew of the TitanPrize. Too bad some of the females on this ship aren't quite as accepting and disappoint me with their failure to act like respectable Wrestlefleet officers. Women can be so catty and jealous, just like that shrew wife of mine, who is clearly threatened by the presence of a young, beautiful, fragile doll like our Nytron defector!" 

Captain McMahon smiled deviously. The ol' girl could be such a possessive little spitfire when she thought some tramp was trying to get her claws into the Vinnie Mac.... 

"Preliminary information given to me by Kimberly has proven quite satisfactory. I have no doubt that the rebels' disgusting thirst for blood has driven her to share secrets with Wrestlefleet and that the Nytron are as weak as she claims. 

But if they're not? Lieutenant Benoit is currently working on what could be a revolutionary weapon, a lethal invention who's destructive force will guarantee peace where diplomacy cannot." 

Vince laughed, bitterly. 

"I no longer fear revenge from that second class space hack Russo, but I won't forget his ranting and raving as he was hauled off to our toughest Wrestlefleet Prison Colony either! He made me? He made this Federation? No, dammit, the only thing he made was the biggest mistake of his life crossing me! I created that monster, the great High Commander Russo, that I don't deny. But if the monster ever gets loose again, I will personally escort it straight to hell!" 

He didn't think the old rage could still return with such force... "Computer-end log."   


***

DECK 5-RESEARCH AND SCIENCE 

"Am I keeping you awake, Dwayne?" Benoit's manner and tone were ice as he adjusted the plasma flow in the tiny mechanical heart of Wrestlefleet's most deadly device to date. 

Lt Rock blinked. "You talking to me, jabroni?" Sometimes, he forgot who Dwayne was anymore. 

"You were distracted." Chris said blandly. "Perhaps I could pipe in millions and millions of young ensigns chanting your name to keep you focused." 

Benoit's cool demeanor hid the seething fire inside. Lt Crock had asked to oversee this crucial project, said he didn't trust the ex-WCW radical as far as he could throw him. The egocentric bootlicker was no doubt feeling vengeful because Chris had defeated him at a game of photon darts in the Smackdown, one of the sharp-tipped darts slicing a few hairs off Rock's amazingly large head before kissing the Bull's-Eye. 

Rock was wise not to trust him, Benoit thought with an arctic smile. And foolish not to fear him. 

"The Rock is a communications officer. He doesn't care about science, doesn't want science, doesn't need science!" 

"Oh?" Benoit raised his own eyebrow. "When Wrestlefleet is threatened, when all we believe in becomes a target, do you really think inane catchphrases will shield the TitanPrize?" He didn't wait for an answer. "No, Lt Rock - it will be advances like this device that spare us from humiliation!" 

Rock laughed. "Jabroni, the Rock can bluff Wrestlefleet out of any damn hole in the known universe. I believe you win when you communicate, not when you detonate." 

"Fine." Benoit shrugged. "I'll have that written on your grave." 

"The difference between you and the Rock is this. When the People's Lieutenant says he's gonna bring it, he brings it. That's why, in three days, The Rock will be on Copeland-9 receiving a medal of courage in a Wrestlefleet ceremony and you'll still be candy-assing your way around test tubes and tri-corders building bombs for a war that ain't gonna happen!" 

"Too bad I'll miss it." Benoit said without regret. "Something about a heroic speech containing the phrase "go lick a monkey's ass" makes me want to puke." 

Hero? Oh perhaps the Rock looked like a hero. Two weeks ago he'd accompanied Edge and Christian on a basic mission of exploration to Stratus-15, a journey that had almost ended in tragedy. Fortunately, Rock had been able to repair a near-fatal glitch in the warp core of their shuttle, a glitch so perfect no one could see it was too perfect. Just like no one could've seen the fires of betrayal in the hearts of the Kanatian ensigns, flames waiting to be stoked.... 

"Well you know what the Rock always says. It doesn't matter if you're there or not!" 

"Lt Rock." Shane's voice buzzed over the comm. "We've got a problem in Sickbay that requires your immediate attention. Seems your little Communications twit Ensign Angle is about to be chokeslammed through a bio-bed thanks to some spirited preaching on the evils of tobacco chewing." 

"Take care of it yourself you silver spoon-sucking wussie." Rock retorted. "The Rock has had it up to his eyebrow with that All-American ass-" 

"Now Lieutenant!" Shane barked. "That's one hell of an expensive bio-bed Dr. Taker is about to destroy!" 

Benoit didn't look up as Rock blew like an ill wind out of his lab. "Thank-you, Commander." 

"No Benoit." He could almost see Shane's smirk. "Thank-_you_." 

***

Encryption was everything. To be on this high-priority frequency, one needed the security clearance of a Wrestlefleet admiral. 

Unless you went about things illegally, cut corners, shattered the rules like glass. 

And, of course, kept your messages buried in deep layers of encryption, creating a maze of communication so complex even that nosy 'bot Jericho would have gotten hopelessly lost. 

"Predator 2, this is Wolverine. The game is on." 

"Excellent. Predator 2 has waited a long time for this." 

"Wolverine out." 

Like everyone else taking part in this gamble, Predator 2 had something to offer and something to manipulate. He also had a hidden price to pay. 

The catch was....there were two games being played. 

Game one was the predator's reality. 

Game two was the winner, and Wolverine's partner would have to lose absolutely everything... 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Skank alert." Terri chucked the sweetness and light act out the window as Kimberly breezed through the door of the popular bar, eyes crawling over the male customers like slithering bugs. 

"Don't utter that insult in front of the guys." Lita said, snapping a pretzel in half with a little more force than necessary. "Matt had the nerve to meow at me when I said it." 

"He's just smitten." Chyna said. "Like every other jerk on this ship with an ounce of testosterone in their bodies." 

"Except for Eddie." Terri assured the security officer-in-training with a smile. "Girl, I can't believe that bracelet he bought you on Cassia-7. Must have cost him a year's worth of credits!" 

Chyna admired the glittering star-like jewels that wrapped around her wrist, knowing that Eddie had bought it for reasons of the heart, not to impress her with his ensign's bank account. Even Lita, hardly the most romantic girl on the ship, was sneaking envious glances at it. 

Envy. Kimberly turned the word over in her mind. It was such a delicious concept really, and Russo had been right to recommend that deadly sin as a weapon. She didn't need the trust of the females on the TitanPrize, she merely needed them so bitter with jealousy that they seemed biased and lacking in credibility. The boys wouldn't listen to them, knowing how consumed with envy they all were. 

Terri, Lita, and Chyna could harbor all their paranoid suspicions, make all their wild accusations. The guys would just laugh and tell them they were catty vixens attacking poor sweet Kimberly. 

"Hey ladies." She wore her most engaging smile as she took a seat next to Lita. "I'll have a sparkling water please Terri." 

"Coming right up." Terri said flatly. 

"Oh dear." Kimberly frowned. "What's that on your shoulder, Lita?" 

"This?" Lita looked at the colorful design on her skin. It was such a natural part of her that she sometimes didn't see it. 

"Oh my yes." Kimberly's voice was warm with compassion. "What an awful scar! Must have been a terrible accident. If my skin was marred like that, I couldn't be as brave you and wear a shirt like that!" 

Lita's jaw was clenched. "I was born with that. It's an Aerialian beauty mark." 

"Beauty mark?" Kimberly asked. "Oh well, that's a strange name for it." She nodded politely as Terri thrust a glass at her. 

"You're welcome." Terri grinned. _Hope you like the taste of spit, sweetheart_. 

"Have you ever heard the old Earth phrase...Guys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses?" Kimberly said innocently. 

"I've heard a lot of things." Chyna replied. 

"On Nytron, we had a similar thing. Only it went....Guys don't go down on girls painted like clowns. You really need to cover that gaudy thing up before Lt. Hardy loses interest." 

Chyna's mouth fell open. Lita looked Kimberly dead in the eye. "Eat dirt and die you Nytron trash." 

The defector laughed merrily and went off to search for a fresh plaything. 

"Wait til I tell you what Lt Commander Jericho did to Ensign Edge's hair in Engineering to-" Jeff stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the same hostile expression on three normally pretty, placid faces. "Ummm...what gives? Did Officer Richards try and confiscate the liquor again?" 

"Actually Jeff, we could use your opinion." Lita smiled at him. "Do you think a Carellian panther would digest Kimberly if she were to...say...accidentally fall into one of their cages? Or do you think the animal would gag on her?" 

"Gosh Lita." Jeff looked startled. "That's just plain gross. And you three ought to feel ashamed! After all the torture and misery she went through at the hands of Russo and how brave she was to run away from him, I'd think you'd be a little more kind!" 

"I could be more generous." Lita lowered her lashes. "Here, I'll share with you right now." She splashed her stinging Aerialian brandy in his eyes, stalking off as Jeff rubbed furiously at the burning liquid, trying to spit it out at the same time. 

"Don't ever change little brother." Matt laughed and handed him a napkin. "Don't ever change." 

***

"Lt Commander Jericho?" Kimberly stood beside the android's table, watching as the very human-looking specimen sipped at a synthehol he didn't have the capacity to be thirsty for. 

"Skank?" Jericho wasn't about to engage in a flirting game with some Nytron mattress who'd reduced the rest of the male crew into quivering masses of jell-o. The Y2J Unit didn't have a concrete reason not to trust her, didn't have human instincts to trigger illogical suspicions. Chyna did though, and she was above petty female squabbles. 

"My name is Kimberly." She smiled, almost apologetically. She really didn't want to screw up here. This strong, charismatic, intelligent machine would make the perfect slave to High Commander Russo once he took the TitanPrize. Surely, it was just a matter of simply plugging a few wires into the robot and watching all of Wrestlefleet's secrets drain out of him. 

"Mind if I sit down, Jericho? I know this might seem rude or too direct, but you've just always fascinated me." 

"I'm sure anything male and upright fascinates you." Jericho frowned. It wasn't as much fun with this disgusting Nytron traitor - she was one piece of roadkill that he wouldn't poke with a ten foot stick. 

"Don't worry." Kimberly sat down, uninvited. "I understand. It's just that...that we heard stories about you on Nytron. You're like...legendary or something." 

Chris watched her blush, rolling his eyes inwardly. So, she was one of those girls who liked the challenge of trying to seduce a robot. He hated those types. "Maybe you should find Lt Rock. I think he has a genetic need for hero-worship." 

Kimberly giggled. "I thought Rocky was genetically electrifying, at least that's what he tried to tell Dr. Taker when he first arrived on the TitanPrize." 

"He is electrifying." Jericho agreed. "Like a dead warp core." 

She outright laughed. "Look, I know you're in a bad mood. Ensign Matt explained about your extra duties in Engineering because Commander McMahon-Helmsley-" 

Jericho's eyes froze her. "Don't go there, Kimberly." 

She pretended not to hear. "I think it's really sweet when a young couple works so hard to keep the romance alive in their marriage. And Copeland-9? It's like paradise! I wouldn't be surprised if Hunter and Stephanie returned more in love than ever!" 

Every artificial muscle in the android's body went rigid. He had to concentrate to pace his breathing normally. 

"I shouldn't even be telling you this." Kimberly leaned across the table, lowering her voice to a whisper. "But er... well let's just say that the Captain isn't the only one acting out the role of genetic jackhammer." 

"What?" Jericho laughed, although he never wanted to hear the words "Captain McMahon" and "genetic jackhammer" used in the same sentence again. 

"Just don't be surprised if there's a little Helmsley running around the ship next year." Kimberly said with a grin. 

"Why bother spawning when they could just adopt a baby anteater?" Jericho sneered. "Although that little pet wouldn't have a big enough nose to resemble Hunter too much." 

Kimberly shrugged off his nastiness. "All I know is that Tori said they were trying hard, really really hard. And often." 

"Excuse me, " Jericho glared at her. "Sometimes a man likes to drink alone." 

"Fine." Kimberly got to her feet, already seeing that Ensign Edge and Christian probably could use a good ego-stroking on the other side of the room. She'd already gotten what she wanted here-the reward of seeing the shatterproof android act like he'd been punched through the chest by phaser fire. Even a stupid computer could be played like a puppet.... 

***

COPELAND-9 

"Hah! Choke on that, slimebot!" Stephanie gleefully punched a button on her Wrestlefleet-issue computer, uploading the images of she and Hunter enjoying the moon's gorgeous, lush scenery. Helmsleys on the beach, Helmsleys posing on the magnificent mountain peaks, Helmsleys smiling playfully in a breathtaking Resian garden. 

Jericho could stick his little hints about Hunter not caring for her, not loving her! What the heck did a jumbled mess of wires understand about romance? Maybe seeing these pictures would help him out. 

The musical chiming of the clock yanked Stephanie out of her vengeful little world. Midnight already. Her suite in Copeland-9's most exclusive resort was unnaturally quiet, only the warm breeze outside her balcony making noise. Hunter should've returned from his run by now, so that he could accompany Steph to the glorious Resian light show that happened every other evening, a cosmic phenomenon similar to the Aurora Borealis on earth. 

"Where the heck are you, Hunter?" Stephanie stared expectantly at the door. She'd been looking forward to this more than anything. Now, it was clear she was going to miss it. 

She supposed he could've gotten lost, but that really wasn't an excuse. Copeland-9 had so many helpful guides and holographic maps that someone as clever as Hunter couldn't get off the right track. Business? No, the TitanPrize was in orbit two planets away and the only business on this moon was fun, fun, fun. Stephanie could've asked Copeland-9's worldwide computer system her husband's location, but that was ridiculous. There were no hiding places on this paradise, no crime, and no real security. It wasn't like Hunter could've met with foul play! 

He just didn't want to be with her.... 

No! Steph wasn't getting sucked into that. Maybe there was something in his pack that could explain his disappearance. Feeling a little sneaky, she unzipped Hunter's suitcase and rummaged through his clothes, pushed aside his tri-corder, a handful of credits, her hand brushing cool steel.... 

Hypospray? Stephanie rolled the medical instrument through her fingers. Was Hunter sick? 

She scanned it. It was actually smaller than a traditional hypospray, looked more like a sleek, silver missile. And it was empty. 

What are you up to, Hunter? 

***

Copeland-9 did have hiding places, known only to the natives. 

And to those who had reasons to know them, or paid to know them. 

Lt. Benoit slipped into a web of shadows, like a spider who owned its territory. Another figure twisted around the corner of the large Resian temple, into the snug alleyway that was supposed to be secure. 

The Chosen One. 

A rebel as methodical and dedicated as Benoit himself, though he worshipped a lesser set of values than the Wrestlefleet scientist did. The Nytron movement was in shambles, and the man with the spiky hair and stiff demeanor was its only great hope, though Chris didn't give a damn about his moral choices right now. The Chosen One, who was only a myth in some circles, had the means of delivering the lethal blow to one of Wrestlefleet's most insidious threats. 

"Do you have it?" 

The Chosen One nodded, held out a hand. 

Benoit didn't flinch as he dropped a heavy bag of stolen credits into the man's grasp. Yes, the Chosen One would use the cash to fund a Nytron arsenal, but Wrestlefleet would be strong enough to defend against that once certain weak links were eliminated. 

"Let me see the merchandise." Benoit demanded. 

"It's quite brilliant." The Chosen One cracked open a case as black as the night itself, revealing what shimmered in it's depths. He smirked as Benoit's breath caught in his throat. "I knew a scientist like you would appreciate it's beauty. Can you get it close enough to the target?" 

"Easily." 

"I must applaud you on your choice of targets." He placed the box in Benoit's custody. "I should warn you too... his death could be a very positive thing for the Nytron." 

"Don't be a fool." Chris snapped. "Wrestlefleet will be tougher for his loss." 

The Chosen One laughed quietly. "He is highly regarded. His diplomatic skills are more crucial than you realize." 

Benoit said nothing, only admired his purchase. It's ability to execute so cleanly, to annihilate so completely was stunning. The piece itself was dazzling and worth twice as much as he'd paid for it. There was a certain beauty in such well-crafted violence that few men in the universe could appreciate.... 

"The sacrifice?" 

Benoit smiled, revealing a missing tooth. He looked like a hungry animal. "The sacrifice will feel nothing." 

***

"Just explain how the damn thing works!" Hunter shifted impatiently from foot to foot, trying to keep his anger under control. How dare this insolent Nytron scum keep him waiting, making him late for his date with Stephie! She was probably hopping mad by now. 

Last Call's eyes slid back and forth under the shade of the massively tall palm tree. The guy had a jumpy, paranoid quality about him that spooked Ensign Helmsley a little, but not enough to break the deal. The mutiny had been a strategic mistake - he and the other Degenerates had wanted too much too soon and had underestimated those goody-goody Aerialians and the loyalty of his own wife to Wrestlefleet. 

Benoit's approach was more sound. The ruthless, step by step removal of everything and everyone that disgraced Wrestlefleet would put true warriors like he and the wolf-like lieutenant in positions of power. And that was all that Hunter wanted - his power back. 

"It's a rare Nytron poison." Last Call revealed in hushed tones. "Just this small capsule is enough to kill three men." 

"I only need to ice one." 

"Use the modified hypospray to launch the capsule." the Nytron continued. "With such a huge crowd at the ceremony, no one will hear or see it. The target will die instantly due to heart failure." 

"Sounds too damn merciful." Helmsley grunted. 

Last Call shrugged. "It can't be traced during an autopsy. No one will suspect murder." 

"You Nytron certainly have some toxic goodies for being so lame." Hunter commented, pocketing the capsule as Last Call counted credits. "How is that?" 

Last Call smiled. "Selling to sleazy traitors like you helps fund our movement. Ironic, ain't it?" 

"Hunter?" Helmsley felt a surge of panic squeeze his heart as Stephanie's voice floated over the treetops. "Honey, I know you're here somewhere." 

"Steph-hold on! Don't move! I'll find you." 

"I've waited long enough for you to find me!" she snapped, stumbling over some rough vegetation and into the clearing. "What in god's name are you doing way out here?" 

Hunter sighed with relief as he realized they were alone. He'd learned one too many valuable lessons about keeping Stephanie fully unaware of his evil intentions. "Baby, I knew you'd come." 

"What?" 

"Think of it as a game." Hunter pulled her into his strong, muscular arms, kissed the top of her head. "I make you so darn mad being late you hunt me down like the dog I am. You're so cute when you're angry that I simply have to ravish you where you stand." 

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." But she laughed anyways. She wanted to believe almost anything he said about loving her. "What if I'd just packed my bags and stormed back to the TitanPrize?" 

"Not allowed." he reminded her. "You've been asked by Wrestlefleet to present Commander Crock with his medal of courage tomorrow." 

"Ugh." Stephanie frowned. "All he did was save those ditzy teen idols Edge and Christian, like they would've been a great loss. And even that robotic ninny Jericho could've repaired a shuttle simple warp core." 

Helmsley's eyes darkened. How was it that Steph always managed to insert Y2Jerk's name in almost every conversation? "I bought you something, just in case my apology wasn't enough." 

"Awww Hunter." Stephanie smiled brightly as he placed a small black jewelry box in her hands. She was almost blinded by the way the Resian starlight reflected off the diamond's glassy surface; the silver chain that held the precious gem was as delicate as air. "Where did you find something so...so perfect?" 

"When I showed a picture of you to the man behind the counter, he knew only the most beautiful diamond in the store was good enough." Hunter pulled the chain around her throat, resisting the urge to pull it a little too tightly..."Wouldn't let me walk out of the store with anything less dazzling than this." 

Stephanie had already forgotten the lights show and being stood up and all his stupid excuses. _He really loves me...._

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-ENSIGN LITA'S QUARTERS 

The world was fading to black. Dr. Taker stood over Stephanie, his gray eyes devoid of emotion as he pierced her spine with a needle. Lita was unable to speak. Aerialian D.N.A from her body was now a part of her enemy; someone she loathed would walk again because of her. 

The little princess started to choke, her skin flushing red, losing color, turning blue. The nurse slid a hypospray into her throat, but Stephanie's vitals had vanished from the monitor. Lita could see them disappear. She watched as another nurse put an oxygen mask over her own mouth... 

She felt someone touch her hand. Commander McMahon-Helmsley stood beside her and together they watched the medical staff hover over the two bio-beds- 

Lita's heart hammered so violently she thought it was in her throat. Cold sweat had soaked the sheets clean through again, leaving her feeling like a damn fool. Counselor Snow had explained that most surgical patients had dreams like that, because it was much more difficult to cope with being invaded by doctors than most people realized. Taker had assured her the operation was completely successful-no one had died on the table. 

She stumbled out of bed, dazed by fatigue, and turned on her vidphone. 

"Ensign Lita?" 

"Commander." Lita had pulled Stephanie out of bed, that much was clear. It was kind of satisfying, seeing her in wrinkled pajamas with black circles under her eyes. "I uhhhh had a question about something." 

"It's not even dawn yet." Stephanie frowned. "I mean, shouldn't you and Lt Hardy be-never mind. Little Jeffy must be all snuggled up in his own widdle bed with his teddy bear." 

Lita bit her tongue, hard. "How's Hunter?" 

"Very attentive, thank you." Stephanie wasn't dumb. Lita could pretend to be her little girlfriend, but she just wanted some ammo for Lt Commander Jericho. "Your question?" 

"Er.." Lita had to think quick. "Lt. Benoit. Wasn't he supposed to drop off some project in Engineering today? I thought Captain McMahon wanted Ensign Matt and I to analyze it before it went on to Commander Kane. Must be a weapon of some sort." 

"I'm on vacation, Lita." Stephanie sighed. "I don't really know anything about that. Ask the 'droid." 

"Where did you get that necklace?" Lita studied the diamond that sparkled against Stephanie's skin. If Hunter had bought that for her, then he had done it with dirty money. No way could a Wrestlefleet ensign afford a rock like that. Heck, there were times she couldn't afford a good meal at the Smackdown, let alone an expensive chunk of ice like the commander had around her neck. 

"Hunter." Stephanie smiled. "Kind of puts those cheesy flowers Lt Hardy always buys you into perspective, doesn't it?" 

"Good night, Commander." Lita snapped the vidphone off. Sometimes it was really better to ignore those annoying gut feelings.... 

***

DECK 5-RESEARCH AND SCIENCE 

"Don't you ever get the urge to just ignore those gut feelings?" Ensign Matt asked with a sigh, as he nearly sent a tray of test tubes crashing to the floor. "I mean, geez, sneaking into Lt Benoit's lab is like begging to swallow your teeth." 

"Captain McMahon would be very upset if we didn't complete our analysis." Lita's tone was downright prissy. "Not our fault Mr. Benoit makes it so difficult." 

"We should've spoken to Lt Commander Jericho-" 

"Jericho?" Lita asked scornfully. "Did you see him last night, letting that wench Kimberly buy him a drink? I swear she's filling his head with some nonsense." 

Matt didn't say anything, knowing how most ship's females felt about the Nytron defector. "Yeah well, I don't think we need to call the Captain's attention to my breaking and entering skills. I'll end up like X-Pac, waiting tables in the Smackdown." 

"Don't worry, Matty." Lita smiled sweetly. "Computer - minimal lights. Everyone thinks Jeff has all the talent." 

"Ha ha." Matt was opening various cabinets and cases, but there was no sign of the oh so special project he and Lita were to analyze. It should've been easy to spot, even with such low lighting. After all, it was a compact plasma bomb in a shimmering containment field, not exactly a needle in a haystack. "Odd. Maybe he sent it to Commander Kane first thing." 

"I asked Chyna earlier." Lita frowned at him. "Kane hadn't seen it yet." 

"Maybe we can find an overview of the project." Matt sat down at Lt Benoit's computer, smoothly breaking down a series of security firewalls. "This guy's as weird as he looks. No one locks up a research computer this tight unless they've got a major case of paranoia." 

"There." Lita pointed at a file dated for that very morning. 

"Interesting." Matt called up the project file, negotiating a maze of passwords to get there. "We sure wouldn't get this level of detail from a plain ol' tri-corder. Small-sized explosive device powered by pure plasma, meant to vaporize everything within a six foot radius." 

"Well that's not like the most powerful bomb in the universe." Lita wrinkled up her nose. "That's the big bad weapon Captain McMahon is bragging about?" 

"Lita, Lita, Lita." Matt sighed. "You could fit a bomb like this inside someone's comm badge. It's actually pretty darn clever if you want to assassinate an individual or a small group of people. Great for terrorist style attacks and wouldn't leave a trace of the victim's genetic material." 

She shivered. "You're pretty good at this hacking stuff." 

"Me?" He grinned. "I'm just a simple Aerialian ensign. Jeff's the one with all the skills." 

"I guess we should ask ourselves where the bomb is now." 

"No." Matt frowned at the screen. "We should ask ourselves why Benoit has been sending messages over high-security Wrestlefleet frequencies. I can't decode what they are, but where in god's name did he get the command codes to access this channel?" 

"He's pretty mysterious." Lita shurgged, tried to ignore the icy sweat that clung to the nape of her neck. "And he got promoted pretty fast by Captain McMahon. Benoit could be an undercover intelligence officer for all we know." 

"I suppose that would make sense." Matt didn't feel good about it either. "It's not like anyone pays attention to the guy. But still, why would an intelligence officer need to do a cloaked transport down to the surface of Copeland-9?" 

"He wouldn't." Lita closed her eyes, concentrated hard. The sense of dread she felt was so overwhelming it made her dizzy. She knew she should listen to what her subconscious was trying to tell her, make some sort of connection, but it was just too much right now... 

"Someone's coming." Matt whispered, powering down the computer, hoping he hadn't left a trace of his invasion there. "Computer-lights off." 

***

"Ensigns." Lita and Matt froze in the corridor. Benoit was standing behind them, expressionless. "Can I help you two?" 

"We were looking for Ensign Crash." Lita smiled. "We know Houdinians are sometimes up 24/7 and since we couldn't sleep, we thought he might want to hang out." 

"Well, he's not here." the scientist said bluntly. "But since you suffer from insomnia, there is a project I could use an opinion on. If you wouldn't mind?" 

Lita and Matt exchanged glances. There was no special project in the lab, and once again they had the misfortune of knowing too much about something that was none of their business. Matt was starting to think Lita was cursed, or at the very least a walking, talking, living, breathing trouble magnet. 

"Sorry." Lita started backing her way down the hall. "We're busy tonight." 

Benoit merely laughed as the two ensigns broke into a run and disappeared into a turbolift. 

***

HOLODECK 2 

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Benoit's tone was so flat and mirthless it chilled Lita and Matt to the bone, which was rather difficult to do as they were stuffed into an overly warm Jeffries tube next to the holographic generator. It should have blocked their signal for the most part. "I'm a scientist. Nothing escapes my observation." 

"Good idea, Lita." Matt hissed. 

"Oh shut up Hardy." Lita scowled. "Are you sending that message to Jericho?" 

Matt was tapping away the small panel inside the tube, though the computers in the cramped Jeffries compartments were too basic to be all that useful. "Jericho? Are you nuts? If your creepy little hunch is right then the last thing we need is to have him blow a freaking fuse over this. I'm contacting Chyna." 

"Oh. okay." Lita knew Chyna could be trusted, that she would understand women's intuition or whatever it was. And if she could use what Matt was sending her, then she'd also impress the hell out of Kane and maybe get a promotion to ensign. 

"Lita. Matt. I am not the Degenerates or the Nytron. I have no need for an unnecessarily high body count, but you must understand I can't allow you to leave the Jeffries tubes right now. Aerialians tend to be rather pure of heart and you would jeopardize the future of Wrestlefleet by acting irrationally." 

"We don't even know what the heck you're talking about." Lita said with exasperation. "Who's going to listen to a couple of stupid lowlife ensigns anyways?" 

"The person who saved Stephanie's life could easily get the Captain's attention." 

Matt wanted to say something clever, like Benoit would never get away with it, but the truth was, with he and Lita out of the way Benoit would come out smelling like roses. 

"I'm going to send something through the Jeffries tube that will knock you both out for 48 hours or so." Benoit spoke so clinically, as if discussing an experiment. "It will be strong, so chances are you will have short-term memory loss when you wake up. Fighting it would be very bad for your hearts." 

"Hurry." Lita snapped at Ensign Matt. 

"I'm trying." He grinned at her, as a woozy feeling settled over his brain. "You know, Jeff's gonna be pretty mad when he finds out we slept together up here...."   


***

COPELAND-9, ADAMS ARENA 

"Hard to believe those two losers even have Wrestlefleet rank." Stephanie yawned, bored and disgusted as she half-paid attention to Ensigns Too Hottie and Sexay bust a move in the middle of their wrestling match. The Copeland-9 natives loved it, however, and the exhibition fighting tournament was proving to be a smashing success. As long as things didn't get too bloody or heated and the crew kept the nitwits laughing and entertained, all was fine and dandy. 

"They do suck." Road Dogg muttered. "Me and X-Pac are tempted to jump in there and kick both their sorry behinds just for the hell of it." 

"Please." X-Pac rolled his eyes. "I need my energy to throw up at Rock's medal ceremony. That idiot Ensign Angle was all whining to me in the Smackdown yesterday cause Medals of Courage were shinier and made with more gold than Olympic ones. Like I give a flying-" 

"Hush." Stephanie put a finger to her lips. "Daddy is going to speak." 

Captain McMahon entered the center of the squared circle after the two goofball Ensigns took their bows. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I think it's time to crank this tournament up a notch, so I proudly present to you two of Wrestlefleet's finest warriors...Lieutenant Chris Benoit and Lieutenant Rock!" 

"ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY!" 

It was like a sonic assault on Stephanie's delicate ears. She absently fingered the diamond at her throat, taking pleasure in the silence that settled over the crowd as Rocky got his teeth methodically booted down his throat, his head split wide open to the horror of all the mindless little fans. Hard to make two credit slut and dirty panty jokes with your jaws wired shut.... 

"What that's silly bastard doing?" Lt Commander Austin folded his arms across his chest as Vince pulled Benoit to the corner. He was getting into the brutal mudhole-stomping, never did like that damn Rock anyways.... 

"Listen up, Benoit." Captain McMahon hissed in the scientist's ear. "You know as well as I do these people cashed in their credits to see Rock shine in this one. There ain't a damn person in Wrestlefleet who doesn't realize you're the most technically sound fighter out there, but Copeland-9 is about fun and games. Now let him kick your ass and that IS an order!" 

"Aye sir." Fun and games indeed. Well, Copeland-9 would soon be treated to the deadliest game of all.... 

***

"Am I the most gorgeous girl in the universe or what, Hunter?" Stephanie twirled around in front of the full-length mirror in her suite, admiring how the Resian silk clung to her curves just so....and the way the pearl-colored fabric made that diamond seem to glow. "Hunter?" 

"I prefer a girl with a little less thigh actually." 

Stephanie whipped around. "Hardly? Why are you pointing your phaser at me?" 

"I bet you say that to all the ensigns." Jeff grinned at her, lowering the weapon a little. "I just want your necklace is all." 

"My necklace." She clutched it possessively. "If you need a loan, all you have to do is ask. Robbery is kind of beneath you. Actually, right now it's all that's beneath you." 

"Funny." Jeff sighed. Why did he always have to be the one to save this little idiot's life? It never got him any less abuse. "Now give me the diamond." 

"Jeff, there is nothing tackier than giving your girlfriend stolen merchandise." Stephanie shook her head. "I mean, someone like Lita would be much happier with a shiny new phaser." 

He counted backwards from ten, trying to keep his finger from pushing his own phaser past stun. "Don't make me shoot you, Steph." 

Stephanie laughed. "I know Jericho has been trying to teach you how to act all tough and everything, but that really sucked. I don't believe you'd even step on a fly right now, let alone shoot your commanding officer." 

"I won't" Jeff assured her. "As long as you do exactly what I say." 

"I'm going to have you tested for drugs Hardly." Stephanie faced the mirror, sweeping her hair up and letting a few curls dangle in her eyes. Oh yes, very sexy. "Maybe you want to sell my rock to support your habit." 

Lt Hardy flinched a little as Commander McMahon-Helmsley reeled back in shock, falling across the bed from the force of the phaser fire. It was only a light stun at most, but it gave him enough time to pop the latch on the necklace and get it safely away from Stephanie. 

"Well, this is the part where Lita's supposed to come in and find me on the bed with you." Jeff muttered, removing the lazer knife from his holster and carefully cutting into the diamond. 

"Hah." Stephanie groaned. "She'd never believe you knew what to do with me." 

"You alright?" 

"You're going to pay for this dress." She examined the black singe marks that now marred the silken shoulder of her beautiful outfit. Her pretty clothes being ruined made her forget the searing pain in her arm. 

"I didn't wear it." 

"I'm surprised." Stephanie said coldly. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jeff had cut the gem cleanly in half. He shivered; Lita had been eerily right for having no proof. "And is this what you mean by Hunter loving you to pieces?" 

"You-you mangled my necklace!" Stephanie screeched, staring at the mess that Lt Hardy dangled in front of her. "Hey, what the heck is that?" 

"You're an Engineer. You know damn well what it is." 

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, that's a-that's a plasma bomb. It's so compact that it must be...." Stephanie's tone was brisk, professional. "....Five times as lethal as your average-sized plasma charge. Concentrated so much it would vaporize you into nothingness. Oh god." She buried her face in her hands. "No wonder you're here. My life is in danger." 

She glared at Jeff. "I swear you plot my death every other month just so you can play hero." 

"Well it is my career advancement plan." he said sarcastically. "I'd love to be promoted to Official Spoiled Witch's Guardian Angel!" 

"I'm going to have you work different shifts than Jericho. You're picking up his very smart mouth." 

Oh yeah, Jeff was going to get Jericho for making him play Stephanie's babysitter. If the jerk would just admit how he felt, he could do this thankless job all on his own.... 

"Now let's see..." Lt Hardy eyed the split diamond. "Attempting to destroy this thing will blow it sky high so we can't do that. And we need to assume that either Benoit or Helmsley has their finger on the trigger..." 

"So swallow it Hardly." 

"Maybe Hunter should swallow it." Jeff suggested. "Cause let me tell you, Commander, there is no way he's escaping prosecution for this." 

"Wait a minute." Stephanie sank back down on the bed. "You're saying that my own husband tried to off me? No....you're wrong..." 

"I think this little bomb that was around your sweet little neck supports my case." Lt Hardy dangled the lethal weapon in front of her eyes, making them water with angry tears. "He's helping Lt Benoit assassinate Rock and he was gonna use you as a human explosive." 

"He bought it at a store...for me." 

"With what freaking money?" Jeff demanded. "Helmsley can't afford something like this and deep down inside you know that's true." 

"Get out." 

"Stephanie-" 

Commander McMahon-Helmsley's eyes had hardened until they glittered like polished stones. She was charging up her phaser; Lt Hardy could see it was set to kill. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm a Wrestlefleet Commander and I can take care of this like one. Just go do something with that bomb. Stick it down your shorts for all I care, just get rid of it." 

"Aye sir." Jeff tapped his comm badge. "I'm ready to beam back to the shuttlecraft Chyna. She insists on handling this alone." 

Silence. "Commander, they're very dangerous men." 

"Well, I'm feeling pretty dangerous myself right now." Stephanie assured her with a grim smile. 

***

"Honey what the hell happened to your dress?" Hunter was startled to see the burn mark on his wife's shoulder. It was promised that Stephanie wouldn't be drawn into this... 

"Lt. Hardy shot me." Stephanie informed him icily as she raked through her closet, looking for something to replace the damaged dress with. 

"That little Aerialian freak?" Hunter spat. "I'm getting a little sick of the way he acts like your damn shadow! I'll shave his rainbow head clear to the scalp if he's scarred you." 

"I'll live." Stephanie turned around, charged phaser pointed at her husband's chest. "No thanks to you." 

Hunter blinked. "Stephanie...take it easy. What is this? Bad PMS?" 

Stephanie shook her head. "God, you're feeling so guilty you're ripping off tired insults from Jericho. Hey, I am the last person who minds a little plot to put Rock in an early grave, but to use me... I was gonna commit suicide today and not even know it..." 

"What are you talking about?" Hunter demanded. "Maybe being hit by Jeff's phaser has your brains scrambled. I'll hail a doctor-" 

"Don't touch your comm badge." He ducked as a stream of deadly light nearly took his head off. "Do you realize I'm going to have to go crawling up to Jericho and tell him he was right? I should kill you right now just for that." 

"I am suggesting you never mention that bucket of bolts again." Hunter started to fume. "I mean, I'm starting to think you have three-ways with him and Lt Hardy the way you're always blathering on about them!" 

"Is that why you put a bomb in my necklace you scumbag?" Stephanie cried. "Ever hear of a divorce sweetheart?" 

"A bomb in your...." Hunter was so shocked his face drained of color. "No Steph... they promised." 

"You're a really fine actor, Ensign Helmsley." She was choking on her own sobs. "Let's see you act your way out of a Wrestlefleet firing squad. Or maybe I should just put you out of your misery here and now." 

"Stephie...baby." Hunter gently took the phaser from her hands, held her tight. "Benoit is dead meat you hear me? I was played... I'd never allow you to be hurt, I swear it." 

"How could I not get hurt?" she demanded. "You're messing with illegal weapons and trying to kill Lt. Rock... you're a moron if you thought I wouldn't be dragged into this!" 

"I'm sorry Stephanie, dammit I am sorry." Hunter stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. "Rock is a disgrace to Wrestlefleet, we were just trying to do something good!" 

"You're disgusting." Stephanie bought her knee up in an unexpected lowblow, forcing Hunter to the ground. 

"Steph! Stay here!" Hunter yelled after her, watching in horror as she raced out of the room without her phaser, her only means of protection. Benoit had to be out there, waiting to destroy Rock, willing to sacrifice his wife to do it.... 

She might be frightened of him right now, but she had no idea about how much more intense the terror could get! 

***

"Leaving Copeland-9 so soon, Commander?" Stephanie screamed as Lt Benoit wrapped a massive arm around her neck, nearly cutting off the supply of oxygen to her brain. 

"I can't breathe." she gasped, eyes darting around helplessly. 

"Too bad." Lt Benoit laughed. "Looking for your precious puppy on a leash, Lt Hardy? I can assure you, he is hardly a worthy adversary for me. That piece of junk Y2J should find you a more capable bodyguard." 

"What?" Stephanie struggled against his impossible grip. So this is what they meant by mad scientist huh? "You're lying! If Jericho was down here he'd slap my face while you held me." 

"Do you think I'm dumb, deaf, and blind when I sit in the Smackdown?" Benoit demanded. "I may not speak much, but I hear things." 

"Hardy's just a pathetic suck-up." Stephanie whispered defiantly. "And I don't put much stock in the claims of a man willing to use one Wrestlefleet officer to murder another!" 

"There is a revolution going on in Wrestlefleet my dear." Benoit explained calmly, his hand removing something from his holster that Stephanie couldn't see. She felt ice-cold metal against her flesh, poised beneath her ear. "Many of us are trying to change what a joke this federation has become. We are too large to be stopped and have too much help from certain higher-ups to be contained." 

Commander McMahon-Helmsley turned her head slightly, spit in his face. "Oh yeah! That's one hell of a cowardly movement that kills a woman to advance it's cause! Even that piece of garbage Rock has more guts than to arm a dirty two credit slut like me and blow me up to settle a personal grudge!" 

Ugh. Has she just defended that cruddy Communications Officer? Soon, she'd be sticking up for the honor of Jericho if she didn't watch it. 

"I will be injecting you with a rare Nytron poison. It will stop your heart instantly and cannot be traced, not even by the incredible Dr. Taker." 

The empty hypospray! "Hunter will know." 

"I don't wish to kill either one of you." Benoit said flatly. "You know too much. I will terminate Hunter, perhaps set up an attractive crime scene that makes it look like he poisoned you and then couldn't live with the guilt." 

Stephanie wanted to think of him as sick, twisted in some way, but he was just so damn matter of fact that cold was the only word that sprang to mind. 

"Well, well, well, wasting decent poison on a whore with dirty panties." Lt Rock was laughing it up as he pointed a phaser at the back of Benoit's head. "The Rock doesn't know who the bigger monkey's ass is. You for thinking you could kick the Rock's ass all over god's green earth or me for trying to save the life of that streetwalking trash!" 

"Shouldn't you be at a Medal of Courage ceremony prostituting yourself and Wrestlefleet for the adoration of the crowd?" Benoit demanded, slowly moving to face the Rock. 

"No sudden moves jabroni!" Lt Rock kept the phaser aimed between's Benoit's fiercely burning eyes. "Funny what you learn when you discover half the Engineering ensigns passed out in a Jeffries tube!" 

"Indeed." Benoit sneered. "I am not surprised you didn't figure out this screwjob for yourself." 

"Lita?" 

Lt Rock looked at Stephanie curiously. "She'll live. Funny. She asked about you too. The Rock told her you'd be returned to the ship as filthy and cheap as ever!" 

"You shouldn't have lied to the naive girl!" Stephanie squealed in pain as she felt the needle prick her skin. She listened to her own heart beating a mile a minute, waited for it seize up with her eyes closed. 

"Open your eyes Steph. You're not going to die today." 

She spit out mouthfuls of dirt after Lt Benoit shoved her to the muddy ground. Hunter was smirking at the scientist, her phaser in his hands. 

"See Benoit, I'm a rebel too. I have some pretty damn good instincts about what type of bad guy I can trust and what type I should've shot on sight. Guess which category you fall into?" 

Benoit cracked open the hypospray. "A water capsule." 

"I destroyed the poison yesterday." Hunter told him. "Following your slow, structured planning really started to chafe on me. I don't answer to ex-WCW radical garbage...no matter how reformed they claim to be." 

Lt Rock was helping a shaken Stephanie struggle to her feet. He tapped his comm badge as she brushed dirt away from her torn, mud-splattered dress. "McMichaels-get me and this fifty cent flatbacking crab colony off this jabroni moon!" 

"You don't want a piece of me?" Benoit challenged him. He had a supremely confident manner for a man just caught in serious crimes against Wrestlefleet. 

"When I bring it, boy, there won't be any way for you to handle it." Lt Rock and Commander McMahon-Helmsley disappeared in the shimmering blue light of the transporter beam, the threat hanging in the air. 

Hunter threw down his phaser. "You almost killed my wife Benoit. A gun just isn't gonna make you suffer the way I need you to." 

Benoit's muscles tensed but he remained rooted to the spot. "Rock is still alive. You owe me for that." 

Helmsley laughed. "You son of a-you're going to get down on your knees and pray that you can go back in time and slit your wrists when I get started on you." 

That was fine by Benoit. He'd go through hell itself to rid this world of the blight known as Lt Rock... 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-THE SMACKDOWN 

Commander Shane McMahon looked up from the pile of padds he had stacked in front of him, a synthehol halfway to his lips. He'd decided to start hanging around the bar more; gossip was flung around so carelessly he might just hear something valuable.... 

He didn't like the nasty, filthy, sickening lies being spread about his classy sis and that over-priced computer Lt Commander Jericho. 

"Lt Hardy? Ensign Lita? Something I can assist you with?" 

They both wore cool smiles as they sat at the table. Shane raised an eyebrow. 

"I really don't have time-" 

"Make time Commander." Jeff was a little insolent for being nothing more than his sister's pet lieutenant. 

"I know you have a lot of leeway with my soft-hearted sis, but I'll throw your sorry ass in the brig so fast it'll snap that twisty little neck of yours!" Shane snapped. "Is the protocol clear now, Lieutenant?" 

"You are a sub-human waste of D.N.A." Lita didn't give a damn about protocol. "You sit there and pretend to love Stephanie when all along you knew she was a walking time bomb? I have the urge to puke all over you." 

"Pretty serious charges there, Lita." Shane leaned back in his chair, the epitome of cocky with that damn McMahon smirk plastered across his face. "And if you think the fact that the two of you have saved her life like a zillion times holds any water with me, you've barked up the wrong tree!" 

"It's quite a coincidence, Shane O'Mac." Jeff wasn't about to be shaken by the spoiled snob's trash talk. "You call me back to the TitanPrize at the exact moment Benoit takes your sister hostage. I'm needed in Engineering for some nonsense warp core diagnostics that even Ensign Christian could handle right when Dr. Frankenstein is cooking up a poison cocktail with Stephie's bloodstream." 

"Bad timing, Lt Hardy." Shane shrugged. "What can I say?" 

"Can you say how Benoit got the necessary command codes to send messages to dangerous Nytron terrorists?" Lita demanded. 

"Well, Matty boy was certainly capable enough." Shane pointed out. "Wonder how little brother would like to be booted down to the rank of cadet?" 

"Don't you threaten me, preppie." Jeff's teeth were bared in a predatory smile. "You'd be hard-pressed to pass off the shocking news that Benoit was merely a secret operative working under your command as innocent considering what we know." 

"What you know could fit on the head of a pin." Shane retorted. "You're an Aerialian freak with mutant hair and I'm a McMahon. Who has more stroke with Wrestlefleet?" 

"It's ironic." Lita's smile was cruel. "Here everyone is worried about the damage that Nytron nitwit can create and the real threat comes from inside our own federation. Did widdle Shane McMahon not get enough hugs when he was widdle so he has to destroy his father's life work?" 

Shane laughed. "You know what, Hardy? I may just have to transfer you out of Engineering. I'm sick and tired of the creepy way you seem to stalk my sister around, always right in position to save her from the Grim Reaper. I could make a very nice case against you in a Wrestlefleet court." 

"Try it, Shane." Jeff shrugged his shoulders. "But I doubt you can convince Stephanie to testify against me." 

"I hate what Wrestlfleet has done to my sister." Shane said, suddenly angry. "She used to have killer instincts and now she's hanging out with the biggest geeks on the ship, playing kissy face with robots." 

"Let me tell you something, Commander McMahon." Jeff stood up, leaned across the table with glacier eyes. "If anything happens to Steph cause of your power trip, if one hair on her head is harmed, rest assured it won't be us you'll have to answer to." 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

Lita smiled at him over her shoulder. "You don't want to find out." 

***

"Ensign Too Hottie is not ready for a serious shift in Engineering." Stephanie scowled in frustration. Every idea Jericho threw at her was stupid, stupid, stupid! 

"Well Stephie, I see it differently." The Y2J Unit's voice was stiffer than cardboard. "He's just not good in tactical, why not give him a push here?" 

Stephanie took a calming sip of her strawberry malt. Chrissie wasn't gonna push her buttons today. "Since when were you a fan of Scottie's?" 

"Since when was it a good idea for you and Trip to reproduce!" Now why didn't his damn filter stop that crack from coming out? 

"What?" Stephanie almost fell out of her chair. "Are you insane? Maybe too much synthehol has fried your circuits?" 

"Forget it." he muttered, glaring down at the personnel padd he had in his hands. He hated the surge of relief he felt-Stephanie could actually mate with any male on this ship and he just wouldn't care! "So I hear Benoyt has been dubbed a hero for exposing the Nytron assassination plot against Crocky?" 

"Yeah I guess." Stephanie couldn't look him in the eyes. Those penetrating baby blues had a way of provoking confessions out of tougher officers than her. It was Matt and Lita who had discovered the deadly scam, and while she would never figure out how the red-headed Aerialian female knew about the necklace, it didn't matter. Because of her damn glory-hog brother, they'd never get any credit. 

Benoit would get away with his stomach-turning behavior and that grated on her, top secret mission or no top secret mission. 

Chris was being infuriatingly quiet. "Hey Jericho, I don't know if 'droids can catch STD's or not, but I'd keep a certain set of "walls" in place around Kimberly if you get what I'm saying." 

"Loud and clear Stephie." Jericho pushed his empty glass away. "And here's a newsflash." He stood up, threw a few credits on the table for Tori's tip. More than enough to pay for a couple hours with the bottom feeding ho he worked with, he thought bitterly. "If I wanted a close encounter of the crab kind, I would've taken you to bed already." 

She cringed as he hovered over her, leering. Why was he so damn angry? "That's fine, Chris. It would be nice to practice faking it with a machine. Maybe you could be pre-programmed to move like Hunter so I wouldn't have to." 

"Slut." He sounded like he meant it. 

"Scrap." There. She meant it too.   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	45. Season 6 Episode 6 Kimberly's Way

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 6

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 6: KIMBERLY'S WAY 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 070920.00. Our guest, Kimberly, continues to win over our crew... although her fears about the Toysrus Colony were luckily unfounded. Wrestlefleet feels the information she can provide us about the Nytrons will be very helpful and we are to show her every courtesy while she is on board our ship. Kimberly has asked for a tour of the ship and I've assigned Ensign Crash to the task. End log." 

With that, the Captain headed to the bridge. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Well, I'm sure you've been here many times, Miss Kimberly. I don't know why you wanted me to take you here again," Ensign Crash said to the dark-haired woman who walked beside him. 

"I just want a complete tour, top to bottom, Crash..." Kimberly replied, "_and I want to learn all about my enemies..._" she thought, but didn't dare say that aloud. 

"HEY! You lech! What do you think you're doing?!" A voice shouted out, echoing through the Smackdown, "Don't you be touching my ass, pervert!" 

Crash turned to see Ensigns Jacqueline and Ivory, glaring daggers at Ensign Malenko. Crash frowned, knowing what had happened. Malenko had been harassing a lot of the female crew lately, and was currently giving Ivory and Jackie an unpleasant leer. 

Crash went up to Malenko, hands on hips, "Mr. Malenko, sir... you have been very impolite to Miss Jackie and Miss Ivory! Shame on you! You should apologize right now!" he demanded. 

Ensign Malenko stood up and stared Ensign Crash down, "Listen, little boy... just because YOU don't know what to do with a woman doesn't mean that _I_ can't have my fun!" With that, Malenko held out his arms, and the ladies-of-the-night sitting at his table quickly took one each and walked out with him. 

"I am NOT a little boy!" Crash shouted before Malenko's back disappeared from sight. 

"That was nice what you did for Jackie, sweetie pie..." Ensign Ivory spoke, and gave Crash a kiss on the cheek. 

"Thank you, honey..." Ensign Jackie said, and kissed Crash's other cheek. 

"Well, gosh, Miss Ivory. Miss Jackie. I was just doing what was right.." Crash smiled shyly, face bright red from the attention. 

Ivory and Jackie laughed at his reaction, and headed out of the Smackdown. 

Kimberly looked at Crash, and smiled to herself. This one would be easy to manipulate! 

***

ENGINEERING 

"You've been spending a lot of time with Ensign Edge lately, Skananie..." Lt. Commander Jericho began, "Trying to teach him some new positions?" 

"If you must know, Y2Jerk, I am going over the modified helm controls with him!" Commander Stephanie replied. 

"Hmmm... I only believe you because Ensign Edge is too in-love with himself to soil his manicured hands with a skank like you!" 

"Well, at least he knows better then to talk to a waste of space like you!" Stephanie said. 

"Gosh, you two are so funny!" a voice spoke up beside them. Commander Stephanie and the Y2J Unit turned to see Ensign Crash smiling, Kimberly beside him, "You'd think you were just pretending to hate each other to avoid liking each other! But I know that's not the case..." he looked thoughtful for a moment, "But gosh... you two fight an awful lot!" he said, then shrugged, "Oh well! I'm here to take Miss Kimberly on a tour of Engineering. Talk to you guys later," he said and turned to Kimberly, "Come on, I'll show ya my station..." he said, and headed over to where he usually spent his duty shift. 

"Oooh... interesting..." Kimberly replied as she looked at the complicated computer console in front of her, then smiled sweetly, "Think you can show me how to use this?" she asked. 

"Well, Miss Kimberly... It's real confusing... and besides, you would need my access code to get into the ship's computer, and I can't tell you that..." he said 

Kimberly pouted flirtatiously, "Oh please, Crash? I reaaaaally wanna try it!" she smiled then, a smile that would make most men weak at the knees, "I'd be very grateful..." she said, her voice dripping with unspoken innuendoes. 

"How grateful...?" Crash asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Her smile grew sly, almost naughty, "I'd do something for you. Something I know you'd want me to do..." she said, voice quiet. 

"Anything?" Crash asked. 

Kimberly ran a hand through his close-cropped hair, "ANY-thing..." she said. 

Crash smiled, his face brightening, "Will you play baseball with me on the holodeck?" 

Kimberly's face now only held confusion, all earlier slyness gone, "Baseball?" she asked. 

He nodded, "Yeah. Whenever I go to play sports with Lt. Commander Jericho, he always wants to play hockey. It's a genetic Kanatian thing I think..." he shrugged. 

Kimberly furrowed her brow, "Uh...." then smiled, "Sure... sure... I'll play baseball with you..." 

"Gosh, thanks!" Crash said happily, "Ok... I'll show you how to go into warp..." he said, and pointed out the controls on the console in front of him, "I still can't give you my access codes though..." 

"But you promised!" 

"I didn't promise to give you my access codes, Miss Kimberly..." Crash replied, "I promised to show you how to use my station..." 

"_Damn!_" Kimberly thought. So maybe Ensign Crash WASN'T as gullible as she had thought. She'd just have to work on someone else then. Someone who could appreciate her advances, unlike the little Ensign beside her. 

She glanced around Engineering. Lt. Jeff Hardy was busy making goo-goo eyes at Ensign Lita. Obviously he wouldn't be interested in anyone else. His brother, Matt... well... why go for an Ensign when she could go for... a Lieutenant Commander! 

Kimberly watched Lt. Commander Jericho from a far, and smiled. They had been shipmates for a few years! Even though the two hadn't gotten along when she first came on board the Titanprize, surely he missed his old crewmate, didn't he? Besides, with as much as he was arguing with Commander Stephanie, he could use a woman's comfort. It was Kimberly's way, after all... 

Yes... Jericho could _definitely_ use Kimberly's attention... 

And Kimberly could DEFINITELY use Jericho's security codes! 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - LATER 

Crash sat at a table sipping at the chocolate milk Miss Chyna had given him. Kimberly had gone to talk to Lt. Commander Jericho, pretty much ignoring the him. "_Ah well,_" Crash thought, "_Let Jericho show her around the ship for a bit,"_

Ensigns Ivory and Jackie came up to him, "Hey Crash..." Ivory started as she sat beside him, "Jackie and I wanted to thank you again for helping us with Malenko..." 

"I told you..." Crash began. 

"... that it was the right thing to do. Crash... not many people would DO the right thing!" Jackie said. Jackie called Tori over, "Hey... get Crash a synthehol. I'm paying..." she said. 

"Oh no no, Miss Jackie," Crash said, "I don't drink..." 

Jackie and Ivory looked at him, "You don't?" Ivory asked. Crash shook his head. 

Just then, Malenko entered the Smackdown with two ladies... and saw Crash immediately. He went up to the table, and glared at Jackie and Ivory, "Why are you two ladies doing hanging around with a kid..." he asked, "... when you really need a man?" He put one hand each on Jackie and Ivory's shoulders, "A man like me..." he grinned slyly. 

"Step off, lech..." Jackie said, and knocked Malenko's hand from her shoulder. Ivory followed suit. 

Crash stood up, hands on hips, "Mr. Malenko, sir... you should really have more respect for ladies!" 

"And what would YOU know about how to treat a lady...?" Malenko asked, getting angry. 

"I grew up with my momma, and three sisters! They taught me right..." he frowned for a moment, "Although cousin's attitude could use some work..." he looked back at Malenko, "That's besides the point! It's not very nice to touch ladies when they don't want to be touched! Or to make rude comments! And you, Mr. Malenko sir, are being VERY rude!" 

Malenko glared at the little Ensign before him, "You. Me. Holodeck 2. Wrestling match! I'll see your little ass there on THURSDAY, kid!" 

With that, he spun around and headed out, ladies in tow. 

***

Chyna watched Malenko leave from her position at the bar, "I hope Crash kicks his ass..." she muttered. 

Terri laughed, "Don't we all!" then grew serious, "So how is the Kimberly watch going?" 

"Not good..." Chyna sighed as she sat on a bar stool, "When I searched her quarters, I found NOTHING," 

"Nothing at all?" 

Chyna shook her head, "I went through her purse, and just found some weird perfume.." Chyna sat down and put her elbows on the bar, propping her head up, "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Kim IS a defector..." she frowned, "and maybe I'm just so bored that I'm looking for something to do. All this waiting to be reinstated as an official Wrestlefleet officer is KILLING me..." 

"But what if you ARE right? It's women's intuition, right? That's hardly ever wrong!" Terri said. 

Chyna smiled, "You're right..." then her smile faded, "But it's difficult doing this myself, you know..." 

"Well, now that Stephanie is finished her little romantic vacation, maybe Chris will have some time to help you..." 

Chyna shrugged, "It can't hurt to ask. He usually comes in here at this time... when his duty shift is finished." 

No sooner did she say that then Lt. Commander Jericho entered the Smackdown. Chyna stood up and was about to head towards him until she saw who entered with him. She frowned, "Kimberly..." Chyna muttered. The two seemed to be yaking away like old friends. But then... they DID serve together for some time... 

Lt. Commander Jericho noticed Chyna at the bar and excused himself from Kimberly. Kimberly blew a kiss at him, allowed him a sly grin, then headed off to talk to the other members of the crew. 

Jericho sat beside Chyna, smiling, "Hey there, warrior princess! How are you?" 

Chyna frowned at him, "Getting awfully friendly with Kimberly, aren't you?" 

"Ahh... Kimmy and I were just going over some old times..." he said, 

"I thought you considered her Skan---Stephanie's evil twin..." Chyna asked. 

"Oh, I do..." he replied, "And... I don't know how it's possible, but she's even worse then Skankanie! You should have heard the lines she was trying to use on Crash in Engineering! Poor guy had NO clue what she was getting at... and now she's stuck playing baseball with him on the holodeck on Friday..." 

Chyna laughed at that, then grew concerned, "YOU aren't Crash though... and I'm sure YOU know what she's getting at, blowing kisses and looking at you that way..." 

"She was playing up the charm, and I was playing back..." he shrugged, "But I'm probably one of the few males on this ship who thinks with his BRAIN first..." 

"That's encouraging... because I was wondering if you'd help me out a bit..." Chyna started. 

"You still don't trust her, hmm?" Jericho asked, "I don't blame you," 

Chyna shrugged, "Women's intuition. I just can't get rid of the feeling that something is going on..." 

"How can I help you?" Jericho asked. 

Chyna smiled, "Well..." she began, "Seeing how Kimberly looks pretty interested in you..." she started, then hesitated. No. She couldn't ask him to do _that_... 

"You want me to get close to her?" he asked. 

Chyna shook her head, "I was going to, but... it wouldn't be fair to you and Ste--" she stopped.   
  
"Me and WHO?" he asked, then smiled, "It's no problem, Chyna..." 

"But..." 

"But WHAT?" he asked. 

Chyna sighed, "Ok. Yes. Can you get close to Kimberly?" she asked, then quickly added, "But not THAT close..." Chyna warned. 

Jericho let out a laugh, "No. I wouldn't touch her if my life depended on it..." The Y2J Unit replied, "She's been with BISHOFF of all people!" he shivered in disgust, the smiled, "Though since she DOES seem to be overly interested in _me _, who am I to deny her the honour of my companionship?" 

"Thanks, Chris..." Chyna said. "You sure you're ok with this?" 

"It's no problem, Amazon goddess... but don't thank me quite yet. Let's see if I can find out anything from the Nytron skank first..." 

Chyna nodded, and Jericho headed off to join his new 'friend', Kimberly. 

***

HOLODECK 2 - Thursday night 

"Let's go Elroy! Let's go Elroy!" the holographic crowd, and various crewmen, chanted as Ensign Crash took to the ring. Ivory and Jackie stood in his corner. 

Soon, Ensign Malenko made his way down the ramp, escorted by two lovely women (as usual). He quickly ran to the ring, and tore into Ensign Crash. Ensign Crash retaliated as the two tied up in the center of the mat. 

The match was on! 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Lt. Commander Jericho came up to Chyna, sat down, and slammed his forehead against the top of the bar, "It's been FOUR days since Kimmy and I have become..." he almost gagged at the word, "_pals... _and let me tell you how much I DESPISE it!" he said, voice muffled by the bar-top. 

Chyna put a comforting arm around his shoulder and squeezed kindly. Jericho winced, but didn't let her see. She didn't know her own strength yet, "And let me tell you how much I appreciate it!" 

He lifted his head and looked at her, "You can show your appreciation by buying me a synthehol..." he said. 

Chyna called Tori over, "Can you get Chris a synthehol?" she asked, and smiled at him, "He needs it right now..." 

"I think I'll need one of Dr. Taker's hyposprays after all this..." he muttered. 

"Awww.... what's wrong, Lt. Commander..." a voice started, oozing with false sympathy. Jericho looked to see Commander Stephanie making her way towards him. He groaned inwardly. This was the LAST thing he needed, "Is your new Nytron girlfriend keeping you up all night?" she asked. 

"Well, Skankanie... I AM fully functional you know... not that YOU would ever have the honour..." he said. 

He smiled secretly at the look of shock on Stephanie's face. Better she think something was happening then find out the REAL reason for his sour mood. If he told her that he was only playing nice with Kimberly to help out Chyna, Stephanie probably wouldn't keep it a secret. 

"I can't believe you!" Stephanie snapped, "How... how... COULD you?" she sputtered. 

He raised his eyebrows. Did she look HURT? "You never thought highly of me, Skankanie," he said, "Why does it bother you to find out how close me and Kimmy are?" 

"It DOESN'T bother me!" she said quickly, almost defensively, "It's just... that I... I mean... oh never mind. I don't care anyway!" with that, she spun on her heel and walked away. 

Chyna watched Stephanie leave, then looked at Jericho, "Hey Chris... when I wanted you to get close to Kimberly, I didn't mean THAT close..." 

Jericho burst out laughing, "Don't worry, Chyna. We're NOT that close! I just wanted to see Skankanie's reaction. Besides... Kimberly's been with BISHOFF!" he still couldn't quite get over that, and shivered once again. 

Chyna snickered, then looked towards the entrance to the Smackdown, "Oh! He's back!" she said. Jericho turned to see Ensign Crash entering the bar, followed by Kitty, Terri, Jackie, and Ivory. The ladies were congratulating him and patting him on the back. 

Malenko followed close behind, walking with a slight limp, and muttering to himself... ignoring the ladies on his arm. 

***

HOLODECK 3 - Friday night 

"How do I hold this thing, Crash?" Kimberly asked as she held a large piece of wood in front of her. 

"Here... you gotta put your hands like this," Crash said, and showed Kimberly how to hold the baseball bat properly. 

Kimberly looked over at Jericho, who was sitting in the stands with Commander Stephanie and various other crewmembers, "Chris... can you show me how to swing ?" she asked. 

"Sure, Kimmy..." Jericho replied, and headed towards her. Stephanie gave him a dirty look, but quickly turned away. 

"Pervert..." Stephanie muttered. Jericho offered her a quick glare, then stood behind Kimberly and put his arms around her, his hands over the bat. 

"Now, Kim... you pull back like this, and swing," he said. 

Kimberly smiled and cozyed into him a bit, "Show me again?" she asked innocently, "I don't think I got it the first time..." 

Jericho tried not to gag at her flirting. 

The Y2J Unit secretly wished he could get an Oscar for his acting, as he was sure no one else on the ship would eeeeeeeever have the guts to pull off a role like this. HE almost didn't... but he had promised Chyna he would help her. There was no backing out now. 

"Thank you, Chris..." Kimberly oozed sweetness, and kissed him on the cheek after he had showed her how to swing the bat a second time. She smiled flirtatiously. 

He returned the smile. _gag_ "No problem, Kimmy..." he said, then headed back to his seat. 

He could feel Stephanie burn a hole though him, and tried his best to ignore her. 

***

ENGINEERING 

Kimberly snuck into Engineering. The lights were low, and the only person there was Lt. Commander Jericho. He was doing some late-night diagnostics. 

"Hi, Chris..." Kimberly said, and sidled up to him with a smile. 

"Hey, Kimmy... can I help you?" he asked. 

She put on an innocent expression, "Oh... nothing... just wanted to see what my favourite android was doing..." she wrapped her hands around his arm and smiled again. 

Lt. Commander Jericho thought he was going to be ill... but hid it well, "I'm just running some tests on the warp core, Kimmy..." he said. 

She rested her head against his shoulder, "Can I see?" she asked. 

An idea came to the Lt. Commander's mind: 

Suuuuure... he'd let her see. He'd let her see EXACTLY what he was doing... 

"Well, I put in my security codes..." he said, and deliberately let her watch as he punched in the secret numbers, "Then I go to the Engineering subroutines..." he explained, and described step-by-step what he was doing. 

Kimberly smiled to herself. She couldn't believe the android was so gullible! He had practically handed her his security codes and the information she needed to run the whole ship from Engineering! _"Damn, I'm good!" _ she thought. "Wow... fascinating..." she said aloud, then reached up and gently tugged at his hair, pulling his face down for a kiss. 

Lt. Commander Jericho didn't know whether to turn off his emotion chip and play along, or just shove her on her ass as a wave of revulsion swept over him. 

Kimberly had touched BISHOFF for heaven's sake! 

***

Commander Stephanie quickly backed into a dark corner and closed her eyes, trying to calm her breathing. She didn't want to see Lt. Commander Jericho and the Nytron defector playing kissy face, she really didn't! 

Hunter was hanging out with his fellow degenerates, and Stephanie was feeling extremely lonely. She had come down to Engineering hoping to run into Jericho, knowing he didn't sleep. She was hoping to have an argument or something with him... but THIS was the last thing she expected. The LAST thing... 

She put a hand to her chest, and wondered why it hurt so much. 

***

WRESTLEFLEET MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON COLONY 10 

Chae saluted High Commander Russo as she entered his office, "Sir! Report from Kimberly aboard the Titanprize. She is in the process of getting close to a high ranking officer in Engineering..." 

"And who is the officer?" Russo asked. 

"Lt. Commander Jericho, sir..." she said. 

Russo raised an eyebrow, "The android?" he asked. 

"He's an ANDROID?" Chae squealed, "But... ewwwwwwwww.... if Kim has to get close to him... ewwww..." she repeated. 

Russo stared at her, "You didn't _know_?" then rolled his eyes. Sometimes these Nytron girls could be so stupid, "He's made headlines as the only android WrestleFleet officer in the UNIVERSE!" he snapped, "Ugh... Never mind. Thank you for the report. You're dismissed!" 

"Yes sir!" she said, then left his office. 

Russo stood up and went to the walk-in closet behind him. He opened it, and smiled, "See, Eric... everything is going as planned... and we DON'T need you. The Nytrons are under _my_ control, and soon, so will all of WrestleFleet!" 

A man with a silver brush-cut looked up at Russo from the chair he was tied too. He tried to speak, but the gag in his mouth prevented that. 

"Sir... sorry for interrupting you again---" a voice spoke. Russo quickly slammed the closet door shut as Chae entered his office. She hadn't seen anything. Good! Chae looked at him, confused, "Sir... am I disturbing you?" 

"YES! What do you want?" High Commander Russo snapped. 

She saluted, "Forgive me, sir... but... it's been a few days since our fellow Nytrons disembarked from the ship... and no one has seen Captain Bishoff since he came to see you..." 

"So? You think I keep tabs on my second in command? Don't concern me with little things like this. If you're so worried, find him yourself!" he replied angrily. 

"Yes sir," Chae replied, saluted again, and left. 

Russo opened the closet once more, and looked at his hostage, "Did you hear that? Bishoff is missing.... I wonder what could have happened to him!" the High Commander said, then laughed a cold, callous laugh. 

Yes. Everything was falling into place. 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	46. Season 6 Episode 7 Through the Looking ...

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 7

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 7: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 070900.00. Pop's is personally escorting Mommy dearest back to Wrestlefleet Headquarters, so while the Genetic Jack-Ass is on Earth, Shane O' Mac now commands this ship! This message is encrypted ladies and gentleman, so if you're reading it then chances are you're five minutes from the business end of a phaser." 

He laughed at his own cleverness and spun around in Vinnie Mac's chair. Oh yes, power could really turn a young man's head. 

"I've been thinking...it's just too risky, too dangerous to be dealing with those Nytron slugs. Not only do they suck as soldiers, but I wanna save Wrestlefleet, not commit treason against it. My intention was merely to use the loathesome insects for their illegal weapons, but as Lt Rock is always thinking...image is everything!" 

Acting Captain Shane McMahon casually called up a set of personnel files, smirking as the faces scrolled by him. He didn't need to be the Giant-Killer he was to neutralize this pitiful little threat. 

"Lt. Jeffrey Hardy..." Funny thing was, Shane used to like the guy. He was one of the few on the crew who could take as much punishment as Commander Shane in fighting exercises and Shane had admired the heck out of that. "Just can't keep your freaky rainbow head out of my sister's business can you? When the time comes, I will find a way to have you executed as a traitor... and pull the trigger myself." 

"And your brother..." Shane sighed, twined his fingers behind his dark hair. "You're gonna be a real thorn in my side, Matty, you really are. So much more talented than anyone gives you credit for...and you will be rewarded, trust me..." 

His smile grew wider, almost leering. "Sweet, sweet Lita. If there's one thing Pops taught me it's that behind every great Captain, there's one fine mistress, although right now Dad is carrying the idea of being faithful a little too far... When I'm the big man on the TitanPrize, Red, there will still be a... position for you." 

Shane paused when his sister's file uploaded, her big brown eyes staring at him from the screen. "What happened to you Stephanie? McMahons made Wrestlefleet, and the way you act, you want our family name to be connected to its corruption? Lt Commander Jericho, he can have his loyalties re-programmed, but you... you... sis I pray that you see my side of things when the time comes, cause otherwise...." 

Family was family. But Wrestlefleet was Wrestlefleet and power was more valuable than blood. 

***

PLANET AERIALIA 

"And then Eddie's all like... Noooo Ensign Crash, I don't think Ivory will let you feed her puppies - she doesn't have _those_ kind of puppies for pete's sake!" 

"I'm soooo sorry!" Tori laughed merrily, bubbly water spraying through the warm, clear air as she clapped her hands together. She reached for her Aerialian cocktail, which rested on the glossy marble surface of the whirlpool. "X-Pac was filling his head with such filthy innuendo! I guess he couldn't resist trying to educate someone who was enjoying milk and cookies!" 

"Ugh-put a fork in me, I think I'm done." Stephanie grimaced as she sat up in her hammock, her skin stinging from too much sun exposure. She pushed her sunglasses up. "Geesh. I've never been this color before." 

The Aerialian sun is a little strong." Lita smiled. "I'm sure Hunter will appreciate the effort." 

"Not." Stephanie frowned back. "When I went to drag Edge and Christian out of the ship's tanning salon for their shift, I caught the jerk gawking at that Nytron gutter trash Kimberly with the rest of his degenerates. I wonder how they'd all like to stare down my prized Resian disruptor - that's pretty darn hot too!" 

Chyna nodded. She felt the Commander's pain. "I appreciate Shane sending us girls to the most wonderful resort on Aerialia for a little R & R, but I suspect his motives are a little... slimy. Sorry Steph." 

"Don't apologize on my account." Stephanie shrugged it off as she poured herself a glass of straight synthehol at the wet bar. Just hearing the name Kimberly made her want to drink herself into a stupor...."I bet if you pricked the little monster, he'd bleed slime." 

"How can anyone just trust a backstabbing Nytron witch because she happens to be beautiful?" Lita demanded. "Hello! If she's willing to sell Russo up the river, that should raise red flags in someone's pea brain!" 

"When men get all hot and bothered, their minds shrink to the size of peas alright!" Tori agreed. "That's in direct proportion to-" 

"Tori!" Chyna exploded with laughter. "God! I'm with you, Lita. Kimmie just sheds a tear and the guys turn to puddles! Never have I been so constantly on the verge of losing my lunch!" 

"What's major gross is the way Lt Commander Jericho has been squiring that scuzzy Nytron port of call around the ship!" Lita shuddered. "I mean, Kimberly shouldn't see-" she froze in mid-sentence. _God maybe Matt is right about me. I just open my big mouth and stick my foot so far in I could choke on it._ "Hey! You girls ever try Aerialian chocolate? It's totally sinful but so worth it!" 

Stephanie was pressing her nails against the glass so hard she could feel it threatening to shatter in her hands. Why did they all have to walk on eggshells around her, acting like the word Jericho was a forbidden curse? "I-I need a walk." She practically threw her glass on the floor and fled the cabin, not even wasting time on sandals. 

"Steph!" Chyna bit her lip, feeling bad. She knew what she had asked Chris to do was far more important than the Commander's feelings, but still.... 

***

"Stephanie!" Lita angrily flung branches out of her face after they had scratched and drawn blood. "Commander - come off it! What are you even doing? You don't even know your way around - dammit!" She shook her finger, which had gone numb from smacking into a wayward branch. 

"Leave me alone!" Stephanie couldn't catch her breath no matter how hard she tried. She leaned against a tree, hugging herself tightly. God, she was shaking like a leaf, tears pouring out of her eyes though she willed them to stop. 

_I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! I wish he was dead! _

The commander knew how childish she was being, didn't really care. She sat on the damp Aerialian soil, burying her head in her hands. 

"That sunburn must hurt really bad." 

"I'm not cut out for peace and quiet." Stephanie sniffled, running a hand across her face to wipe the tears away. If only she could hide her red, puffy eyes from Lita. It was a bad idea to let your inferior officers see you all emotional and out of control. "I need to get back to the TitanPrize and do something useful." 

"I thought things were better with Hunter." Lita didn't play games. 

"Hunter?" Steph laughed bitterly, pushed her sunglasses down her nose. "I think I've forgotten what he looks like. After he saved my life on Copeland-9, I figured... I don't know." 

"He did savagely beat up Benoit for you." 

"Oh yeah." Stephanie said scornfully. "And Shane gave him a three day vacation in the brig for interfering with a Wrestlefleet Intelligence Operation. Even my own brother has turned on me." 

"Shane is-" This time, Lita pulled back. If Steph didn't believe that her hubby was total crud, she wasn't going to buy anything bad about her own flesh and blood. "Doing his job." Ugh. 

"I'm jealous of you." Commander McMahon-Helmsley blurted out, blushing furiously. "Jeff is a real wimp...and a total dork, and I mean, someone really really needs to speak to him about the nails, but he's so sweet and devoted." 

Good lord. If the Commander kept talking, Lita would start to question why she was even dating Jeff. "Yeah he's a sweet kid but... sometimes I'd trade him for someone dark and dangerous like Hunter. " 

"Liar." 

"Hey." Lita knew darn well this wasn't about Helmsley. "Maybe Jericho is just doing research on Nytron STD's." 

"Right." Stephanie laughed. "It's not even logical you know? He just keeps telling me what a nasty, filthy, dirty, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho I am and he latches onto some nasty whore who's been laid more times than old carpeting!" 

Wow! Now that was catty! "Men aren't logical. Even electronic ones." 

"I don't even give a flying leap what Chris is doing!" Stephanie's eyes flashed behind her glasses. "I hope he's having a malfunction in his perverted little computer mind and he just explodes! Oh yeah, Stephanie's the skank, Stephanie's the slut, and he just goes and-" 

"Cut the crap Commander!" Lita just didn't have that talent for keeping stuff bottled up inside, no matter how much Matt and Jeff encouraged her to try it. "You're not a bed-hopping carnival ride for ensigns are you, Steph? I don't know why the heck you run that game by Jericho, but-" 

"I don't know about carnival ride, Lita." Stephanie said coldly. "But your boyfriend sure got plenty of mileage out of my lips a few months ago." 

Lita held her hands behind her back. It was the only way she could refrain from slapping her superior across the face. "Want me to scratch your eyes out, Steph? Call you a cheap, nasty slut? Forget it! Maybe you're just scared that if you don't fake being a tramp, Chris won't have any reason to pay attention to you!" 

"You are way out of line, Ensign!" 

"Just tell me why, Steph?" Lita would never sink so low as to do this to herself...."Why do you wanna be the dirtiest joke on the ship?" 

Stephanie turned her back on the Aerialian and walked away. She didn't like being exposed, even if the truth was better than the wall of lies she'd hidden behind. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-TRANSPORTER ROOM-2 

"This is sooo exciting!" Kimberly feigned interest in the mundane workings of the transporter console as the yucky Ensign Malenko leered at her, his hand inching disgustingly close to her behind. She missed the light touch of that flirty android. "So you're going to make the girls just appear there on that fancy pad? It's like...magic!" 

"Baby," Ensign Malenko said in that gravelly voice of his. "This is science. Magic is what happens between the sheets with me!" 

"Yes... I'm sure you have an impressive magic wand." Kimberly could taste the bile in her throat. "Can I watch?" 

"Like you can take your eyes off me?" Ensign Malenko winked. "Ready for the love machine to bring you up?" 

"Just beam us up, scumbag!" Chyna snapped through the comm, "Or should I have Ensign Crash kick your ass again?" 

"Heh heh, I'm on it Chyna." Ensign Malenko could feel his ears burning. Freaking Houdinian makin' him look like a wuss in front of all the ladies.... 

Kimberly giggled. "Awww I know you let the little cutie pie beat ya Dean! It was a good boost for his self-esteem!" 

"Hey - I'm all heart." Ensign Malenko geared up the transporters, hoping the four women were returning in their bikinis, especially that spitfire Lita...whoa! 

"Now what happens...if you push this itty bitty button?" Kimberly blinded him with her smile as she nudged a lever next to the bio-meters. 

"Hey! Aw geeeez, Kimmie!" Ensign Malenko could see his career flashing before his eyes as Acting Captain Shane McMahon whipped into the transporter bay to await his sister's arrival. The McMahon boy just didn't have Vince's level-headed approach to things. 

"Where's my sis?" Acting Captain McMahon made a show of consulting his fancy Resian chronometer. "I have like the sickest news for her. Mom and Pops will be renewing their wedding vows at a little fiesta in the Smackdown two days from now. " 

"Come on now Commander," Ensign Malenko laughed nervously. "Just cause they're old doesn't mean the parts don't work!" 

"WHAT?" Shane gawked at him. 

"Trying to catch flies or what big brother?" Stephanie eyed her sibling curiously. 

Shane was staring at his baby sister, his jaw almost dropping to the floor. 

"Oh my god." Poof! Malenko's precious ensign status had just magically disappeared! 

"Never seen a suntan before, guys?" Chyna raised an eyebrow. 

"I think this may be my fault girls." Kimberly giggled, her face tinted with a very pretty, embarrassed pink. 

Girls was right. Acting Captain Shane McMahon wouldn't have believed it had he not seen it with his own two eyes. Chyna, Tori, Lita, and Stephanie were eight years old again! 

***

SICKBAY 

"Just when I think I've seen it all." Dr. Taker grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief as he poked a tri-corder underneath Stephanie's pig-tailed hair. "All of 'em are biologically kids, but they're intellectually and emotionally in their 20's." 

"I want to be grown up again!" Stephanie pouted. 

"This sucks." Little Lita was less tactful. 

Dr. Taker smiled coldly. If they'd had his so-called youth, they wouldn't be complaining a lick. And since when did women want to be older than they had to be? "Ensigns Crash and Guerrero are with McMichaels seeing if they can't reverse this." 

"Oh god... Eddie." Chyna groaned, burying her little face in her hands. All her strength and power were gone, and now her Latino Heat was going to see her like this? 

"Brings back memories, Stephie." Shane leaned over and rubbed his knuckles against her head. "Or should I say piggy wiggy?" 

Stephanie scowled. She hated that nickname, hated getting nuggies from her bully brother, and damn well hated everything associated with her pampered, loveless childhood! "Choke on it Shane, just choke on it!" 

"I'm gonna have Mom and Pops wash your mouth out." Acting Captain McMahon was really getting his kicks with this. "And you know what young lady? You're not too old to take over my knee! Hey! Maybe you could be the flower girl at their icky second wedding!" 

"You're a nerd." Lita stuck her tongue out at him. 

"I know you are but what am I!" Shane was laughing as he headed out of Sickbay. "Oh and Taker? If they're just as brainy as before and unhurt, I want them given clearance to go back to work? We've got a ship to run here!" 

"Aye sir." Little devil, Dr. Taker though icily. He couldn't wait for the day that Shane's balloon was burst in a big way. 

"I'm telling on you!" Stephanie yelled after him, hot little tears swimming in her puppy dog eyes. 

She couldn't be expected to work in Engineering like this! 

***

ENGINEERING 

_Oh god just take a picture, it'll last longer!_ Stephanie tried to keep her head high, which was hard to do, considering the little pink bows she had placed in her braids by Jackie and Ivory while she was sharing milk and cookies with Ensign Crash. 

She quietly slipped past Lieutenant Hardy and Lt Commander Jericho, who were close to the blue glow of the warp core, discussing something heatedly. 

"Jeff, you shouldn't have let Ensign Edge speak to you like that!" 

Lt Hardy's face was red. "I explained the protocol-" 

"Protocol?" Jericho laughed, making Jeff's skin turn a darker shade of crimson. "Hey, when an Ensign has the gall to look you in the eye and defy a direct order cause he doesn't like your hair, you throw his ass in the brig!" 

"Aye sir." Lt Hardy gritted his teeth. 

"Look Jeffrey." the Y2J Unit lowered his voice. "I know you can do this, but if you let a bubblehead like Edge walk all over you, people will believe you only got this promotion cause you laid down for-" Stephanie gulped as she felt their inquisitive eyes on her. "Oh-my-god!" Lt Commander Jericho was doubled over with laughter, so consumed with intense amusement that Jeff practically had to hold him up. "I heard but...oh my god!" 

"I have a lot of work to do, Chris." Stephanie said haughtily. "So please shut up." 

"Who's gonna make me, Pippi Longstockings?" Jericho howled with even more laughter. "Good lord Hardy, I think I'm gonna pop a circuit here!" 

"Er... sorry Commander." Jeff was grinning from ear to ear. "I know that you're still like 25 or whatever, but... hey you want me to run and get your favorite dolly?" 

"Oh you're funny, Hardy." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should sign up for open mic night at the Smackdown, only with your stupid-sounding accent no one could understand a word you say!" 

Jeff frowned. "I don't wanna play with you anymore!" 

"Good! Go play with _yourself_ then Lieutenant." Steph smiled sweetly. 

"Hey Jeff." Jericho gasped, between chuckles. "We should take a pic right now. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - rare photo of her as a virgin!" 

"Yeah well, Jeffrey better get in the shot then." She was still a Commander! This kind of disrespect was infuriating! 

"You've got cute little chubby cheeks." Lt Hardy had the nerve to reach down and pinch them like he was her uncle or something! 

"And to think she grew up to have chubby cheeks too!" Jericho exclaimed. "And _that_ special set gets pinched by handsome male crewmembers as well!" 

"The only big ass here is _you_!" Stephanie was relieved to see Ensign Lita stalking into Engineering. "Don't talk to them Lita. They're being big meanie heads." 

"Really?" Lita regarded them coolly as she jumped up on her suddenly too large chair. "I thought maybe you were a little more mature, Jeff." 

"Well, I........" Lt Hardy had to admit he was creeped out by the little red-headed child that was poking at the engineering console. Sure, it was hilarious when it was Stephanie, but when it was the woman you'd been making out with on the Garden Deck three days ago....."Gosh Lita. Last time you looked like that you were sticking my head down wells and telling me Aerialian Sea Dragons liked the taste of rainbow hair." 

"Oh then you've always been a royal sap?" Stephanie asked. 

"Hey tiger." Jericho winked at Jeff. "Guess this puts a crimp in your hot plans tonight!" 

"Hah!" Stephanie snickered. "Lt Hardy wouldn't know hot if it burned him on the-" 

"Is this a playground or Engineering?" Shane's eyes were boring into Jeff's. "You can all just stop teasing my sis and get back to work! Now! We have a little ship to fly through space here!" 

The warp core hummed loudly in the ensuing silence, although if one listened closely enough they could almost hear Jericho laughing under his breath... 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTER'S 

"Oh put the padd down, Hunter!" Stephanie snapped, throwing a pillow at him from where she was curled up on the sofa. "It's not making me any older to ignore me." 

"Steph..." Hunter sighed and pressed his fingers to his temple. His head was throbbing-not only was that smug little jerk Shane working him like a dog, but his wife was now a whiny kid. "I am up to my neck in reports here okay? Your inbred brat of a brother is killing me!" 

"You just can't stand to look at me!" Stephanie was feeling weepy again. "Everything about me is still adult, just not... not this!" She gestured helplessly at her stupid miniature body. 

"I can handle it Stephanie." Hunter took a long draw on his black coffee, although all he wanted on the table right now was an old-fashioned mug of beer. "I'm not X-Pac." 

"He made Tori cry." Stephanie glared at him like it was his fault. Actually X-Pac's juvenile attitude had caused a full-blown temper tantrum in his girlfriend, and poor Terri was still probably sweeping up the Smackdown. 

"Are you at least gonna come to bed tonight?" she asked hopefully. 

Ensign Helmsley barked out a laugh. "Like hell babe! There's accepting what happened to you and then there's just plain creepy! Look, you'll be fine in 24 hours, okay?" He gathered up his padd and tri-corder. "I need to get this done and you're acting your appearance right now, so I'm going to the Smackdown. It's pretty quiet at this hour." 

Stephanie watched wide-eyed as he eased out of quarters with his work. "It wasn't like I was asking you to _touch_ me! Like you ever do anyways!" 

She hopped off the couch, rubbing her eyes, hating how she'd suddenly become the human tear factory. Stephanie pouted her way onto their big old bed, seized the beautiful snow globe off her night table. She'd been the same age she was now when her nanny had dragged her past the exact same one... little Stephie'd desired it with all her might, but she'd been an adult when she'd received the most wonderful gift ever.... 

Lt Commander Jericho had given it to her. Made her cry, almost kissed her.... 

Hadn't meant it of course; Chris had been infected with a judgement-altering disease at the time... 

But he sure meant everything he "gave" to that Nytron wench Kimberly, didn't he? 

"I hate you, Jericho!" Little Stephanie McMahon lifted the snow globe high in the air and let it fall. 

***

"Oh no." Lita stared at the sea of glass on Stephanie's floor, scattered like sparkling constellations across the dark carpeting. "Chris gave that to you...." She stepped carefully around the razor-sharp shards, the puddles of snowy liquid. There was something pathetically sad about the little plastic Mickey Mouse corpse that was lying face down in a pool of water. "I know Jericho is nasty to you 99% of the time, but I think he was sincere that night... god Steph." 

"Sincere like a snake maybe." Stephanie couldn't bring herself to look at the destruction she'd caused. No matter how she reacted to him, it always hurt so much. 

"Don't cry Steph." Lita sat on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling above the floor. "Maybe, hey maybe it can be replicated or something..." That sounded so stupid. It wasn't the material thing that mattered to the Commander, it was the moment. 

"Forget it." Stephanie shrugged it off. "I'm only being such a baby cause of how he picked on me today! He and Lt Hardy were such idiots!" 

"Tell me about it." Lita said sourly. "Matt offered to pull me around the corridors in a little red wagon and Ensign Too Hottie tried to steer me back to the middle school classes before he realized who I was." 

"Come!" Stephanie called out as her door chirped. "Oh hey Chyna." 

"Hey." Chyna was sulking as she trudged over to the bed, looking rather adorable in footie pajamas. "And don't say anything! These were the only ones I could borrow that would fit me." Even though they were all the same age physically, Chyna towered over them. "I'm making some sundaes!" 

"Extra hot fudge." Stephanie already had her cute little chubby cheeks that every other ninny had to pinch-what could it hurt? She'd be slim and sexy again tomorrow. "Is Eddie being a total geek too?" 

"An ultra-geek!" Chyna called up three sweet, gooey piles of ice cream at the replicator. "We did have a date tonight, but all of a sudden he has this urgent card game with Farooq and Bradshaw!" 

"Pig." Lita twisted her spoon around in the whipped cream. 

"It gets worse." Chyna told them. "Bradshaw tried to get me to sit on his knee and Farooq offered me a lollipop! I wonder how ol' Bradshaw's liking the big bruise that knee is sporting now?" 

Stephanie managed a laugh. "I could kick a lot of shins at this point." 

"Well, I don't know why we're just sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves!" Lita exclaimed. "We're kids for a day! Let's have fun!" 

"Like a pillow fight or something?" Chyna asked. 

"Better." Lita grinned. "We're small enough to fit in the ship's ventilation system! Let's see if the male crewmembers wear boxers or briefs when they sleep!" 

"That's awful!" Stephanie squealed. "I love it!" 

"But let's avoid Ensign Malenko's quarters." Chyna blinked when she saw the shimmering debris on Commander McMahon-Helmsley's rug. Lita subtley shook her red head at the other little girl. Don't say anything...."He told me yesterday that he liked to sleep in the buff." 

"Gag me with a spoon!" Lita sang out as they skipped down the hall, laughing like the carefree little girls they weren't.... 

***

TITANPRIZE VENTILATION SYSTEM-CONDUIT 13B 

"I really don't feel comfortable with this." Chyna whispered as they squished in front of a vent. She quietly unwrapped a grape-flavored sucker - just cause she'd booted Bradshaw in the leg didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the treat. 

"Oh don't be a stick in the mud." Lita scolded her. "I've always wondered what androids preferred for undies." 

"Oh god." Chyna's face suddenly turned green as she saw a flash of glossy brunette hair fall into her line of vision. "Just blind me with a phaser now, Lita." 

"Yeah, this is not a good idea at all." Lita said hastily. "Let's go." 

"What?" Stephanie panted, crawling up to them. "Where are we?" 

"Uhhh just some jobber ensign." Lita waved her off. "Let's go find some real meat." 

"No." Stephanie was frozen in front of the grate, eyes so unblinking her two fellow explorers wondered if she'd gone catatonic on them. "No." 

"Oh god Chris." Chyna murmured in disgust. She knew deep inside he hadn't, but to even pretend.... 

Steph was numb as she watched Kimberly parade out of Lt Commander Jericho's bathroom, his robe touching her skin while Chris just laid there under his covers with that sleepy, satisfied smile on his face. The commander instinctively reached for her phaser, but there was no holster on her pink pj's.... 

"Steph, let's go." Lita touched her arm. 

"No." Kimberly's hair was swept up in that just-been-with-a-really-hot-guy, toussled look, and she licked her lips as she smiled at Chris in a predatory, black widow sort of way. Stephanie wanted to get away, transport out of there, but she was pinned against the conduit wall by a hot dagger of pain slicing through her chest. She couldn't move.... 

"What the heck is that smutty little skank doing?" Lita hissed, watching in horror as Kimberly sat at Jericho's desk and accessed his logbook. 

'Probably seeing what he... likes." Chyna almost made herself throw up. Stephanie and Lita shouldn't have been seeing this - if they witnessed how easy it was for Kimberly to bust into Chris's private stuff, they would both know something was up! "Commander? You don't look so good." 

"My tummy hurts." Stephanie was rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped tightly around her own tiny, quivering body. "It hurts so much." 

"We'll go to Sickbay." Lita almost wanted to cry herself. To see that look of agony on such a sweet, innocent child's face, even if it was Steph's face, made her feel awful. "You probably ate too fast." 

Stephanie nodded, inching away from the vent with some difficulty. The physical pain was nothing compared to the black emptiness that was creeping into her heart, the venomous poison surging in her veins. Hate. If she wasn't sure of it before, she knew now. 

She hated Chris Jericho with every fibre of her being. 

***

LT COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

"Loser." Kimberly muttered in the sleeping 'bot's direction as she booted up his computer. He hadn't even had the simple decency to invite her to share that bed with him before passing out, intoxicated by the drugged-up synthehol she'd been pumping into him all night. 

"Well, maybe that's not quite fair of me." She giggled gleefully as the slim computer yielded to all the password she's poured into it, special codes that Jericho had slurred at her while she batted her eyelashes in his direction. "You've proven to be quite a winner. Lord knows I've just hit the jackpot!" 

She smiled as a treasure trove of valuable and classified Wrestlefleet information was silently uploaded to an illegally cloaked Nytron shuttle that orbited the TitanPrize. Stupid crew - they had no idea how far their enemies had come. Russo would be so proud! 

And gorgeous Lt Commander Jericho? He was quite the fascinating plaything really. She'd make sure he gave up all his secrets before she was done with him! 

Kimberly powered down his logbook, tapping it shut with a blood-red fingernail. She'd make sure Commander McMahon-Helmlsey received every delicious detail too.... 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I'll never complain about getting old, I swear it!" Lita vowed solemnly, resting her red head on Jeff's shoulder as they slow-danced in the softly lit shadows of the Smackdown. It was actually kind of romantic, if you forgot the occasion was Captain and Mrs. McMahon's wedding reception. 

"Bet you'll change your mind in 20 years." Jeff smiled. He hadn't been this relaxed waiting for Ensigns Crash and Guerrero to re-scramble Lita's molecules in Transporter Room-2, but he felt darn grateful now that she was all grown up again and able to wear the red dress that was so beautiful it almost made him dizzy to look at it.

"I'll still be this hot in twenty years, Lieutenant." She playfully straightened out his collar, the stars that signified his rank glimmering in the pale blue and purple lights. "You know... this dress uniform is quite dashing." 

"Really? Ensign Christian told me it clashed with my eyes." 

"He's just like so jealous cause he's merely a plainly dressed ensign." Lita murmured, kissing her perfectly fashionable boyfriend on the lips. "Oh... gross." 

"Do I need a mint?" Jeff frowned. 

"No." Lita was frowning too. "I'm sorry. I can't get in the mood to kiss you when I'm able to see Lt Commander Jericho holding hands with that second-class slut." 

Lt Hardy blinked. "Man, Lita! Isn't Chris entitled to a little happiness?" 

Don't smack him. Lita took a deep breath. "Hey...is your hair actually...blonde?" 

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Commander McMahon told me I had to tone it down, said it was only respectable for this type of formal event. Oh god-what does that shallow snob want now?" 

Shane was leaning against the bar, gesturing at the young Lieutenant. 

"I'll give Ensign Crash a thrill." She patted him on the shoulder. "I should thank him for giving me my grown up body back." 

"Thank him for me too." Lt Hardy winked at her and then turned to face god knows what from Shane... 

***

"In the kitchen." Commander McMahon practically shoved Jeff through the swinging double doors, smoothing out his tailored black suit after the Aerialian had stumbled into the suspiciously empty room. 

This wasn't going to be pretty, Lt Hardy realized grimly. There should have been chefs and waitresses racing around, but obviously the little snot had cleared them out. 

"You like dancing with my sister, Hardy?" 

"I felt bad for her." Jeff said flatly. "Since you so conveniently assigned Hunter to man the helm tonight, she was a little lonely." 

"She doesn't need your pity." Shane's eyes were dark, stormy. "She doesn't need your protection, and she does not need Aerialian geeks holding her hand when life spits on her." 

"I think Stephanie can pick her own friends." 

"You mouthing off to me?" Commander McMahon leaned over, tore the stars off Jeff's collar. "Ensign?" 

He refused to flinch, kept his eyes locked with Shane's. "Justification, sir?" 

"Unofficially?" Shane smiled, had a padd in his grip. "I hate your guts. I'm tired of your convenient heroics and your demented, paranoid, schizo ideas about me trying to undermine my family and Wrestlefleet." 

"So I know the truth?" 

"Officially." Shane continued. "That's a different story. Officially I find that you're lacking in the necessary leadership skills to hold the rank of Lieutenant. You're not ready, and you can't cut it." 

"Your sister felt differently." 

"My sister kinda sucks at judging character." Commander McMahon said bluntly, handing Jeff the padd he'd been holding like a trophy. "I recommend you take this demotion quietly and without protest." 

Jeff examined the padd, his face draining of color. "Damn you. I won't let you do this to my brother! It's not even true!" 

"Every lie has a little core of truth at its center, Ensign Hardy." Shane seemed so relaxed, so calm. "And the truth is your brother did hack Wrestlefleet computers. As for trying to access high-priority files and contacting Nytron rebels with ships' command frequencies... yeah I made that all up." 

Jeff felt like the room was spinning. "He'll be executed." 

"Nah." Shane shook his head, grinning like a cat who had it's mouse trapped in a corner. "As long as I don't hear word one from Steph about how unfair all this is and how she's going to fight it, your big brother can continue to breathe." 

The former Lt Hardy stared at his ripped collar, where his precious stars had been... he wanted to be sick. 

"Evening Ensign." Shane smiled brightly as he pushed through the doors, having happily ruined one person's night. Oh no, you didn't cross the boss, and as far as the future was concerned... Shane McMahon was the boss! 

***

"You're such a graceful dancer!" Kimberly gushed as she clung to Lt Commander Jericho, her mouth sickeningly close to his ear. 

It was like having a disease crawling over his synthetic skin, the way she pressed herself a little too closely like some desperate, no-class tart, the way she smothered him in compliments until he thought he would suffocate. He wondered if Chyna had enough gratitude in her heart for this - he'd have to ask when she started speaking to him again... 

"Chris? You're sooo quiet." 

"Sorry." he said quickly. "Sometimes you just take my breath away." _If I puke now_, he thought, _the whole charade gets blown to heck_. 

"You are just the sweetest!" Kimberly giggled. 

_A certain hypospray stabbed right through her throat would probably paralyze her vocal chords_, he calculated. One more ear-splitting giggle like that and he might do it with his bare hands. 

Chris repressed a shudder as she laid her scuzzy head on his shoulder. He kept waiting for something wiggly to crawl down his arm. 

Stephanie. 

He could see her now, a well-dressed wallflower with her wedding corsage pinned in her silky brown ringlets. The maid of honor's dress was a modest river of pale liquid silk that tapered off at her slim little ankles, one of which glowed under the light of delicate golden chain. She stared back, and that's where the illusion of beauty ended. 

Those eyes... he'd expected loneliness with Hunter not being there, fiery rage for what he himself was doing, but that expression.... Jericho shivered. In those narrowed eyes he saw something more cold and dead than anything he'd seen from Dr. Taker. 

She genuinely hated him. 

Stephanie looked down at her hands, at the sleek band that decorated her ring finger. Tried to focus on something of sentimental value to turn her emotions back on, wishing they ran on a switch. It was scary to feel so soulless. 

Her brown eyes gleamed wet in the colored lights as she forced herself to gaze at Chris again. He was whispering in the Nytron's ear; she was laughing at whatever charming thing he'd said. 

Thank god she had Hunter. Now that she knew what true hate felt like, she could figure out how to love him... 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	47. Season 6 Episode 8 Voices in his HEAD

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 8

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON SIX**

****

EPISODE 8: THE VOICES IN HIS H.E.A.D. 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 071120.00. My wife and I have happily renewed our vows and are making plans for a second honeymoon! Shane has informed me that Lt. Jeff Hardy has been demoted to Ensign once again. The reason being that Jeff didn't quite have the leadership qualities needed for such a rank. I trust my son's judgement and will agree with his decision." 

Captain McMahon sighed and leaned back in his chair. He looked out the window. The normally black star-filled view was instead a massive cloud of colour. He had been sent by WrestleFleet to study this boring anomaly. "We shall be out of the Akana nebula in a few short days. Our investigations found nothing of interest. End log." 

The Captain closed his log book and headed to the bridge. 

***

THE NEBULA 

It didn't like visitors in Its space. 

The visitors must leave. 

If not, It would makes Its presence known very soon. 

***

COUNSELOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

Counselor Snow looked at H.E.A.D. "What?" he asked the object beside him. Silence. "What is it?" 

H.E.A.D. said nothing. 

Counselor Snow shook himself, and turned back to the PADD in his hands as he went over his patient files. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Kimberly ransacked my room.," Jericho said as he sat down beside Chyna at the bar. 

"What?? WHEN?!" Chyna asked. 

"A few days ago... when you and the girls were... _little_," he smiled. "The wench thought she had drugged me with synthehol... but I was WIDE awake. I told her some _special_ codes in my so-called drunken state, and she fell for it. Apparently the foolish woman doesn't realize androids can't get drunk!" Jericho shook his head, "Anyway, I allowed her to help me to my quarters, then pretended to pass out on the bed. I actually watched her going through my drawers and WrestleFleet logs, and she didn't even notice," he smiled proudly. "I should get an Oscar for this. I really should!" his smile turned into a frown, "Of course, she went through my closet and stole my robe too... go figure... that skank!" he muttered. 

"_So THAT'S what had happened!" _Chyna thought, and remembered how her, Lita, and Stephanie had snuck though the air ducts to spy on some of the male crew, "_and, of course, we all thought the worst,_" Chyna felt ashamed of herself. 

Jericho was silent for a moment, then spoke, voice quiet, "Speaking of skanks... there's one that really hates my circuits..." 

Chyna looked at him, "Stephanie?" she asked. 

Jericho nodded, "She absolutely hates me! I can't even get two words out of her anymore!" he shook his head, "I've even set _myself _up for some smart ass reply from her... and NOTHING!" he looked at Chyna, "And she's gotten worse in the last few days! I don't know what her problem is! It's like she found out some horrible secret about me or something!" he pouted, "It makes Engineering really boring!" 

Of course Stephanie hated him. For all Steph knew, Lt. Commander Jericho was sleeping with the enemy... literally! And... after spying Kimberly looking rather slutty in Jericho's quarters a few days ago... what else was she to believe? Heck, even _Chyna _had believed it there for a moment! Thank goodness the Y2J Unit was smarter then that! "It really bothers you, doesn't it?" Chyna asked. 

"What...? That Skankanie won't talk to me anymore?" he let out a laugh, but it didn't sound very convincing, "Maybe I should really consider this a blessing in disguise!" 

Chyna looked at him, face serious, "Chris... " she didn't bother finishing her sentence. It would be a waste of breath. 

Jericho looked at her, "What?" he asked innocently, then stood up, "I have to return to Engineering. No telling when they might need my wonderful positronic matrix to figure something out!" with that, he waved at her and headed off. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker stood up from his desk. He looked around his empty sickbay... though it didn't feel so empty a moment ago. 

Something was here. 

Something was watching him. 

Something that was NOT friendly. 

Something, he decided, that was better left to the rest of McMahon's crew. 

He didn't need to save their stank asses ALL the time, now did he? 

***

ENGINEERING 

"So, Skankanie... what young inexperienced Ensign are you going to make a man tonight?" Lt. Commander Jericho asked as he went to his station. 

"Lt. Commander, " Stephanie started, "Could you please check out subroutines 350 to 550? The annual diagnostic is to be finished by Friday..." 

Jericho furrowed his brow. Still no name calling! He tried another approach, "Kimberly and I are going to a screening of _Halloween 2000 _in theater 2. Michael Myers just won't die! Kind of like you..." he looked at her, waiting. She had winced at the mention of Kimberly's name, but that was it. 

"Lt. Commander, " Stephanie replied, sounding professional and business-like, "The subroutines!" 

Jericho frowned, and tried once more, "The back row will just be dark enough for your flavour of the day..." 

Stephanie spun around to face him, eyes like fire, "Lt. Commmander, if you're not interested in doing your work, then leave Engineering and return to your quarters! I'll inform the captain of your decision!" she snapped, then turned back to her station. 

_Ouch!_

__

Jericho frowned, "First off, COMMANDER... I did those subroutines last night! If you had bothered to look over the report I put on your desk, you'd know that! Secondly..." he stopped. Everyone in Engineering was staring at him. "Uh... excuse us..." he said with a fake smile. He grabbed Stephanie by the arm, and pulled her out into the hall -- ignoring the cat calls and whistles from his fellow engineers. Normally, he'd find their comments humorous... but as angry as he was right now, it annoyed him. 

"Let go of me, Lt. Commander!" Commander Stephanie snapped, tugging her arm out of his grip once they were in the empty corridor, "Or should I report you for assaulting a superior officer?" she leaned against the wall, face like stone, arms crossed in front of her angrily. 

"What's wrong with you lately?" he asked, "You've been avoiding me like the plague and only speaking to me to bark orders!" 

"I'm your superior officer!" she said, "I have every right to _bark_ orders at you, Lt. Commander!" 

"That's not what I'm talking about!" he snapped. 

"Lt. Commander, I really don't have time...." she began to push herself away from the wall, but he put a hand on either side of the wall to prevent her escape. _Damn him!_ "I have to get back on duty!" Stephanie protested. 

"Not until you tell me what's going on! Why are you being wenchier then normal to me?" he asked angrily. 

"I should ask _you_ why you're being so friendly to Nytron girls!" she seethed. 

He furrowed his brow, "Is that what this is about?" he asked, "Kimberly?" 

Stephanie looked away. Her and her big mouth, "Listen, your personal life is none of my business..." 

"If it was none of your business, you wouldn't be so pissed! Why, Stephie? What's got you so bothered about me and Kimberly?!" 

He was standing so close to her, she could feel the heat radiating off his body. Damnit!   
"You're socializing with a Nytron rebel," Stephanie said quickly, trying her best to ignore his proximity, "So naturally it bothers me!" 

Well... that was part of the truth at least. 

His body relaxed, and he took a step back, "She's a defector..." he replied... and that was the best defense he could come up with. It was all he could do to keep from telling Stephanie the REAL reason he was spending so much time with a woman he knew would stab him in the back at a moment's notice. Lt. Commander Jericho took a deep breath. He really didn't want Stephanie believing that he would fall for someone like Kimberly. Maybe if she knew the truth, she could even HELP the charade, "Listen... there's something you need to know-----" he stopped. 

What was that sound? Metal? _Creaking _metal? _Bending_...?? 

Jericho quickly pulled Stephanie against him. 

"What the hell are you---??" She stopped as she saw WHY he had pulled her away. 

The wall she had been leaning against now collapsed in a pile of sharp metal and sparking wires... 

***

COUNSELOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

The ship's counselor grabbed H.E.A.D. "No!" he screamed, "NO NO! STOP IT! SHUT UP!" He tossed the object across the room and collapsed to his knees, "NO! Don't hurt them! Please! Leave them alone!" 

Tears fell down his cheeks. H.E.A.D. sounded so angry!! Why? What did he do? Why was it threatening to hurt everyone? 

And why did it keep repeating one word.... 

__

LEAVE! 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker stood looking over the unconscious Counselor Snow. He frowned, "And this is how you found him?" he asked the man who had brought him in. 

"Well... yeah..." Ensign Angle began, "I went to talk to him about the behaviour of some peasant crew members towards me -- wondering how he could help them realize pure excellence in a man such as myself -- and I found him like this on the floor of his office!" 

Suddenly, Counselor Snow's eyes flew open, "They're here!" he said, "They're all around us! They want us to leave! We have to leave!" he grabbed Dr. Taker by his black medical coat, "Don't you sense them? You, of all people, should be able to sense them! " his eyes darted around Sickbay, his body shaking, "We have to leave this place! We have to go! There will be more accidents! A lot more! We need to get out of here!" 

"Saturn! Hand me a sedative!" Dr. Taker commanded the bald nurse a few feet away. 

"No! NO! Don't you dare!" Counselor Snow shouted, and sat up on the diagnostics bed. He grabbed H.E.A.D., who was sitting at the foot of the bed, "I'm not hallucinating, Taker! I'm hearing everything through H.E.A.D.! They're communicating with me! They want us to go!" 

"WHO wants us to go?" Dr. Taker asked. 

"THEM! THEM!" Counselor Snow shouted hysterically. He held H.E.A.D. to his chest and rocked back and forth, lowering his voice, "I hear them! They're angry! We've invaded their space. They want us to leave... they do!" 

Dr. Taker watched Counselor Snow through cold eyes, then held a hand out to Nurse Saturn. Saturn put the hypospray in the doctor's hand, "Hold still, Al..." Taker said, and quickly pressed the hypospray to Snow's neck. 

"No... you don't understand... no....." his voice started fading as he slumped back on the diagnostics table, H.E.A.D. rolling to the floor, "They're........... really................ an...gr..ry..." 

Within seconds, Counselor Snow was in dreamland. 

***

HOLODECK 2 

Kimberly smiled as she led Jericho into the Holosuite. She looked at him, and once again was grateful she had picked the right WrestleFleet officer to seduce. He was looking rather yummy with his braided hair, black tank-top, and black jeans. He had been in the training room when she had decided to drag him into the holodeck. 

"Uh..." Jericho looked around at the yellow and black grid, "So... Kim..." he smiled, "Why are we here? What did you want to do?" he asked. 

She put her arms around him, "There are MANY things I want to do..." she said with a sly grin. It was all Jericho could do NOT to push her away in disgust. 

Just then, the doors to the holosuite opened, and Stephanie entered. She froze in the doorway, then frowned, eyes angry, "Sorry. Wrong Holodeck." she said coldly, and spun around to leave. 

"STEPH!" Jericho called out, "Wait a sec...." he quickly freed himself from Kimberly's arms and went to her, "Uh... did you need me to go over some other subroutines tonight?" he asked. No... PLEADED. 

Commander Stephanie looked at him, then glared at Kimberly, "You appear to have your hands full tonight, Lt. Commander..." she said. 

"Chris, honey... I'll be right back..." Kimberly said, "I need to get something for the special holodeck program I planned for us..." she smiled and blew him a kiss, then rudely pushed past Stephanie, the doors swooshing shut behind her. 

"Oh... a special holodeck program..." Stephanie sneered, "How _nice_ for you, Lt. Commander!" with that, she turned around, and opened the holodeck doors. 

At least... she TRIED to open the doors. They wouldn't budge! Stephanie swore a few times, and punched in her access codes. Still nothing. 

Jericho smirked, "Looks like we're stuck, Skankanie..." He waited, but STILL couldn't get a smart-ass comment out of her! Jericho sighed. Why bother anymore? "Here, Commander..." he said, since they were being so damned FORMAL anyway, "Let ME do this..." he went up to the doors and tried to pull them apart. 

No such luck. 

Suddenly, the ground jerked violently, tossing Jericho and Stephanie to the floor. The holodeck lights faded, then came back up.... then went out completely. The holodeck safety lights quickly took over -- which consisted of three spotlights that threw deformed shadows on the walls of the grid. 

"Damnit... " Stephanie snapped. She winced. Her head had struck the floor hard, and now she had a nice little headache. She felt something wet running down the side of her face. She put a hand to it, and saw blood on her fingertips in the glow of the Titanprize safety lights. "Oh... crap..." she whispered, just before the blackness snuck up on her. 

***

BRIDGE 

"Sir..." Ensign Blackman started, "There is a strange energy surge in Holodeck 2..." 

"Energy surge?" McMahon asked, "Is there anyone in there?" 

Blackman took a moment to scan the holodeck, "No, sir... no life signs..." 

McMahon waved his hand, "I'll have someone look at it later then. It's of no importance right now." 

With that, the Titanprize continued on its way. 

***

COUNSELOR SNOW'S QUARTERS 

"I'm fine, Saturn!" Counselor Snow snapped as the Nurse tried to tend to him. "Tell Taker I'm not crazy! He KNOWS I'm not!" Snow looked at H.E.A.D. It was silent now. No voices. 

"He told me to take care of you..." Saturn said. 

"I don't give a damn what he told you! Get out." 

"But, sir..." 

"GET OUT!" Snow shouted. 

Saturn took a deep breath. Snow was being a very difficult patient. But then, the old saying was that doctors make the worst patients. Saturn headed out of Snow's quarters, and returned to Sickbay. 

Snow tapped his comm badge, "Counselor Snow to Captain McMahon," 

"McMahon here..." 

"Sir, we need to get out of this nebula... and fast!" 

"Counselor Snow, there is no immediate need for us elsewhere, and I don't see why we should waste our warp core energy in here! Besides, the nebula is so thick, it would be a strain to even GO to warp," Captain McMahon replied. 

"But sir!" 

"Counselor, are you a Captain?" McMahon asked. 

"Well... no sir, but..." 

"Then don't tell me how to run my ship!" 

Counselor Snow sighed. How could he explain? How could McMahon understand? He frowned, "Fine, sir! But if there are more accidents -- like that collapsed bulkhead beside Engineering -- then it will be on YOUR head!" and with that, he cut the comm link. 

_Leave._

__

Counselor Snow gasped, and turned towards H.E.A.D. Angry whispers echoed throughout his quarters. Not again! 

_LEAVE ... or they will all die..._

__

Counselor Snow started breathing quickly. Hyperventilating. He shook his head violently, "I'm trying!" he cried, "I'm trying! They won't listen!! They NEVER listen! Not to me! Never to me! They think I'm crazy..." he shouted, then began to laugh, eyes wild, "Maybe I am! Crazy Al Snow! That's what they used to call me at the academy! They didn't understand! No one ever understood. No one EVER understood!" He paused as the voices spoke to him again, "I CAN'T make them go!" he said, "They won't listen to me!" His voice was cracking now, "Don't hurt them! Please don't! We'll be gone soon! We will! In a few days, you'll never have to see us again! Just leave them alone. LEAVE US ALL ALONE!" he screamed. 

Counselor Snow couldn't take this anymore! If McMahon refused to get his ship out of here any faster, then Snow would just have to do it himself! 

***

ENSIGN EDGE AND ENSIGN CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

"We are quite the handsome siblings, aren't we Edge?!" Christian said as he fixed his hair in the large bathroom mirror in front of him, "Galaxy Beat must have sold BILLIONS of our cover copies by now!" he smiled and nodded, "Cool!" 

"We rule, Christian!" Edge replied as he shined his beautiful teeth beside his brother. 

Christian sighed, "But the crew SO doesn't understand us! You know, sometimes I think they even..." he gasped, "They even maybe DISLIKE us a bit!" 

"Oh... they're just jealous!" Edge replied. "Because our faces and bodies are so flawless!" 

"Hey, Edge..." Christian started, voice serious, "Why don't two perfect male specimens like ourselves have girlfriends yet?" 

Edge stopped shinning his teeth for a moment, "Perhaps the ladies think we're untouchable?" he asked. 

"You think?" Christian replied, then smiled again, "Ah well. It's nice being single! I mean... we don't have to worry about buying flowers like Ensign Guerrerro... or going on a romantic vacation on a beautiful island like Ensign Helmsley... or dressing the same like Jeff and Lita..." he paused, "You know... it IS great being single!" 

Edge nodded, "Being single RULES, brother!" 

The two both looked in the mirror, and smiled brightly. 

Suddenly, the mirror cracked from side to side... then shattered outwards. The brothers let out a high-pitched scream and threw their arms up to shield their precious faces. 

After a moment, they slowly turned back to the shattered mirror, then looked at each other, "YOU did that!" Christian accused Edge. 

"Whaaaaaaaat? I did NOT! YOU were looking at it longer then _I _was!" 

"It was your TEETH! They're too bright!" Christian explained. 

Edge was about to protest, then considered, "Hmmm... do you really think so, Christian?" 

Christian nodded, then pouted, "Thanks to your super-bright teeth, we gotta find ourselves a new mirror!" 

Edge pouted as well, "Man... this is the ultimate in suckitude!" 

***

HOLODECK 2 

"Hey, Stephie.... wake up, Stephie..." Jericho gently tapped Commander Stephanie's face. 

Stephanie groaned and put a hand to the cloth pressed against her head. Her hand accidentally touched his, and she quickly pulled away as a strange tingle went through her fingers. Stephanie slowly sat up, her headache easing. She looked at Jericho and saw he was holding his tanktop in his hands. There were a few dark spots on it... and she figured it was her blood. 

"I stopped the bleeding," he said. "Just a small cut really. Nothing major. Dr. Taker can probably fix it up... as soon as we get out of here!" 

Stephanie snorted, "Yeah... heaven forbid you miss a moment of time with your precious traitor Nytron slut!" 

Jericho frowned, "Listen, Skankanie! I'm getting really sick of your attitude towards my relationship with Kim! Who are you to condemn me for socializing with a so-called traitor when you're married to the biggest one of all?!" he narrowed his eyes, "Not to mention one who would kill you at a moment's notice!!" 

"Shut up!" Stephanie snapped, "Hunter LOVES me! I know he does!!" 

"He's USING you! Wake up and smell the phaser-fire, lady!" he snapped, "Your husband is playing you like a cheap piano, and he'll---" 

Stephanie suddenly slapped him across the face. He looked at her, eyes wide, hand to his cheek. Stephanie gasped at what she had done... but... the way he talked about Hunter... the way he let Kimberly hang all over him --- it was too much! 

The Y2J Unit turned away from her, eyes closed, teeth gritted. He reached under his fingernail and switched off his emotion chip... before he did or said something he would regret. 

"That's right, Chris..." Stephanie started coldly, "Hide behind that stupid chip! Turn it off so you can avoid confronting me!" 

The Y2J Unit opened his eyes and spun back to her, "You're a hypocrite, Commander!" he shouted angrily. Anger? How was he feeling anger with his emotion chip deactivated? "You're married to a rebel! A man who even tried to MUTINY a short while ago! What happened to your high horse THEN, Stephanie?" 

Stephanie stared at him, mouth agape at his reaction, "You turned it OFF! I SAW you turn it OFF!!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho let out a shout and grabbed his head. A sudden surge of energy went through him. Unmodified emotions burned through every wire and microchip in his body! Emotions he had never felt before, even with his chip! 

He was angry! Angry that Stephanie was still married to a man who tried to kill her! Angry that she couldn't see past her own loneliness... and angry that he had to hide the truth from her. The truth ... about everything! 

He quickly jumped to his feet and ran to the other side of the holodeck - a dark corner. He slid down to the ground... and attempted a diagnostic. Every wire burned inside! Did it have anything to do with the strange happenings on the ship? 

What WAS happening on the ship, anyway? 

The Y2J Unit quickly returned to logical thought - How to solve a problem. The current problem being that he and Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley were currently trapped in the Holodeck 2. How to get out? Yes... think of that. Think of how to escape. Think of why the bulkhead collapsed. Think of the strange nebula they were currently in. Did these things have anything to do with one another. Perhaps... perhaps... 

"Chris?" Stephanie started, her voice shaky, "Are... you ok? You... were...." 

The Y2J Unit, now eerily calm, looked at her, "Commander," he spoke, his voice professional and unemotional, "I'm fine. I had an odd power surge in my positronic net. It momentarily disrupted my functions..." he explained. "It may have had something to do with what is currently happening onboard the Titanprize..." 

Stephanie opened her mouth to speak, but could say nothing. That emotional outburst -- did it mean anything? Or WAS it all related? Yes... probably. After all, it would be impossible for the Y2J Unit to portray emotion without his artificial chip. 

_Artificial..._ Stephanie reminded herself, _Everything with him is artificial_! _His emotions... his body... his hair... his skin... those eyes..._

She quickly shook her head. No, she wouldn't go down that path. It was pointless. Stephanie crossed her arms angrily, and went back to hating him. 

It was just easier that way... 

***

OUTSIDE HOLODECK 2 

Kimberly stared at the door. She knocked hard... but there was no answer. She then tried to open the doors with the keypad on the side... but it was jammed. 

Jericho was in there. She knew that. The doors wouldn't open from the outside... which meant that they probably would not open from the inside either. 

Kimberly smiled coldly. What a great opportunity to go through Jericho's quarters again... and maybe hack into his personal logs to see what secrets they may hold. 

***

BRIDGE 

"I demand to see Captain McMahon right now!" Counselor Snow said as he walked onto the bridge, H.E.A.D. in hand. 

Lt. Rock looked up from the Captain's chair, "The Captain's roody poo candy ass isn't here right now! The Rock is acting Captain. What do you want?" 

"I order you to send this ship into warp and get the hell out of this nebula!" Snow said. 

Lt. Rock stood up, "You ORDER The Rock??" he asked, "You come on the Rock's bridge, and ORDER him?" he frowned, "What is your name?" 

"Counselor Al---" he stopped, "Oh no! I'm not gonna fall for THAT one!" 

"It doesn't MATTER if you fall for that one!" The Rock snapped, "So... some jabroni named AL comes aboard the Rock's bridge, runs his mouth about sending the ship into warp... and expects the Rock to listen!" 

"But you don't understand!" Counselor Snow protested, "I have to tell you----" 

"The Rock wipes a monkey's ass with what you have to tell him... AL!" he snapped. "Now get off the Rock's damn bridge!" 

Snow sighed, "I really didn't want to do this... but... Rocky... you just annoy the hell out of me!" Counselor Snow whipped a phaser out of his pocket and aimed it at the Rock, "Now you will give the command to send this damn ship into warp, or I will burn off your stupid people's eyebrow!" 

"What the hell is going on here?!" a voice shouted from behind Counselor Snow. 

Snow spun around, phaser in hand, and looked at Captain McMahon, who had just set foot on the bridge, "Send the ship into warp, Vince! Get us out of here... NOW!" 

"What is the meaning of this, Snow?" 

Counselor Snow took a deep breath, "This nebula is home to millions of life forms... and---" suddenly he was interrupted. 

"And... we do not wish for your presence! You are to leave now... or there will be more _accidents_..." 

Everyone looked around the bridge for the source of the voice, but there was nothing... nothing except.... 

"H.E.A.D.?!" Snow gasped, "Did you just......" 

"We are not your telepathic device, Counselor Al Snow..." H.E.A.D. said. "We are non-corporeal beings who's space you currently inhabit! You are contaminating our home with the emissions from your engines! LEAVE... NOW!" 

"You mentioned other accidents..." Captain McMahon said, "But so far there was just the bulkhead by Engineering, and Ensigns Edge and Christian's mirror..." 

Ensign Edge and Christian let out a painful whimper from their positions on the bridge. They had truly loved their mirror... 

"No, Captain -- Currently trapped in Holodeck 2 are Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Lt. Commander Chris Jericho," H.E.A.D. explained. 

"She's with the damned ROBOT?!" Ensign Helmsley shouted from his position at the helm. He had been uncharacteristically quiet since Counselor Snow appeared on the bridge. 

"Yes... and we control everything in this nebula... even your ship!" H.E.A.D. said. 

"My Stephie... my little angel!" McMahon gasped, "She's trapped in the holodeck!" he quickly tapped his comm badge, "Bridge to Engineering..." 

"Ensign Crash in Engineering here, Captain McMahon, Sir.." 

"Get this ship into warp... and FAST!" 

"Gosh, Captain... it'll take some time to power up the warp core and...." 

"Just DO IT!" McMahon snapped, "Do it NOW damnit! Before it's too late!" 

H.E.A.D. began to laugh, "Perhaps it already IS too late, Captain..." 

***

HOLODECK 2 

Stephanie was beginning to feel rather light-headed. Perhaps she was just tired? Arguing with the stupid Y2J Unit always seemed to have that effect on her. Damn him.... 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley..." came Jericho's voice, still infuriatingly unemotional. The bastard hadn't bothered to turn his chip back on! "You seem to be exhibiting signs of fatigue. Your eyes seem a bit glassy..." 

"You're paying that much attention to my eyes?" Stephanie asked coldly... though truth be told, it was more then Hunter ever did... 

"You're sitting here facing me, Commander. Even in the dim light, it's not difficult to notice..." 

Stephanie sighed. Well, at least SOMEONE noticed her eyes... too bad it had to be an unemotional robot! "Put your damn chip back on... and stop looking at me so much..." she said, "I'm fine..." 

"Your heart seems to have slowed as well..." Jericho began as he studied her chest. 

"What are you staring at, you pervert?!" she snapped. 

He looked at her, eyes blank, "Your heart rate, Commander," 

Stephanie grabbed the tank top that Jericho had left beside her and threw it at him, "Damn you! Turn your chip on and stop acting like a freaking robot!" 

"But I AM a freaking robot, Stephie...." he replied, then blinked, "I mean... I am an artificial life-form... Commander..." he quickly corrected himself. What was wrong with his functions today? Even with his chip deactivated, he still had strange emotional energy surges. 

Perhaps Ensign Matt would help him run a complete diagnostics later. 

Stephanie stood up, and the Y2J Unit followed suit, "Listen, Lt. Commander..." she began, "I am your superior officer... and I COMMAND you too..." suddenly, Stephanie swayed on her feet. The Y2J Unit quickly went up to her and took her arm to steady her, "Let go!" she snapped, and pulled her arm away. The one movement caused her to sway even more. In fact, if the Y2J Unit had not been there, she would have surely fallen. 

"Perhaps you should rest..." he offered. 

"I'm fine..." she replied, her words mumbled. 

Before she could protest, he lifted her off her feet, "Perhaps you should rest," he repeated. He stood in the middle of the holodeck, holding his superior officer, and ran a quick scan of the ventilation system. 

Ah... here was the problem.... 

The oxygen in the holodeck was slowly depleting... and being replaced by carbon monoxide. 

***

BRIDGE 

"Ensign Crash! Is the warp core online yet?" Captain McMahon asked. He knew something had to be happening to his daughter! These life forms seemed to be serious in their threat! 

"Yes, Captain McMahon sir! It is online now!" 

"Good! Go straight to warp 9!" 

"Warp 9, sir? So fast! That will burn out the fuel!" Crash replied. 

"I don't give a damn!" McMahon said. "Just DO it, Ensign!" 

Within seconds, the ground beneath their feet began to shake as the warp core powered up. One look at the dizzying view in the Titanscreen was all it took to know that, yes indeed... the ship had gone into warp. 

"You may tend to your daughter and the android," H.E.A.D. said. "We are freeing them. Your daughter will need medical attention for carbon monoxide poisoning..." 

"WHAT?!" Captain McMahon gasped. 

"Good bye, Captain. If you would be so kind --- place a warning beacon here. Inform others that we do not want, nor will appreciate, their presence in our space again..." 

With that, H.E.A.D. was silent. 

Captain McMahon immediately ordered Dr. Taker to holodeck 2. 

***

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

Lt. Commander Jericho entered his room after seeing Stephanie recovering in Sickbay. She all but physically kicked him out. He was glad he had yet to turn on his emotion chip... or he may have said something he would have regretted. 

The Y2J Unit sat down, and noticed something out of place. There... on his desk.... the PADD in which he wrote all his personal logs! 

Someone had been in his room... and he had a good idea who it was... 

Jericho quickly went up to the desk. He picked up the padd and flicked on his emotion chip. 

The Lt. Commander smiled. It seemed Kimberly's little snooping wasn't so successful after all. She couldn't figure out the passcode in his log book. 

But then again, it was something that no one could possibly figure out. Nine simple letters that meant nothing to him... yet... why he had chosen these letters, he himself didn't know. Perhaps it was for the very reason that they were the last nine letters anyone would guess the Lt. Commander would use. 

The Y2J Unit sat in his chair, and decided it was time to write another personal log. He quickly typed in his passcode: 

S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E 

***

WRESTLEFLEET PRISON COLONY 10 

"I couldn't get into Jericho's personal log," a sweet voice spoke through Russo's comm link, "He has some very high security on it. I couldn't figure out the passcode no matter HOW I tried to hack in! However, I still have his security codes and any other information I managed to extract from him during his little drunken state in The Smackdown..." the voice giggled, "god, I'm good!" 

"Thank you for the report, Kimberly," Russo replied, "I look forward to when you are able to convince Captain McMahon to get his ass over here! Right now, you seem to be having too much fun with the Y2J Unit! STOP IT!" he snapped, "Remember the objective, and get to it!" 

"Yes, sir. I will start working on McMahon. Signing off, sir..." Kimberly replied. 

Russo closed the comm link, and sighed. He turned to the man beside him, "Did I ever tell you how much I hate working with Nytron girls? Almost as much as I hate a second-in-command who tries to talk said Nytron girls out of breaking me from prison. Now that... THAT really annoys me...." he looked at the shiny sharp object in his hand -- a dart, "You know, I haven't played darts in a long, long time, Eric..." he said with a cold smile, "Hold still. I'd absolutely hate to hit _you_ instead of the board," he said, and threw the dart at his prisoner, stabbing the black and yellow cork inches from the man's head. 

Bishoff whimpered through his gag, "Oh honestly, Eric!" Russo said, "You're such a wussy!" He sighed, "You know," he threw another dart, grazing Bishoff's face, leaving a razor-thin line of blood, "When I take control of the WWF Titanprize, I may be able to find a position for you on maintenance crew..." 

Tears now mingled with the bood dripping down Bishoff's cheek, and a horrible smell invaded Russo's nostrils. He scrunched his nose, "Disgusting!" he said, "You'd think a man your age would be toilet trained by now!" 

Russo shoved his _guest_, chair and all, back into the walk-in closet and shut the door. He then pressed a button on his desk, "Chae... send the chosen one in." 

"Yes, sir," Chae replied through the intercom. 

Soon, a man with short-cropped frosted blonde hair entered Russo's office. Russo smiled, "I want you to escort my guest to the washroom so he can clean himself up. Make sure no one sees you... and if they do, make them disappear -- if you know what I mean! NO ONE is to know Eric's whereabouts but us!" he smiled, "You can take a few minutes to punish him for losing his bladder in my presence if you wish..." 

The chosen one smiled in return, a smile almost as icy as his High Commander's, "Yes sir!" he said, and opened the closet, "Come on, Slapnuts! You and me are gonna spend some time together... and DON'T piss me off!" 

Russo chuckled quietly. 

The High Commander hadn't had THIS much fun in ages!!   


   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	48. Season 6 Episode 9 Now I Lay Me Down to...

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 9

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 9: NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP   
**PART ONE**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 071100.00. Good news! Kimberly has had such a positive effect on the crew's spirits that I'm seriously considering making her our new Morale Officer. Lord knows the Engineering staff could use some motivating - Jeff Hardy has been demoted, Shane is double-shifting ensigns to compensate for injured crew, and my little angel Stephie..." 

Vince sighed, looking at the Engineering reports. 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley's and Lt Commander Jericho's work has been _average_ and _sufficient_. I know Chris is...exploring certain human activities with Kim, but I am at a loss to explain their less than dazzling performance. Counselor Snow suggested that the legendary bickering they used to engage in was what fueled their creative fires, but then again, Al is a complete idiot." 

"Captain Jackhammer! Your role know it, your ass bring it! Some piece of WCW monkey crap is jobbing our sensors!" 

"Jamming, you mean?" McMahon was startled. 

"It's WCW debris, jabroni. The Rock damn well means jobbing." 

"On my way." Vince silenced the comm, fuming quietly. Lt Rock was really pushing his golden boy status a little too far, and the Captain's gratitude to the People's Lieutenant for rescuing his daughter on Copeland-9 was wearing thin. Of course, Rocky saving Stephanie had apparently botched some rogue intelligence operation that Shane and Benoit had been conducting; risky attempts on the part of Wrestlefleet to expose Nytron terrorists operating in Federation space. 

Something bothered McMahon about that story of Shane's, something gnawed at his gut that he couldn't explain. Maybe it was just paternal instincts, worrying about his only son playing master spy. Maybe it was the fact that Kimberly had provided them with concrete evidence that the Nytron had given up their worthless war against Wrestlefleet. 

"Sometime today you silly bastard." 

"I said I was on my way, Austin!" McMahon snapped, thundering out of the ready room. 

***

SHUTTLEBAY 8A 

"It's Kimberly."   
  
She was whispering, crouched down behind several empty cargo barrels. The maps she'd accessed from Jericho's computer had proven invaluable, helping her locate this abandoned shuttlebay-turned-cold storage area. 

"Where the hell are you?" 

She smiled prettily into the compact Nytron vidphone. "The TitanPrize is in the Tai'Lor Cloud and have located the WCW wreckage, just like you said." 

Now Russo smiled too. "I love those Wrestlefleet idiots. Always on their freaking missions of mercy." 

"Are they really all... dead, sir?" Kimberly shuddered at the few details she remembered about this first strike. 

"Sacrifices have to be made." He shrugged the young lives of an unsuspecting crew off. "If anyone understands that, it's Vinnie Mac. You think I'm a monster? He'd make the Grim Reaper flinch with what he does to his own people." 

"He's sent an away team." 

Russo laughed. It sounded ghoulish, wicked. "Beautiful Kimmie, just beautiful!" 

***

TAI'LOR CLOUD-UNKNOWN WCW SHIP 

Five blue beams of light flared in the darkness of a hollowed out transporter room as the Titanprize away team materialized with gravity packs strapped to the arms of their bio-suits. Stephanie had brought Ensign Lita with her, knowing instinctively she could trust the Aerialian with her life. Ensign Angle was along because you could always use a disposable crew member to shove in front of an errant plasma beam or other dangerous phenomena. 

Commander Kane and Dr. Taker flanked the younger three like giant pillars. Since the WCW wreckage was adrift and lacking any viable life signs, their presence was easily explained. 

"Hell." Kane was a man of few words, but the ones he chose had impact. 

It was hell. The scent of charred wires and fire-eaten fabric stung their nostrils, the obvious sickly-sweet aura of mortal souls passed on clouding their lungs. Phaser fire had chewed at the knock-off titanium walls like acid, the once shiny surfaces slashed through with deep black battle scars that defied logic. 

"This is weird." Lita murmured, consulting her tri-corder as a thin wisp of gray smoke floated past her eyes. "It's like a war just happened, but ship's sensors indicate this scrap heap has been in the cloud several months." 

"How did that man die?" Stephanie jerked her head towards an officer slumped over the transporter console, his hair matted with blood. 

Dr. Taker's examination took only a minute. "Neck is broken. Ship must've lurched violently enough towards the end to slam his head into the computer." There was a lethal phaser wound to the man's back, but Taker felt a strong urge not to mention that right now. 

"Survivors?" Stephanie asked briskly. 

"There ain't no damn survivors!" the Chief Medical Officer growled. "I didn't get no bogus readings from Sickbay. This bucket of bolts ain't nothing but twenty-five decks of carnage from bridge to deflectors." 

"Oh man." Lita sighed as she fiddled with the fluctuating transporter controls. "Some stupid nitwits tried the most desperate trick in the book-hiding themselves in the buffers. Their molecules are too degraded to bring them back." 

"Forget them." Commander McMahon-Helmsley tossed her hair. "Commander Kane, try and get the ship's computers up and running. Upload any data to the Titanprize. Doctor, examine all the bodies in detail but don't make plans to move them. They should be more far gone than this and I want them studied in their final resting place. Lita, you're with me in Engineering." 

Lita gazed at her commander admiringly. Stephanie could be a fine officer when she wasn't being a bi- 

"You're with me, boy." Taker tossed his heavy medkit at Angle. 

"Uhhh..." Kurt frowned. "I am a Communications ensign, sir. A diplomat of the highest integrity. I do not poke and prod corpses." He wrinkled up his perfect, All-American nose. 

"The hell you don't." Dr. Taker laughed. "If I tell you you're gonna take one home and use it as a punching bag, you'll do it. I have the higher rank. I own you." 

Angle followed the big man reluctantly. Doc looked more like a corpse than some of these...peasants. "I want you to know this is a huuuuge insult. Did you know I'm descended from American royalty?" 

"You're descended from two people who had too much alcohol and too little common sense one night, boy." Dr. Taker spat. "Now, you wanna haul that skinny ass to the bridge or you wanna ride there on the end of my boot?" 

Kurt chose the hauling option. 

***

UNKNOWN WCW SHIP-ENGINEERING 

"What is this thing?" Stephanie said in exasperation as she and Lita circled the warp core, which on WCW ships was a level below the Engineering computers. "Where did this vessel come from? It's got no identifying marks or specific signature. All it has is shipwide systems failures and lots of dead people." 

The floor around the warp core was littered with bodies, most sporting the telltale signs of disruptor and phaser fire. Others had the symptoms of a brutal beating. 

"Warp core is functioning on miminal energy." Lita reported, shuddering as she caught glimpses of white smoke curling up from the dead like ghosts trying to escape. Sometimes lights would blink randomly on and off, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Even though the specially designed bio-suits were supposed to regulate temperature, surely even Commander Kane could feel the chill. 

"Ugh." Stephanie frowned at her tri-corder. "If I had to call this anything, I'd say the core was...stalled." 

"Sounds good to me." Lita was staring into the warp core. It was almost hypnotic, the supernatural baby blue glow, the ocean of plasma surging in waves through the sapphire-shaped energy converter at the heart... 

"Lita!" Stephanie was screaming in her ear. 

"Commander-" Lita swallowed hard. Steph was pulling her back from the edge of the balcony that wrapped around the core. A mere breath distanced her from a plunge into the poison sea of plasma. "Oh my god." 

"What were you doing?" 

"I-I don't know." Lita realized she was sweating inside her suit, and it was icy moisture that clung to her face. "I wasn't paying attention I guess. I'm sorry." 

"Just be careful, okay?" Stephanie was giving her a strange look. 

"Commander." Dr. Taker's grave voice shattered the awkward silence, making both girls jump. "The bridge is a bloody mess, literally. Either this ship experienced the mutiny from hell, or there was an attack by an enemy long gone without a trace." 

Stephanie pouted. Daddy was not going to like this! 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-THE BRIDGE 

Captain McMahon paced the length of the bridge, agitated by his away team's report. He didn't care that much about the dead crew; they weren't his crew! But what if there was an enemy out there, a demonic force that could tear an entire ship to shreds and not leave a single clue about itself? 

Wrestlefleet couldn't have that. And Vince wasn't about to leave his ship a sitting duck. They could run scans from outside the Tai'Lor Cloud. 

"Ensign Christian, Warp 7 out of the Tai'Lor Cloud. Engage." 

"We're still in the same damn place we were before!" Austin exclaimed. "Move this ship pretty boy, before I stomp a damn mudhole in ya!" 

"Dude-totally lay off me!" Christian tossed his silky mane. "I'll get a heinous zit if I start sweating! The thrusters won't respond and helm control is offline. This is the pinnacle of sucktitude!" 

"Engineering!" McMahon barked. "What the hell is going on! We're not flying!" 

"The warp core has powered down." Lt Commander Jericho stated flatly. "I'm detecting an intense blanket of gravity surrounding the Titanprize. We're stuck for now, Cap." 

"There was no monkey crap gravity before!" Lt Rock snapped. 

"Things change Crocky." Jericho's familiar sneer rang out. "Unlike your dazzling array of catchphrases!" 

"Fix it Jericho! I want my daughter with you, and you two damn well better keep in mind this is bigger than your petty squabbles!" Captain McMahon was roaring like a lion and just didn't care. 

The visuals of the bloodbath on that other bridge told him this wasn't any place for the Titanprize.... 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Just kill me now." Ensign Matt Hardy melted into a chair between his brother and Eddie Guerrero, barely nodding at the two girls who sat beside them. "I promise I won't be upset." 

"Man, you look awful." Jeff frowned. "I mean, worse than usual." It looked like someone had taken heavy black chalk and smeared circles under Matt's eyes. Or maybe it was just that the signs of fatigue stood out on his pale, drawn face. 

"I have like three hours to relax before my third straight shift in Engineering." Matt yawned. "I swear, Shane is trying to murder me with work." 

_You have no idea... _Jeff pushed his drink away. "Maybe you should take a nap or something." 

"Who can sleep?" his big brother groaned. "All these stupid reports he wants me to do, and with the ship stuck...." Matt laid his head on the table. "I have to just sit there and monitor flux in gravity surrounding the Titanprize when I get back." 

"Tell Shane to kiss your ass." Lita always had the most refreshing advice. "Trust me, he won't push you." 

"Don't listen to her!" Jeff said quickly. "It'll ease up when Ensign Too Hottie and Ensign Sexay recover from their dancing injuries." 

"Yeah and how in the hell does that help me now?" Matt snapped. "Hey, I'm sorry I even sat down here. Looks like a couple's only table!" 

"Ey man, chill out!" Eddie shook his head. "This ain't the love connection or anything and you know we're all tight here. Come on - I'll order you a nice Houdinian coffee. You'll be bouncing off the walls in no time!" 

"Yeah stay Matt." Chyna felt a twinge of sympathy. When you were in love, you sometimes forgot what it meant to be lonely. "We got a fresh batch of Jericho jokes and everything." 

"Can't." Matt noticed Stephanie sitting at the bar, waving at him. "Duty calls." 

***

"I hear you're good with computers and other sophisticated gadgets." Stephanie said casually, wrapping her lips around the straw in her strawberry malt. 

"Not really." Matt lied, gratefully accepting a free black coffee. He wondered what Commander McMahon-Helmsley was trying to buy. "I mean I'm alright for an ensign." 

"Cut the crap, Hardly." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Lita told me everything. I need you to instruct me." 

Lita had the biggest mouth in the universe apparently, and if the Chief Engineer wanted hacking advice, this probably wasn't going to be good. "With what?" 

Stephanie leaned over, whispered to him. 

"Commander!" 

"Grow up Matty!" Stephanie sneered. "It's just a joke for pete's sake!" 

"I don't think the victim will be all that amused." Matt sighed and sipped at his coffee, waiting for the caffeine rush. Even his naturally high levels of Aerialian adrenaline were tapped dry. "I could spend a year in the brig for telling you how to do that!" 

"I guess you're just a sissy like your little brother." Stephanie taunted him. "Taking a demotion to ensign cause he's too gutless to fight for himself." 

"Not gonna work." 

"I am ordering you, Ensign Hardy!" 

"Aye sir." What were these McMahons trying to do to him? 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Ensign got your tongue, Slutephanie?" 

"Your positronic net is running at 100% efficiency." Commander McMahon-Helmsley said flatly, watching the monitors behind the Y2J Unit. She wasn't going to think of him as Chris anymore, or even Lt Commander Jericho. Only something totally inhuman could crawl into bed with trash like Kimberly. "No minor anomalies noted." 

Jericho frowned. Last year's diagnostic had been a lot more fun and exciting. Stephanie had switched on every single pain cell in his gorgeous body, planting one of the first seeds of hate between them. 

But not hate like this. This was cold, frigid apathy. 

She kneeled in front of him, shining a tri-corder into his eyes. Her own wore the expression of a clinical scientist studying a fusion reactor. Once upon a time, her eyes had burned like a nuclear explosion anytime he was in the room. 

"I feel so terrible for Kimmie." Jericho's voice dripped with compassion. "Sure she was a Nytron and everything, but she knew some of the officers on that ship. Poor thing cried in my arms all morning." 

_I'll give that slut a reason to cry_. Stephanie felt her hand shake for a split second. Why did his eyes have to be manufactured this way, so blazing blue they would put the most powerful supernova to shame? Her stomach fluttered like a thousand butterflies had taken off inside her.... 

She flinched as the Y2J Unit gently steadied her trembling fingers. "Don't touch me. Don't you ever touch me." 

"I'm trying to spare my eyesight sweetie." Chris said dryly. "You were about to gouge one of my magnificent blue orbs out and I need them both to appreciate how beautiful Kimberly is." 

"You have fine taste in gutter trash, Lt Commander Jericho." 

"That's high praise coming from actual gutter trash." 

"I've been meaning to ask you something." Stephanie had risen, moved behind him. He waited to feel a dagger in his synthetic spine. "I figured as an android you might have an objective opinion. If Hunter and I were to have a child, what should we name it?" 

It was more like a dagger in his computerized heart. Funny, Stephanie had reported that all his pain receptors were operating normally, and he wasn't subject to quirky human aches and pains. Commander McMahon-Helmsley obviously hadn't read his nervous system right.... 

"My first suggestion would be the unluckiest child in the universe." Jericho replied. "But if it looks like Trip, go with Pinocchio." 

"Hunter's a nice name." Stephanie felt his neck tense as she traced her finger along his skin, looking for the carefully hidden hatch...."And hey, after last night, who knows? I wonder how Shane would like to be an uncle." 

"Who knows?" Jericho grabbed her wrist, pulled her hand away from the nape of his neck. "You'll spend the first six month of the kid's life trying to figure out who his father is. I don't think you're getting everything quite right here, sugar muffin! Ensign Hardy can finish." 

"Whatever your heart desires, Lt Commander Jericho." Stephanie rubbed her wrist, which had been almost crushed by his android strength. Such passion... passionate hatred for her husband that is. The other kind was reserved for that Nytron slime... 

***

SHUTTLECRAFT JAKKED-TAI'LOR CLOUD 

_Oh please, please make them shut up!_ Ensign Jeff Hardy was almost crushing the helm controls to a fine powder. The mission sucked enough wind as it was: returning to the WCW wreckage to confiscate the weapons for Commander Kane to study. Being partnered with Edge and Christian had been the final blow to whatever dignity Shane had left him. 

"Dude you tell him!" 

"No way brother." Edge whispered back. "He so totally listens to you." 

"Tell me what?" Jeff asked with a sigh. 

"Well, sir-" Christian began. 

"Whoa-back that train up." Edge exclaimed. "You so totally don't have to call him sir anymore! He's not the boss of us! He got the big D." 

"Radical!" Christian grinned. "But wait-now we can't call him the big L anymore." 

Did that beaver-toothed boytoy just call him a loser? "You morons got something to say to me?" 

"Well... I mean like, don't have a major cow or anything, but like, your hair is three colors that so totally clash with our autumn toned skin and what if Galaxy Beat takes kick ass pictures of our Tai'Lor heroics! You'll ruin our whole GQ aura!" 

"Deal with it." 

"Uhh you're being a lame-o, Jeffrey!" Edge adjusted his expensive sunglasses so they radiated the right amount of dark, sexy cool. "I mean, first wash that rat's nest and then we'll give you some of our top secret beauty tips." 

"Don't push me Edge." 

"Man, you've got a major stick up there, fellow ensign!" Christian frowned at him. "Seriously, if you wanna be the totally in thing, get a new manicurist. Those skanky fingernails have got to go before you start buying the matching skirts!" 

Jeff flew out of his pilot's chair, releasing the helm control and pinning Christian to the cold, metal floor with his knee. He had his phaser drawn and halfway down the blonde ensign's throat in the blink of an eye. 

"Twitch you piece of garbage!" Jeff pressed his knee against the Kanatian's neck, watched his face turn red. "Do it! I would love to feed you so much plasma it comes out your perfect little ears!" 

"Chill out dude!" Edge grabbed Ensign Hardy by the hair and pulled him off his brother. "What are you, a total psycho?" 

"Oh my god." Jeff crawled back into his seat, the pent up rage draining out and leaving him almost too fatigued to pilot. "I don't know what that was. I'm so sorry Ensign Christian." 

Christian sat up and whipped out his handheld mirror. "I think the hair can be salvaged." 

"Thank-god." Edge let out a massive sigh of relief. 

"But you will pay for this!" Christian declared. 

"I said I was sorry alright?" Ensign Hardy didn't want to deal with another report against him. It was all just wearing him down... "I'm just stressed. I wasn't going to shoot you or anything." 

"Like I care about that!" Christian wailed. "I was talking about dental bills! You chipped my shiniest tooth!" 

Jeff suddenly had the urge to weep. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

Hunter was restless, the thoughts that obsessively spiraled around his head driving off the sweet escape of sleep. Jericho... 

He tossed and turned beneath the cool silk sheets. Jericho had kissed his wife, put his disgusting robot lips on her. She hadn't wanted it, she couldn't have wanted it. The over-hyped human calculator had shattered his beautiful mutiny too, held a higher rank than him depsite Helmsley's amazing skills and talents. And now the Y2J toy soldier was in the throes of romantic rapture thanks to that Nytron defector, Kimberly. Yeah, she was a sweet piece of eye candy but still.... 

Jericho was a lot of things-a sexual predator who'd made the mistake of preying on his wife, a phony who'd gotten ahead because he'd been pre-programmed to, not cause he'd suffered and fought for his rank, and now? Now he was a... traitor! 

Hunter was a rebel and he knew people like him never changed, no matter how much the system rewarded them. Nytron were no different really, even though they fought for a man some considered the devil himself. Once the criminal way was in your blood, you didn't get cured. Even someone as innocent and angelic as Kimberly posed a threat....

"I can't take this!" Stephanie sat up and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she'd actually slept a wink. She just wanted to get the heck out of this cloud, away from that morbid WCW ship so she could relax. "All I do is think about my job! Why can't I move this damn Titanprize?" 

"Why can't that piece of crap robot?" Hunter spat out. "He's supposed to be the freaking genius!" 

"Please... no Jericho." 

"What the hell did he do now?" he demanded. He was just looking for a reason....any reason.... 

"I don't wanna talk about it." Stephanie turned her head, hoping Hunter didn't see how wet her eyes were. "I don't want to think about it!" 

"Fine!" Hunter flung his sheets off the bed. "I'll go beat it out of Jericho's ass then!" 

"Wait!" Stephanie grabbed his muscular arm. "Don't go...just promise you won't, you won't go break him up into tiny pieces or anything?" She looked up at him with imploring eyes. 

"I can promise that." That was nothing compared to what Helmlsey would do. It almost made him sick...the level of violence he imagined in his Jericho fantasies. 

"It was my birthday..." Stephanie hugged herself. "You had to work on the bridge and I was lonely so I...I let him in. It's all my fault, I should've known not to let Chris in!" 

"He was in here?" Hunter's blood was starting to boil, it felt like hot lava burning in his veins. "In our room?" 

Stephanie nodded. "He brought me the most beautiful gift too... I guess that fooled me. He used it just so he could... he could....kiss me again. Put those hands on me, all over me..." Tears started to spill from her eyes, she shuddered like she could still feel the whole horrible thing.... 

"I made him go away before anything.... sick happened but-Hunter?" 

She was alone in the room. She smiled. 

_I can sink just as low, Chrissie... _

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I think this evening could benefit from a few of my nursery rhymes." Ensign Angle declared. "And that IS true." 

"I'm starting to wish this was closed mic night." Lita made a face as Scottie and Brian pranced their way onto the stage, the lights starting to flash gaudy shades of purple, blue, and gold, that tacky Earth pop music blaring over the comm. 

"I hate to say this, but we could all use the diversion." Matt felt his stomach turn as Ensign Sexay lowered his goggles. He really really hated to say this. "Being stuck in this mutant cloud is killing everyone." 

Lita couldn't take her eyes off the two fools or their lack of any apparent rhythm-it was like a bad shuttle accident: you didn't want to stare, but it was so grotesque it pulled at some part of your brain. 

And then she screamed. She was screaming bloody murder. 

"Lita?" Ensign Matt reached for her. 

She fell over a chair trying to avoid his touch, like he had some sort of horrific disease. Everyone in the Smackdown stared wide-eyed as the red-headed Aerialian spitfire moved like lightning, crying out as if hell itself was on her heels... 

***

"Their dancing is pretty bad." Jeff didn't dare to touch her; she seemed so fragile and frightened. 

Lita was sitting outside the double doors of the Smackdown, the effort of running costing her too much energy to move anymore. Her eyes were hidden behind a curtain of flame-colored hair. 

"I'm sorry Jeff." 

"It's alright." He thought for a minute. "What happened in there?" 

She shook her head. "I don't know." The sobs started again, this time in earnest. 

"Yes you do. You can tell me." 

Lita wiped her eyes and looked up at her boyfriend, the tears starting to flow again as he recoiled. "I see the most awful things." 

Jeff felt woozy. He'd never seen eyes like that-hollow and bloodshot and more haunted than the ones you saw on ghosts in horror movies. He took another step back. She looked possessed by something he wanted no part of. 

"You see it too?" 

"Are you hallucinating, you mean?" He tried to stay calm. "Seeing things that aren't real?" 

"I don't know." She was crying so hard it almost shook the floor beneath her. 

"Okay-we'll just get you to Dr. Taker." Jeff took a deep breath. That was logical, practical. "You're probably just overtired. We all are." 

Lita nodded and hesitantly held out her hand like a shy child. 

Jeff took it. Her other hand held a phaser, which she fired into his chest before fleeing the hallway. 

***

SICKBAY 

"She's having a psychotic episode." Dr. Taker shook his head at the tortured young woman who thrashed beneath a containment field, both for her own safety and the safety of the crew. "I can't sedate her. It doesn't work." 

"Lita's crazy?" Matt couldn't look at the bio-bed; he only tried to focus on what the dead man was saying. 

"I don't think she is. There's nothing abnormal in her brain chemistry, but she is clearly split from reality right now." 

"Anything else physical?" Chyna asked hopefully, all thoughts of Jericho and Kimberly banished as she watched her friend struggle. But there was one part of her mind that nagged at her....it was a WCW ship....but that didn't mean anything really, did it? 

"No." Dr. Taker smiled grimly, but he obviously wasn't amused. "It could be emotional, but all Snow can get is incoherent stuff about "seeing things" 

"Stephanie said she almost jumped into the warp core over on that other ship." Matt told him. "Lita isn't suicidal." 

"She might if she wakes up and realizes what she's done." Chyna nodded over to another bio-bed, where Jeff was lying unconscious, his heart beating erratically after being blasted by high energy phaser fire. Lita had rigged her own weapon to emit a deadly charge sometime before pulling it on her own boyfriend. 

"My brother?" Matt asked quietly. 

"It's physical, so I can understand that." Dr. Taker was infuriatingly lacking in emotion. He'd seen the Hardy brothers in Sickbay more times than he could count, due to their genetic need to take risks with their own bodies, but he didn't know if the younger one was leaving here this time. 

_That wasn't an answer_, Matt thought. 

"Ensign Hardy?" Shane's smug voice crackled over the comm. "You're to bring Chyna and meet Ensign Guerrero and Nurse Saturn in Transporter Room 3. We need more from that ship. You'll be recovering bodies." 

Matt's mouth fell open. "My brother-" 

"Your brother living or dying is not my primary concern!" Commander McMahon barked. "Getting this ship out of danger is! Move it!" 

"Aye sir." 

"Dr. Taker, sir!" Crash's panicked voice replaced Shane's. "Emergency Transport from Science and Research! Medical Emergency!" 

"What is it, boy?" 

"Lt Rock found out that Mr. Benoit had reported him for messing up a Wrestlefleet intelligence operation. He came to lay the smack down on Benoit's candy a-butt, and....." Crash stopped to catch his breath. "Mr. Benoit threw Rock into a mess of live wires and he hasn't woken up!" 

Taker nodded at Nurse Bearer to initiate the transport. He wondered if this was how the end began for the cursed ship floating next to them....   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	49. Season 6 Episode 10 Now I Lay Me Down t...

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 10

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 10: NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP   
**PART TWO**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

LT COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

"I can't take it!" Kimberly exclaimed, hands on hips as she resisted the urge to hurl a padd at Jericho's rigid form. Yeah, she'd heard the techno-babble about his cute little emotion chip, but on or off, there was no way he should be immune to her awesome heat! "How can you be sooo selfish? It hurts me beyond belief to see you like this!" 

The android didn't reply. His sharp blue eyes had been dulled by the mental cartwheels his brilliant mind was performing. Was he any closer to unlocking the dark secrets plaguing the TitanPrize? Hah! He was about as close to that as Stephanie was to taking a vow of celibacy! 

"Christopher. Please?" 

Jericho turned his head slightly. Kimberly's eyes were moist and luminous with tears that couldn't melt his cold heart. She was truly disgusting, pretending to care about the crew she was trying to sabotage. Silly girl, not realizing that her prey was truly the hunter...Oh and she would pay for calling him Christopher! 

"Not in the mood for whine, 'kay Kimmie?" 

"Oh god Chrissie! Jesse and Lisa will be fine! Tell me you're not worrying about those... ensigns!" She sat beside him, pouting oh so prettily. He'd never seen anything so ugly. 

"Why would I be worried?" Jericho's smile was chilling. "LITA has lost her marbles and JEFFERY is dying from a phaser wound to his soft little heart. All in a day's work." 

"Don't be like this Chris. I wanna be here for you." 

"There's no time for this jerky touchy-feely stuff, sugar." Oh to be able to scrub his own tongue with acid... "Truth be told, the lives of two little ensigns pale in comparison to the fate of the whole ship. The best thing... the best thing you can for me is to leave me alone so I can work this out before more crew has to die!" 

Kimberly frowned. She wouldn't push the insensitive piece of scrap metal, it wasn't worth it. After all, Lt Commander Chris Jericho was right; it didn't matter if Jeff and Lita's pathetic little lives were snuffed out like candles. A dark era was coming to Wrestlefleet, and not a single soul on the Titanprize would be alive to stop it! 

***

He waited until he could hear her two inch heels clicking down the corridor, the sticky-sweet odor of her cheap perfume mercifully following 

Witch. 

"Computer, open the comm and prepare to send a private encrypted message to the following coordinates on the Titanprize." He manually fed ships's computer a series of digits. "Priority Y2J Alpha, Security Clearance Level 9." 

"Go ahead, sir." 

"Stephanie?" 

"Lt Commander Jericho?" Pure ice. He didn't have time to care. 

"The ship is dying. I need to see you, tell you something." 

The silence seemed to stretch for an eternity. "Where?" 

"The Smackdown. It's been sealed off. There was a riot or something... I don't know anymore." Jericho sighed, shook his head to clear away the images of the fire and fighting and anger he'd seen there a few hours earlier. "It's safe enough." 

So quiet he could almost hear her heart beating over the comm. "I'll be there." 

***

SICKBAY 

"....and he's working Matt to death. I look at my big brother and I don't even know how he's still awake or even standing up. He can't go on like this but Shane won't stop; that spoiled brat just won't quit pushing us and pushing us until he breaks our will...." Jeff Hardy's pained eyes stared back at Dr. Taker, his privacy invaded just in case there was a clue in his logbook. 

"I'm so worried about Matt that I can't sleep. This might sound...crazy, but I think Commander McMahon is trying to make him so tired that he'll have a fatal accident in Engineering or maybe a shuttle crash, and there won't be anyone to blame but Matt. He'll be disgraced...." 

Cold as the grave. It was the best way to describe Shane McMahon, the wayward son of Wrestlefleet's most legendary captain. A shame he got so much recognition in what would probably be Ensign Hardy's famous last words... 

The Chief Medical Officer leaned back in his chair, reflected on the other crew logs as his pale gray eyes scanned the comatose and injured outside his office. Lita, who was now lying near brain death, had whispered about terrifying hallucinations and blacking out the episode where she'd almost pitched herself into the other ship's warp core. 

She'd been the first to succumb to the bizarre symptoms, forced to watch a nightmare parade of gruesome violent scenes, devils, and demons march past her eyes. There was no way of knowing what she saw before she'd discharged deadly plasma into her boyfriend's heart. 

"....the fatigue is excruciating." Matt Hardy could barely hold his head up enough to stare at his own private logbook. "I know I'm asleep. I know I am. My head's about to come off, it hurts so much....I take dose after dose of whatever the heck Dr. Taker prescribed for me, but it just makes me feel more wired. I can't tell anyone. They won't believe me." 

The young Aerialian was on the verge of tears. 

"Mr. Taker, sir." Why is it when Angle talked, he always sounded like he was doing his best impression of a pompous ass? "It appears we need an emergency medical transport from Ensign Christian's quarters." 

"What the hell happened?" 

"After conducting an investigation of the highest integrity, I have determined that Edge and Christian are suffering from severe exsanguination due to lacerations on their wrists. While the evidence is merely circumstantial, the numerous shards of glass scattered on the carpet indicate a malignant mirror breakage-" 

"They're bleeding to death!" Taker exploded like a bomb. "You little puke! Men are spraying blood like sprinklers and your stank ass is writing up some damn proper Wrestlefleet report? Boy, I'm about to fix you up real nice with a new size 18 boot chute in your backside!" 

"Dude." Christian croaked over the comm. "Hurry! I'm getting too pale to pull off this new Armani shirt! 

Good thing I don't require sleep, Dr. Taker thought with a grim smile. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

_ I can't let Stephanie go to her grave thinking I slept with Kimberly,_ Jericho realized as he faced the veil of evil on the other side of the window. The Tai'Lor cloud was like an intangible puff of pink cotton candy laced with every known gemstone in the universe and definitely not as sweet as it looked. 

A lot like Kimberly. Maybe a lot like Stephanie. 

No. They were nothing alike. 

Jericho didn't doubt now that his favorite skank was going to the big street corner in the sky; Steph's nine lives had obviously run out, and the running joke of the heroic, rainbow-haired Hardy always being there to rescue her no longer applied. 

In a few hours, Jeff's heart would no longer be able to sustain its erratic rhythm and would cease functioning altogether. The electrical shock from Lita's modified phaser was causing it to misfire badly, and Dr. Taker refused to revive the young ensign again. 

And Lita... there was really no Lita anymore. 

He didn't expect to see Matt, Eddie, and Chyna again. Once they beamed over to the ghost ship, it was like being sucked through the point of no return. 

"Are you happy?" Jericho laughed bitterly. "You won you little bi-" 

"Pardon me, Lt Commander Jericho?" He didn't have to look to know that Steph was behind him. "Not only am I a skank and a slut, but I'm also a-" 

"Everything's just gotta be about you doesn't it?" Jericho smirked. "Newsflash Stephie baby. We're all going to be lying on our backs soon, only this time you won't have an ensign on top." 

"We're all going to die, Chrissie." Stephanie rubbed her eyes, trying to clear away the sleepiness that had seeped into her bones. "I get that part." 

"You know what they say Steph." She looked like hell, as if she were in the final stages of some disease. Her eyes were bright and feverish in a face that was too pale and too flushed. "The best time for a confession is on your deathbed. I am so sick and tired of this game we're playing." 

He couldn't breathe! Steph was screaming... 

Metallic wire was digging into his throat, cutting his synthetic flesh so deeply it was starving him of air. Jericho knew he should re-route his respiratory functions but he couldn't make the program respond. Couldn't make the program respond? What the- 

It was hard to think with someone's boot driven into your gut, sending shockwaves of stinging pain through your no-sell titanium inner shell. Pain? The Y2J Unit's self-diagnostic hit him with a bombshell revelation-Stephanie had tweaked all his nerve receptors a couple days ago, and not for the better. 

He could taste coppery liquid in his mouth as his knees hit the floor. Usually, Jericho could slay most demons, tackle most enemies, but the physical agony overwhelmed his android strength. He felt cold steel propping his chin up and though his vision was blurred from oxygen depravation, he knew an old-fashioned sledgehammer when he was saw one. 

That son of a bitch Helmsley! Jericho wondered what puppet strings the rotten little Ensign had yanked on his wife to get her to do this. 

"Trip." Chris nodded at his adversary. 

"You're scum Jericho." Hunter spit in his face. "You know what I'm gonna do to you for forcing yourself on my wife?" 

"Oh boy Trip." Jericho coughed up a mouthful of his own synthetic blood as Road Dogg loosened the noose around his neck. "The slut called out my name in bed didn't she?" 

"Let's do an experiment." X-Pac suggested, as he forcibly held a wide-eyed Stephanie back.   
  
_Oh come on skank!_ Jericho glared at her. _You set me up! What? Didn't think it would get this bad, little girl?_

"I love a good science experiment." Hunter was smiling, having the time of his life. "What do you recommend Professor?" 

"I wonder how many gallons of liquid titanium can be gleaned from melting one junky Kanatian toy robot down?" X-Pac asked thoughtfully. "When he gets just to that point where he's about to lose consciousness, I say we light him on fire." 

"Hunter, please." Stephanie moaned. Watching this side of her husband was making her queasy. There was jealousy and then there was... this. "God, I didn't mean for you to take it this far. I'm satisfied, okay?" 

Jericho quickly scanned his memory banks, focusing on what he knew about Helmsley's dark days as a Degenerate rebel. From the look in Trip's eyes, those stomach turning stories about what he'd done to his enemies with that damn sledgehammer were probably not exaggerated. 

"You're satisfied?" Hunter had turned his wrathful stare on Stephanie. 

"That's not what she said last night." Jericho leered at her. 

"Last night?" Stephanie couldn't take it anymore. She didn't even know if this was some god awful nightmare or not, when she was sleeping or when she wasn't anymore. She shook off X-Pac and walked up to Chris, stared into eyes clouded by blood and pain. Her fingers slid beneath his sticky, crimson-streaked hair, yanked his head back. "If you got some infection last night Chris, I'm not the one you should blame. Look at your little Nytron tart - she clones more crabs than a zoology lab." 

"Listen to that Trip! She needs my tongue in her mouth just once and she starts to talk like me!" 

Hunter laughed. They were all going to bite the dust anyway. He had nothing to lose. 

***

UNKNOWN WCW SHIP-TRANSPORTER ROOM 

"McMichaels! Get me out of here!" Chyna stood frozen inside the transporter room of the ghost ship, her bio-suit it's own little house of horrors. Pipes creaked from being split in half by phaser fire and lights winked at her, as if this whole place was some sort of macabre joke on Wrestlefleet. 

She wished she could laugh. "McMichaels?" She was stabbing so furiously at her comm badge that she could feel the skin beneath starting to bruise. "Oh no, no, no. They're just going to leave us here to die!" 

"Ey Mamacita!" Eddie frowned at her. "Lots of gravity blocking the comm you know? They got a lock on us." 

"We need to forget the bodies." Matt wished he could push his damp sweaty hair out of his eyes, figure out why the heck he'd be perspiring like the ship was a sauna. His suit should've kept extreme hot and cold away. He wasn't touching any corpses, no how, no way. Nurse Saturn couldn't be found for transport, so they were gonna scrap that aspect of the mission. 

"What if it's a trap." Chyna whispered, as if the dead men were listening. "And they can come back to life and get us?" 

"Dead is dead, Mamacita." Ensign Guerrero regarded her quizzically. "If they're faking it, they deserve an Academy Award." 

"There's gotta be something on this hellhole that will save the Titanprize." Matt declared, eyes raking over the computers that hissed and sparked, studiously avoiding the slain officers. "The Tai'Lor Cloud was never dangerous before. This freakshow has got to be a trap!" 

Eddie took a deep breath, tried to quiet his head, focus only on Ensign Hardy speaking. Other voices were screaming in his brain, commanding him to kill Chyna and Matt before they turned on him, slaughtered him in such vile ways..... 

"Eddie?" Chyna touched his arm. 

"I'm fine." He wasn't. He wanted to explode, yell at the top of his lungs for them to shut up and leave his mind. But that, of course, would seem crazy. "Okay Matt, a trap. How the heck does a WCW ship rig a brilliant trick like this?" 

"Well Eddie, if I knew, we wouldn't be standing here twiddling our thumbs." Man, his fuse was just getting shorter and shorter. "You and Chyna search Engineering for anything that could explain our own warp core and thruster failures. I'll try and access Sickbay, in case this is some sort of screwed up biological warfare." 

"I don't know." Chyna hugged herself. "Maybe...maybe you're just trying to lure us in there, so we'll kill ourselves like Lita." 

Lita! "Listen." Matt's voice was trembling. The panic attacks were getting closer and closer together, cold hard lumps of fear forming in his stomach for no reason, the terror so paralyzing it had kept him wide awake for four straight days. "Lita snapped, she went insane because she saw these illusions that were so gruesome she couldn't cope. It started here. No matter what you see, what you hear, do not trust it. Unless it's scientific, don't give in." 

Eddie and Chyna nodded, understanding now that full blown psychosis was creeping up on them. 

First their minds would be taken. Lives came next. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker stared into the fragile, glowing data crystal, wishing he didn't have to slip it inside the small cargo beacon that rested on his desk. It signified a certain morbid finality to the whole affair, the last glimmer of a young ensigns life. It meant the Titanprize was on the edge of the abyss and going in. 

That damned fool McMahon had initiated the self-destruct sequence, the obnoxious sirens and flaring red alert acting as the crew's funeral march. The bridge had stopped communicating hours ago, but Vince was alive enough to engage in one last act of cowardice. 

The dead man timed the cargo beacon to transport off the ship seconds before the Titanprize tore itself apart by detonating its own warp core. It would warn other vessels of the gravitational spiderweb that was waiting to snare them and..... 

....And it would assure each and every family of the officers aboard this ship that their sons and daughters had died Wrestlefleet heroes, with dignity and honor. Made Taker a little sick to his stomach, writing the flowery speeches, spitting out the cliches that most people found so oddly comforting. 

But it was his duty, as the only sane officer left. 

"Can I be of any assistance, Mr. Taker?" 

"Ensign Crash?" The doctor was rarely startled. "What is your stank little ass doing here?" 

"I'm afraid Lt Benoit is sort of in a bad mood right now." Crash seemed downright apologetic. "Had to lock him in the lab and scoot through the Jeffries tube. I hope I don't get demoted to cadet." 

"That's a pretty bogus worry right now, Crash." Dr. Taker sighed. Well, it was an extra set of hands..... 

"Oh my gosh." The Houdinian was hovering over Ensign Hardy's bio-bed. "Is he...?" 

"No." Dr. Taker smiled, savoring the memory... stupid little Aerialian punk all wide-eyed and scared out of his mind as the good doctor watched him gasp for breath and writhe with agonizing seizures, like a damn fish stuck out of water.....dangling an oxygen-filled hypospray in front of Jeff's terrified eyes, enjoying the little game of life and death he'd made him play.... 

"Doctor Taker, sir?" 

"Sorry. Get your ass over to Ensign Edge's bed and check his vitals." 

"Aye sir." 

Dr. Taker took one last look at young Ensign Hardy, his grin calculated and cold as he admired the tube that had been thrust down Jeff's throat. It had been necessary of course, for the boy's own good really. How else could the dead man make sure the electrical pulses that might regulate his patient's damaged heart went where they needed to go? 

It wasn't Taker's fault Jeff couldn't be knocked out for the procedure.... 

Good thing he didn't sleep. There was 45 minutes left in the life of the Titanprize and fatigue was the last thing he wanted. 

***

UNKNOWN WCW SHIP-SICKBAY 

"It's not real." 

Matt stepped inside the medical bay, heard the doors seal behind him. It was like a steel tomb, the walls cold, gleaming gray, a single gurney in the heart of the room. A sterile white sheet traced the contour of a human body. 

He closed his eyes, opened them. Nothing changed. 

"This isn't real." 

He put his hands over his ears. All he could hear was his own heart beating, faster and faster and faster. Matt spun on his heel. The door was gone. 

Disappeared. 

"You are not gonna do this to me." Matt hissed. Who was he even talking to? "I am not crazy!" 

Dear god..... 

Whatever was under the sheet moved. Twitched. It wasn't going to play with him, no way in hell. Matt powered up his phaser and flung the shroud back. 

"Oh god. No....oh no......you don't exist. You're not real." 

Matt was on his knees, unable to keep from being violently sick. "Jeff isn't here. He's on the Titanprize." 

Jeff couldn't be here. Unless his brother's dead body has been transported aboard this ship. He screamed as cold, clammy fingers wrapped around his wrist. 

"There's nothing touching me." If he whispered it a million times....maybe..... 

"I'm dead, Matt." It sounded like Jeff....."We're all dead. It's over." 

"I don't believe you." 

"Chyna and Eddie have killed each other. You're alone. There's no one left." 

Matt swallowed and tapped his comm badge. "Guerrero? Chyna? Please respond....please." 

Nothing. He was shaking violently as he stared into Jeff's colorless eyes. "Do you want to be alone here Matt, with all the ghosts? They won't ever stop punishing you." 

"I didn't do anything!" 

"Didn't you?" Little brother's eyes turned black with rage. "You couldn't save the ship. I could've, if Lita hadn't shot me. All you ever do is screw up Matt, and this time you got me killed!" 

"I'm sorry-I-" 

"You want me to forgive you?" Jeff laughed, coughing the most horrible, dry, rasping cough. "I'm lonely here. But don't feel guilty Matt. It won't be the first time you've abandoned me, will it?" 

"Jeff, I never meant to...." Matt felt dizzy, like someone had punched him in the heart and knocked the wind out of him. He had never been so sorry in his life as the night he and his brother had gone to a graveyard on Aerialia to play hide and seek with Lita. It had taken four damp, rainy hours to locate little, crying five year old Jeff stuck inside a freshly dug hole, his ankle sprained as he huddled behind a mound of dirt. 

He's been too frightened to shout for help. 

"Forget it Matt. Some people are really lucky, you know? They have big brothers who protect them, shelter them. I have you." 

"Ensign!" 

Matt whirled around in his shock as Eddie practically wrenched his arm out of its socket. They were in Sickbay, beneath an eerie array of faintly pulsing lights. "What....." 

"You were about to give yourself a pretty big headache with that phaser, Matt." Eddie smiled weakly. "Not as easy to stay focused as you thought, huh?" 

Matt stared at his phaser, feeling icy wetness slick the inside of his suit. The weapon was set to kill. "Where's Chyna." 

"I-I had to lock in her a turbolift." Eddie said sadly. "She was losing control...did this to me." 

Ensign Hardy studied the gash in Guerrero's leg; it was a fairly nasty knife wound. "That's a shame Eddie. I have just the thing for you though." 

Matt aimed the phaser at his friend and depressed the trigger. "Nice try, jerk." Chyna didn't carry a blade. Guerrero was merely trying to cover up some godforsaken crime against his girlfriend with a self-inflicted injury. 

Unless, of course, Ensign Hardy was imagining the whole thing. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-SICKBAY 

"Go ahead, Ensign." Dr. Taker could barely hear Matt's voice through the gravitational interference that had buried the Titanprize in its cosmic grave. 

"I didn't think anyone would ever respond." 

"It's just me and Elroy now. Oh, and we've got seven minutes to breathe over here." 

"Understood." Matt bowed his head. They would have to destroy the Titanprize of course. Otherwise, it was a floating trap, a deadly invitation to other ships who might be foolish enough to attempt a rescue. And that meant-"So I've got about five?" 

"Give the man a prize." Dr. Taker smiled grimly. "All the patients are dead. I-I'm sorry Matt. Your brother and Lita suffered terribly before - look it's too late now for that. Autopsies show the problem was a lethal form of insomnia, an inability to reach R.E.M sleep. Failure to reach this deep level of rest causes the brain to experience everything from mental illness to actual physical breakdowns." 

"I've been awake for over 100 straight hours." Matt said hoarsely. His brother was dead! So Jeff could be here, waiting to- "My eyes would close at night, but in the morning I'd feel like garbage. I thought I was going insane." 

"You are going insane." Taker said matter of factly. "It's your duty to destroy that ship and end this now. End it before you get some suicidal urge and we've got some ghost vessel hanging out there like a mousetrap! Detonate the warp core immediately!" 

"No, no, no, no." Matt shook his head. He didn't care if Dr. Taker was his superior officer. The big bad medicine man had all the answers but was still willing to blow them both to hell? 

Not logical! 

"I'll find the trap." 

"The hell you will boy." Taker laughed so hard it sent shivers down Matt's spine. "You're just a little punk ass ensign and not even a decent one like your brother. What is it about you damn mortals that you can't just face death with a little guts?" 

But the young Aerialian had already removed his comm badge and crushed it beneath his feet. Three minutes til the end of the world.... 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Hold still, Lt Commander Jericho." Stephanie held a wafer thin silicon chip between her pretty little teeth as she ran a tri-corder down his arm, a lazer-scalpel twined through her other five fingers. "I know you're restless to get back under your defective skank, but I'd hate to accidentally cut your arm off." 

"Defector, sweetie. Funny, you should be used to talking with a mouthful, you know?" 

"I'm too blissed out on sleep to jam this scalpel between your eyes, Jericho." 

"Too bad the rest of the crew was asleep too." Jericho winked at Ensign Hardy, who grinned back. "You could've been the most popular ride since the roller coaster was invented." 

"That make you laugh, Hardly?" Stephanie gave Jeff a dirty look. To think, she'd been slightly concerned when he'd been under the knife for heart surgery! That she'd almost thought of the little geek as her fr-...ick! A McMahon slumming with ensigns - how socially gross! "Cause as rides go, I heard from a certain red-head that you're pretty much stuck in neutral." 

"Watch yourself Hardy." Jericho flinched slightly as Stephanie slashed a neat tear in his titanium with just a little too much relish. "Now that you're an ensign again, ol Slutephanie here will be trying to shift you into overdrive." 

"Sorry Commander McMahon-Helmsley." Jeff said solemnly. "I'm saving my two credits for a rainy day." 

Stephanie gritted her teeth as she thrust the data chip into the Y2J Unit's elbow joint. No doubt about it. She'd only been worried about young Jeffrey cause he was her lucky charm - as long as his heroic Aerialian genes and amazing technicolor head were still alive, she was good as gold. 

"Ensign Hardy." Stephanie flashed him a winning smile. "I can handle Chris's repairs. Please assist Ensigns Edge and Christian with recalibrating the bridge controls." 

"Can I go to the brig instead?" 

"Am I not speaking English? Did I not just give you a direct order?" 

"Aye sl-" 

"Ensign?" Stephanie arched an eyebrow. 

"Aye sir." 

"I blame him on you." Steph's breath caught in her throat as her fingers traced a small, jagged scar on the back of Jericho's neck. All her fault really, that his surprisingly warm, soft skin had been cut like that... 

"Thanks." Jericho closed his eyes, his android curiousity wondering why her touch felt like that, as if it could magically ease his pain without doing anything more than just being there....."They say sarcasm can't be taught, but young Hardy soaks it up like a sponge." 

Good lord! He needed to spend less time with Eddie and Chyna or something. His positronic net was starting to integrate a little too much of their romantic nonsense! Course, he'd never call it nonsense in front of the warrior princess. 

"I think he has the brains of a sponge." Commander McMahon-Helmsley muttered, hands suddenly clumsy as she fumbled around looking for the titanium sealant. Couldn't that rainbow-haired freak keep her equipment tray organized? And why the heck had Jericho been designed with such spun-silk, golden hair? It wasn't like he needed it for pete's sake! 

"You don't have to fix that sweetie." The injury was tingling. Had Stephanie accidentally triggered something while she was massaging the stupid thing? 

"Fine." Stupid jerk obviously wanted her to have a little reminder of what she'd done to him. Good! Stephanie was tired of regretting it! "Be that way!" 

"You know, when ol' Trip was breaking my fingers one by one with his hammer, I think he put a king-sized glitch in my emotion chip." Jericho complained. "I've been getting these freaky energy surges and-" 

"Sounds like a personal problem." Stephanie grabbed his hand and popped his fingernail. "We'll just turn this sucker off and-" 

_Turn it off_? _Not again_, he thought with a groan. It seemed to be WORSE in the _off_ position, "I'll let Matt look at it. He just came on shift and he's studying my positronic net for his Wrestlefleet Academy tech project." 

"Alright Chrissie! I get it! You don't trust me poking around in your circuits! You'll never trust me again!" Stephanie angrily flung his hand away. "You don't need to draw this girl a picture! Get bent, 'droid!" 

"Don't trust you?" Jericho shook his head in disbelief as he watched her storm out of Engineering. "Heck, _Matt's_ the one who showed you how to hack my sub-routines in the first place. It's_ me_ I don't trust!" he said to himself. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Ick! Would you make that thing stop licking me?" 

_I bet you don't ask that too often, do ya Stephie?_ Chyna thought with a grin, as she gently pulled her new golden retriever puppy off the irate commander's lap. She wanted to laugh out loud as the sweet little pup's warm brown eyes gazed up at Stephanie with that irresistable pleading look. 

Of course, only the little princess' favorite human shield Jeff Hardy and smart-mouthed Chris Jericho were allowed to make cracks like that without getting in trouble. 

"Ey Commander, dogs have a sixth sense, you know?" Eddie winked at her. "They know when someone wants to pet their soft little heads." 

Stephanie waited for Jericho to make a nasty joke about ensigns having a similar psychic intuition, but there was just an awkward silence where the insult should have been. Sweet Kimberly had the Y2J Unit's lips held prisoner on the dance floor. 

"Guess this means the lover's quarrel is over?" Lita asked, smiling as Ensign Guerrero's hyper little gift went sprinting behind the bar, where Jackie and Ivory proceeded to gush over it. 

"Hey, I know my Eddie was totally loco when he stuffed me into that turbolift." Chyna laughed. "Though I am enjoying the rewards of his bad behavior!" Her expression suddenly grew serious. "Really Matt, this whole ship should get down and kiss your feet. If you'd listened to Dr. Taker..." Chyna shuddered. 

"It weren't no big thing." Matt said with a shrug, turning bright pink. "It's pure luck that I wasn't completely crazy. Anyone could've found the modified radio waves being transmitted if they'd been thinking clearly enough. " 

"Don't be so lame!" Lita smacked him on the shoulder. "I mean, even Commander Shane the Pain was so impressed he let you have a week's vacation. You saved my life, your brother's life-" 

"Jeff's a little late getting off work." Matt frowned. 

"Maybe he's not coming." Lita sighed, suddenly feeling melancholy. "I wouldn't blame him. He's probably afraid I'll go mental and use him for target practice again." 

"Get real Lita." Stephanie rolled her eyes. Didn't the redhead see she was hooked up with the supreme sap of the universe? Jeff could watch his girlfriend play tongue tag with half the ensigns in this room and still ooze forgiveness. "He's probably letting his nails dry or getting his little tap shoes polished. Rats!" Her wedding ring! "My wedding ring!" 

"I see it." Matt sighed and crawled under the table, wondering if she'd be upset if he melted it down with a phaser. Hmmm... if only Jericho had been here to take advantage of this comic visual - a handsome young ensign on his knees in front of Stephanie. But then, Chris was far too busy with his love life lately to spend anytime with his real friends! 

"Boo!" 

"Owww! Dammit! Matt rubbed his head. "Jeff...that's not funny." 

"Are you kidding?" His little brother laughed. "Funniest thing I've seen all night, " he looked at Lita, "Wanna dance, babe?" 

"Er...." 

"Hey, the hair and shirt are bad enough, Hardly." Stephanie owed her friend a couple. "Don't make it any worse for her by getting up and dancing." 

"Whatever that means, Commander Happy Pants." Jeff spun his chair around and sat down with a synthehol. "That was something else you did for Jericho, I mean, considering he'd rather swap spit with that Nytron." 

"I don't know what you mean." Stephanie said through clenched teeth, kicking him under the table. Little Hardy had better shut up, she thought, because she didn't want Hunter finding out that she'd sabotaged his beatdown on Chris by blading the 'bot in the back of the neck, using the opening to manually shut down Jericho's pain receptors. 

"Right." Jeff winked at her, another one of those annoying mannerisms he'd picked up from his android idol. "Amnesia then. Hey Matt." 

"Hey what?" 

Jeff lowered his voice to a whisper. "I see dead people." 

"Shut up!" But Matt laughed anyway, even though he wished he hadn't said anything about his wacko hallucination on the ghost ship. He had a feeling he'd all but handed his little brother a week's worth of nasty pranks. 

"Jeff?" 

Ensign Hardy looked up. "X-Punk?" 

"Drink for you, courtesy of Commander McMahon." X-Pac was smiling as he threw the glassful of stinging synthehol into Jeff's eyes. "Cheers." 

"Well..." Jeff gratefully accepted a napkin from Lita. "At least it was free." 

***

  
"Isn't that star just the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" Kimberly asked with a sigh, pointing to a bright gleam on the other side of the window. She was enjoying this, being shown off as the handsome android's trophy in the Smackdown. 

"Ummm, actually that's the reflection from Edge's overly shiny teeth." Chris said with a sigh, feeling like he had his arm around a viper. He reflexively touched the scar on the back of his neck, the imperfection a reminder of the difference between what Stephanie and a truly demonic witch was. The little princess could be counted on to do the right thing in the end, not like that, that--- 

"Oooops." Kimberly giggled. "Guess I'm a little tipsy. I need to go to the little girl's room okay?" 

"Fine by me." Jericho had to meet Chyna in her quarters in about three minutes anyway. The best thing about those meetings was ranting and raving on what a slime Kimmie was. 

The Nytron waited by the ladies room door until she was sure Chris had left the Smackdown. Kim didn't care where the heck he was going; she was just so darn pouty that she'd disappointed Russo. The plan had seemed so foolproof and Wrestlefleet was supposed to be so embarrassed when their best crew went nutso and killed themselves off. 

She was going to get some satisfaction out of the evening, though it wasn't going to be from that puritan on batteries she was dating. 

"Slutephanie?" 

Kimberly smiled frostily at a table full of wide-eyed little ensigns and their ho commander. "Excuse me?" 

"You heard me, tramp." 

Eddie and Chyna exchanged looks. Had Kimberly just taken one of Jericho's most prized names for Stephanie in vain? 

"Pretend she's not there." Commander McMahon-Helmsley said. "Although it's hard to ignore that smell." 

The ensigns went back to chatting and laughing; even the male ones avoided her beautiful eyes! 

Kimberly took a handful of Stephie's glossy brown hair and lifted her out of her chair. The commander yelped in surprise, not expecting the Nytron wench to possess such strength. Where had Chyna just gone anyways? 

"How dare you hurt Chris the way you did!" Kimberly was hissing in her face. "If he is permanently damaged in any way, I will hold you personally responsible!" 

Stephanie shook herself loose, laughing. "Oh good lord! I repaired your precious pretty boy! If certain things don't function properly, then you're doing something wrong!" 

Kimberly brought her hand across Steph's face with a decisive crack! Nobody, not even the captain's daughter, questioned her ability to seduce a man! "Keep your husband away from my Chris!" 

"Keep your damn hands off my commander!" Lita was towering over the Nytron witch, eyes flashing with fury. 

"Make me!" 

"I will." Lita assured her with a chilling calm. "In Holodeck 2, tomorrow at 1400 hours. You can learn your lesson then, or you can have the whole ship find out what a slutty coward you really are." 

Kimberly sneered at her. It would probably be painful, but what a way to turn Chris against his precious little friends! 

"Don't look so smug, Lita. I'll be there." 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	50. Season 6 Finale Episode 11 The Best Lai...

Wrestle Trek: Season 6, Episode 12

****

WRESTLE TREK

SEASON SIX 

****

EPISODE 11: THE BEST LAID PLANS...   
**PART ONE**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 071520.00. Kimberly has provided us with some disturbing information. It turns out that a prison break is planned for Russo at prison colony 10. We have informed Wrestlefleet. We fear Kim herself may have been tricked... like she had been with the information she provided us about the Toysrus colony." 

Captain McMahon sat back in his chair and went over the duty rooster. Lt. Commander Jericho had apparently given Engineering's jobber Ensigns the night off. 

Odd. 

McMahon put the padd down. Obviously the Y2J Unit was taking care of things on his own. 

***

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

Normally, the android officer would be in Engineering biding his time with two or three jobber Ensigns who had been stuck on the night shift with him, but he told them to take the night off. 

The trap was set... now it was just a matter of letting the animal take the bait. 

***

ENGINEERING 

Kimberly snuck into Engineering quietly. It was empty. An unusual but very helpful occurance. She smiled as she went up to one of the Engineering stations. She punched in Jericho's authorization pass codes, and waited for the screen to fill with classified Engineering information. 

Aha! There it was... now all she would have to do is reprogram the ship with Russo's own special passcodes, and it would be his! 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Captain McMahon went over the information WrestleFleet had just sent him via subspace. They had contacted WrestleFleet Prison Colony 10, and two female guards had replied that all was well. 

McMahon furrowed his brow. TWO guards? Usually there was only ONE who handled the front desk and communications. 

Captain McMahon quickly headed onto the bridge. 

***

BRIDGE 

"Lt. Rock... hail WrestleFleet colony 10. Get in contact with the Warden," the Captain demanded. 

Lt. Rock punched a few things into his console and opened the communications, "This is Lt. Rock of the Wrestlefleet ship WWF Titanprize. What is your name?" 

There was a pause, then a woman replied, "Officer---" 

"It doesn't MATTER what your name is!" Lt. Rock snapped, "Let the Rock speak to your roody poo warden!" 

"We're sorry. The Warden is unavailable right now..." came another female reply. 

The Rock raised his people's eyebrow and looked at McMahon, waiting for the next order. 

McMahon waved his hand across his throat, signaling Rock to mute the communications, "We'll have to go there ourselves and talk to him," McMahon said. "Hopefully my suspicions are incorrect." 

"What do you want the Rock to tell Officers Poontang, and Pie?" Lt. Rock asked. 

"Just leave a message to have the Warden contact us when he's available. Best not raise THEIR suspicions..." McMahon replied. 

Rock nodded, and un-muted the communication link, "Tell your roody poo Warden to contact the Rock when he's available!" 

"Yes, Lieutenant," came the reply. 

Lt. Rock cut the communications 

McMahon turned to Ensign Edge, "Set a course for WrestleFleet Prison Colony 10. Immediately..." 

Edge smiled, "All right! Prison colonies RULE!" 

***

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS - The next night 

Jericho punched in Chyna and Eddie's quarters on his vid phone. Chyna's face appeared on the screen before him, "She took the bait. Last night, my Walls program received a silent alarm in Engineering..." he winked, "we have her right where we want her..." 

Chyna nodded, "Make a date with her. On the date, convince her to go to McMahon's office with you. I'll meet you there and give McMahon all the information he needs to lock her away for a long, long time..." she said. 

He nodded, and offered her a mock salute, "Ay ay, ma'am," 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Gimme anoth'r one..." Stephanie slurred to Terri as she pushed her fifth empty glass of synthehol away. 

"You've had enough..." Terri replied, then placed a mug of black coffee in front of her, "Drink this instead!" 

"No! It's be'n SIX months!" Stephanie said. 

Terri sighed. Stephanie was having a drink for every month to the DAY that had passed since Hunter last shared her bed. "Maybe it's all those young Ensigns you spend your time with..." Terri muttered. 

"What young Ensigns?" Stephanie replied absently. 

Terri studied her, "So. The rumors AREN'T true...?" she asked, not really believing it. 

Stephanie looked up drunkenly, "Rumours...?" she replied, then frowned, "Made most of 'em up mi'ssself..." 

Terri furrowed her brow, curious now, "Why?" she asked, "Why do you want people thinking you're a cheap slut...?" 

"Got daddy's 'tention... din' I?" Stephanie replied, her words running together. Yes, she was drunk. And right now, she didn't give a damn. Her voice became quiet, almost sad as she studied the coffee in front of her, "Got Chris'sss 'tention too..." 

Terri raised an eyebrow, "You mean HUNTER'S attention, right?" 

Stephanie looked up at her, "Yeah... Hun'er... 'das wha' I meant..." 

Commander Stephanie turned to the Smackdown doors as they swooshed open. Lt. Commander Jericho walked it, barely gave her a look, and went to sit down beside Kimberly. The Nytron girl was currently flirting with Ensign Malenko at the other end of the bar. 

Jericho sat beside Kim, and she quickly turned away from Malenko and focused all her attention on him, "Hey hun!" she smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "What's up?" 

"Well, sugar-muffin..." Lt. Commander Jericho started, mentally gagging, "I was wondering if you want to meet me on the holodeck tomorrow night. I have a great program planned..." he put an arm around her, "And I'm sure it's something you don't want to pass up..." 

Kimberly smiled in return, "Of course, Chris! What time?" 

"1900h," he replied. 

"I'll be there!" Kimberly replied, "I'm going to find the perfect dress to wear for tomorrow! See you!" She gave him a quick peck, and headed out. 

Stephanie watched Kimberly as she sauntered out of the bar, then turned back to her coffee. She had overheard the Nytron slut's conversation with Lt. Commander Jericho. How could he be interested in a traitor like that? What a jerk! 

A plan formed in her mind as she stared at the bar top. Maybe it _won't _be Jericho Kimmy meets on the holodeck tomorrow night. 

"Since when did YOU pick up Austin's drinking habits, Skankanie?" Stephanie spun around in her chair to see Jericho standing behind her, arms crossed disapprovingly. 

"Go 'way..." she mumbled, "I hate you..." 

Jericho sat on the bar stool beside her, "I know you do, Skankanie... and the feeling is mutual. But why are you suddenly drinking like Bradshaw's long-lost twin? I didn't think you were much of a drinker..." 

"Listen, Y2Jerk, I don' need you givin' me a hard time righ'now, ok! Jus' go 'way!" 

Jericho looked at Terri, "Did Hunter forget her anniversary, or birthday... or something?" he asked. 

Terri looked at Stephanie, then looked back at Jericho, "I'm not at liberty to say..." 

Jericho turned back to Stephanie, "I see... let me guess... Stephie can't get no satisfaction from her hubby?" he asked. Stephanie's face grew angry. She grabbed an empty synthehol glass and threw it at him. His super-quick reflexes caught it in mid-air. Jericho smirked, "That bad, huh? Well, at least you have some young Ensigns to bide your time with!" 

"Shu'tup!" Stephanie snapped, "You don' know anyth'ng! You're jus'a s'upid unemotional robot who rather spen' hisss time wif' a Nytro' slut then wif' someone who cares 'bout him... so jus' SHU'TUP!" With that, Stephanie stormed out of the Smackdown. 

Jericho watched her leave, and blinked. Now he was REALLY confused. He turned to Terri, "Someone who cares about me? Do I have a secret admirer I don't know about?" he asked. 

Terri sighed and shook her head. Stephanie was right about ONE thing --- Chris COULD be pretty stupid sometimes... 

***

ENGINEERING - The next day 

"Good morning sunshine..." Lt. Commander Jericho smirked as a groggy Commander Stephanie entered Engineering, "Feeling all bright and cheery today?" 

"How many synthehols did I have last night?" she groaned, her head pounding. 

"Five. All in less then an hour from what Terri told me..." 

"Oh god..." Stephanie muttered, then shook her head. "Ugh!" she replied as dizziness came over her. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She slowly made her way to the replicator and called up a black coffee, which she drunk quickly. She blinked. Strong stuff! It definitely woke her up. "Ok... much better!" she replied, then looked at everyone in Engineering, who were staring at her, snickering amongst themselves, "What? Never seen someone with a hangover before? Get back to work before I report you all for slacking off!" she demanded. 

Everyone did as they were told, and Stephanie headed to her office. Why was she surrounded by so many jerks? She'd have to talk to daddy about that. 

***

KIMBERLY'S QUARTERS 

Kimberly smiled as she stared out the window. The stars were going by so fast! In a few hours, they would be at Prison Colony 10. The plan would be set in motion! 

She pressed the button on her communicator, "Is everything ready there?" she asked. 

"Yes," came Russo's voice. "We are ready for the Titanprize. Remember what you have to do!" 

Kimberly smiled, "Leave it to me! I won't let you down.... even if I have to _hurt _someone..." she laughed coldly. 

Russo chuckled, "You're so bloodthirsty. Just my kind of woman..." 

***

WRESTLEFLEET PRISON COLONY 10 

Russo closed the communication and turned to the man who lay tied up on the floor at his feet. "Did I ever tell you how I love having intelligent and reliable people under my command?" he asked. 

Bishoff tried to reply but the green golf tee in his mouth prevented it. He squirmed, wincing from the headache The Chosen One had given him earlier when he introduced Bishoff's head to a guitar. 

Russo kicked him, "DO hold still, Eric! I'm trying to get a hole in one!" Russo placed his golf ball on top of the tee, and swung. Bishoff let out a scream as the putter connected with his face. Russo smirked, "I never WAS that great a golfer," he put another ball on the tee, and swung again. 

This time, he connected with the ball -- which went straight into the rusty tin can at the other end of the office. 

Russo smiled, "Beautiful!" then looked at Bishoff, his smile turning cold, "What do you say we play hockey next? YOU get to be goalie!" 

***

BRIDGE 

"We are currently in orbit around WrestleFleet Prison Colony 10. What are your orders, sir?" Ensign Blackman asked. 

Captain McMahon looked at his communications officer, "Lt. Rock, hail the colony. Get in touch with the Warden..." 

"Lt. Rock to Prison Colony 10. Where is your roody poo Warden?" Rock asked. 

A female voice replied, "He is currently in a meeting. Please have your Captain hold position and lower your shields. We will beam aboard one of our officers and---" 

"I will speak to your Warden first before ANYONE beams aboard my ship!" Captain McMahon snapped. 

There was a pause, then, "Yes, sir... I will tell the Warden as soon as he's available.." 

McMahon furrowed his brow. The warden had been awfully busy as of late... 

***

WRESTLEFLEET PRISON COLONY 10 

"Chae to High Commander Russo..." a voice came through the intercom, "The Titanprize is in orbit... but won't allow us to beam aboard!" 

"WHAT?!" Russo snapped, and hit the puck in front of him hard. It flew into the net... after ricocheting off Bishoff's head. Bishoff would have screamed if Russo's dirty socks hadn't been stuffed in his mouth. Russo looked at him, "You know, Eric... you really SUCK as a goalie!" he snapped, then turned back to his intercom, "Get me Kimberly! NOW!" He demanded. 

"Yes sir..." Chae replied, and patched him in. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - KIMBERLY'S QUARTERS 

Kimberly was busy getting herself ready for her date when an angry voiced crackled through her communicator, "McMahon won't allow us to beam aboard!" It was Russo. 

Kimberly stopped teasing her hair for a moment, "WHAT?" 

"You heard me! You're up there! Work your charms. DO something!" 

"Yeah yeah... don't worry!" she smiled at herself in the mirror, "I'm sure I can _talk_ Chris into convincing Captain McMahon to lower his shields..." she put her make up on, and smoothed out her super-short black dress. 

"And _how_ are you going to TALK him into that, Kimmy?" 

She sprayed on her _special_ perfume... the one that made every man aboard the ship cater to her whims. "I'm a woman, Russo-honey... I have my ways..." 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Lt. Commander, I need you to go over subroutines 600 to 900 before you head out for the evening," Stephanie commanded. 

Jericho looked at his watch, "I'm heading out at 1900h! That's in 15 minutes, Commander! You should have given me this an hour ago!" he snapped. 

"Well, I'm giving it to you now! I have an appointment I need to keep, so you just do the work and you can leave later!" She handed him a padd, and headed out of Engineering. 

Jericho glared at her. Damnit! Leave it to Commander Stephanie to throw a wrench into his plans. 

***

HOLODECK 3 

Kimberly entered the holodeck and gasped when she saw who wait for her. Not a fancy holo-program, not a gorgeous Lt. Commander... but an angry Commander Stephanie McMahon, complete with phaser. 

"What's going on?" Kimberly asked angrily. 

"What's going on, Kim... is that Lt. Commander Jericho obviously has a malfunction when it comes to you!" Stephanie replied. "He seems to trust you enough to date you, whereas I don't even trust you enough to share the same air with you!" she snapped. 

Kimberly smiled smugly, "So what are you going to do?" she asked. "Kill me? That'll sure let him see your side of things..." 

"I want you to tell me what the Nytron's plans are!" Stephanie replied. 

"Their plans are..." Kimberly paused, took a few steps towards Stephanie, "Their plans are for me to kick your ass!" she replied, and swung her leg up, kicking Stephanie in the face. Stephanie's phaser flew out of her hands as she fell to the ground, momentarily stunned. Kimberly laughed, "You can't even take a simple bump like THAT, Commander! Did you really think you could win in a fight against me?" 

Kimberly grabbed Stephanie's phaser from the ground, and Stephanie grabbed the Nytron girl's ankle, pulling her leg out from under her. She tackled the woman, and tried to take the phaser from her. Stephanie kneed Kim in the stomach and grabbed her hair, "Give me the phaser!" she demanded. 

"Wench!" Kimberly hissed, and grabbed Stephanie's uniform, ripping the bottom of her shirt. 

Stephanie ripped the straps off Kim's dress angrily, "Let's see how YOU like it, skank!" Stephanie shouted. 

Kimberly laughed, "I've worn less then this in the past," she said, "I don't have ANY problem!" she punched Stephanie across the face and pinned her to the ground, "Now listen, you spoiled brat... you can't always get what you want! I know you're trying to find any excuse to steal Jericho away from me, and I know there's no way he'd lay a finger on you!" She lifted Stephanie up by the hair, and slammed her back against the floor. 

"That's... that's not it..." Stephanie gasped, seeing stars, "you're a...." 

"A Nytron girl? Yes. That's what you say... but what will Chris think? He'll think you attacked me in a fit of jealousy! And he'll laugh at you! He'll laugh that a pathetic little snot like you would get jealous over me!" she glared at Stephanie, "And tell me, Stephie... who will he believe? His girlfriend... or the superior officer who's been causing him nothing but trouble?!" 

With that, Kimberly laughed a cold, frightening laugh. 

***

OUTSIDE HOLODECK 3 

Jericho heard the commotion inside, "Damnit, Stephanie!" he shouted angrily at the doors in front of him, "You sneaky little wench!" 

She had PURPOSELY given him that extra work in Engineering so she could confront Kimberly. By the sounds of things, it didn't sound like Stephanie was very successful. 

He quickly overrode the holodeck lock, and ran in. 

***

HOLODECK 3 

The two women stopped fighting for a moment to see who had so rudely interrupted them. Kim looked at him, stricken, "Chris! You won't believe this! She attacked me!!" 

Jericho raised an eyebrow, "It looks a bit different from THIS angle, Kimmy. YOU'RE the one slamming HER head against the floor!" 

Kimberly narrowed her eyes, and quickly pulled Stephanie to her feet. She held a phaser to the Engineer's head, "Don't move, Steph..." Kim said. 

"Kim... what are you doing? We had a date!" he started, then looked at Stephanie, "Unless you have something kinky planned..." 

"Pervert!" Stephanie seethed. 

"Skank!" Jericho replied. 

"Shut up, both of you!" Kim shouted, then tightened her grip on Stephanie. The Commander whimpered. "Give me your weapon, Chris!" Kimberly demanded, "Or she kisses the phaser!" 

Jericho quickly lost his humor. He could fire on Kimberly... but would end up having to go through Stephanie. Right now, he was tempted seeing as how Stephie-dear just royally screwed up his plan. 

Jericho muttered a few unpleasant comments about Stephanie under his breath, and slid his phaser across the hologrid to Kimberly. She put a foot on it, "Thank you, honey..." she said with a sickeningly sweet smile, then turned to Stephanie, "Now why don't you be a good girl and tell daddy to lower the shields." 

"Why? So your Nytron friends can board the ship?" Stephanie asked angrily. 

"Well... " Kim started, "If YOU won't do it, then _I_ will..." she dragged Stephanie to the holodeck panel and quickly tapped a button, still holding Stephanie at phaser point, "Kimberly to Captain McMahon..." 

"Kim? How can I help you!" came the Captain's voice cheerily. 

"You can help me by lowering the shields, McMahon..." 

McMahon paused, "I'm sorry.... I don't quite understand, Kim..." 

"Don't do it, daddy! It's a trap!" Stephanie shouted. 

"Stephie? Honey... what's going on!" 

Kimberly bent Stephanie's arm back, causing her to scream out in pain, "Do it, McMahon! Or your sweet little Stephie will know what it feels like to get up close and personal with a phaser..." 

"Stephie!!" McMahon shouted, concerned. Then he grew angry, "Let her go, Kimberly!" 

"Yeah, right, Vinnie-mac... like I'd do that!" Kimberly replied. "Lower the damn shields!" 

"Never!" McMahon replied through the comm. 

Kimberly sighed, "You want me to do this the hardway, fine..." with that, she threw Stephanie into the Y2J Unit and discharged her phaser. 

Jericho grabbed Stephanie as her legs went out from under her. The phaser had cut across her left leg, burning deep. Stephanie screamed as searing pain rushed through every nerve in her body. Her body then collapsed to the ground, pulling Jericho with her. 

"Stephanie!" came McMahon's voice, "What did you do to my baby?!" he shouted, hoarse with fear. 

"Let's just say Stephanie won't be walking for a while. Now lower the shields before I decide to fire at her HEAD!" 

"Damnit!" McMahon shouted, "You will be a dead woman if you hurt her again!" 

"Really?" Kimberly said, then fired again at Stephanie's OTHER leg. Stephanie screamed in agony. "Hey McMahon... looks like I'm still alive! Now, should I fire on her arm next? Or maybe give her a facelift? Either way, she will be in great pain. Now you really don't want to cause your baby such pain, do you Vince?" 

"Stephanie? Stephanie... speak to me!" McMahon shouted. 

"I think your Stephie-dear is in a little too much agony to talk right now..." Kimberly said. "I can cause her MORE pain if you like..." she smiled coldly. 

Jericho stared at Kimberly. Was the Nytron girl planning to torture Stephanie until she got her way? Stephanie's almost prone body lay beside him on the ground. _Please... let her be ok..._

"NO!" McMahon said, "I'll... I'll lower the shields... just don't hurt her anymore!" 

"Thank you, Vinciepoo..." Kimberly replied, then waited as Captain McMahon gave the order. She grabbed her personal communicator, steadying her phaser at Jericho and Stephanie, "Russo..." she said into the communicator with a smile, "All done!" 

"Thank you, darling..." Russo's voice came through the comm. 

Jericho looked at Kimberly, eyes wide, "What the hell...?" he asked, "He's FREE?" 

"Of COURSE," Kimberly replied, "My man is very resourceful! He managed to take over the prison colony and dispose of the unnecessary officers..." 

"Your MAN?" Jericho replied. First Bishoff... and now RUSSO! How disgusting.... and extremely skanky of her! 

"It hurts..." Stephanie whimpered quietly on the ground beside him. The wounds had cauterized from the heat of the phaser, but she was in agony. 

Jericho looked at her, forgetting she had been there for a moment, "Steph..." he said, relieved that she was alive. 

Stephanie glared at him, "So tell me, Lt. Commander... what do you think of your little girlfriend now?!" she hissed, trying to ignore the burning pain coursing through her body, "You're such a JERK! I hope she melts you down for spare parts!" 

Stephanie had messed up his plans, and she was mad at HIM? Not to mention the fact that she was now injured and made escape almost impossible! He frowned as Kim busied herself in conversation with Russo on the other side of the holodeck. "Listen, Princess!" Lt. Commander Jericho whispered, "YOU'RE the one who just helped the Nytrons take over this ship! Don't you start getting mad at ME!" 

"YOU were the one playing nice with the Nytron slut!" Stephanie replied quietly, voice strained. 

"It was a PLAN to set a trap for them!" he replied. "I was playing nice with Kim so I could give her bogus passcodes, leading her to hack into the computer system - where Chyna and I would then catch her and present the evidence to your daddy dearest!" 

"Well why didn't you tell me then?" she replied weakly. Her body hurt too much to get very angry. 

"And what... have you blurt it out to daddy before we could get the evidence? He was so dazzled by Kim, he would have stripped me of my rank and then made sure Chyna stayed in The Smackdown forever!" 

Commander Stephanie was about to reply, but realized he was right. Damn. "So what are we going to do?" she asked. 

He shook his head, "WE can't do anything with you injured! It's up to Chyna now..." 

"I'm sorry..." Stephanie replied. She was in too much pain to ask herself why she was apologizing to the stupid android sitting beside her. 

"What are you two talking about?" Kimberly asked when she finished her conversation. She smiled slyly at Lt. Commander Jericho, "Sharing our bedroom secrets, honey?" 

Jericho frowned, "Yeah, the secret being I never eeeeeeever shared my bedroom with you!" he replied. 

Stephanie looked up at him from her place on the floor, "You didn't?" she asked. 

"To borrow a phrase from Lt. Commander Austin -- oh hell no! She's been contaminated by Bishoff ... AND Russo!" 

Kimberly knelt beside him, and ran a hand through his hair, "You don't know what you're missing, babe..." 

"What? A case of Nytron STDs?" he asked coldly. 

Kimberly frowned and stood up, "Maybe I should shoot _you _too!" she replied, aiming her phaser at him. 

"Go on, Kimmy. Shoot away..." 

Kimberly glared at him, then lowered her phaser, "I'll talk to Russo first. He may have some other plans for you..." then smiled cruelly, "Of course, you may very well WISH I had shot you instead..." 

***

TRANSPORTER ROOM 2 

Chae quickly held Lt. Commander Debra McMichael at phaser point as the rest of the Nytrons boarded the ship. She smiled. 

Russo would soon get his revenge on Captain Vincent K. McMahon.   


END OF SEASON 6

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	51. Season 7 Premiere Episode 1 The Best La...

**WRESTLE TREK**

**SEASON SEVEN**

**EPISODE 1: THE BEST LAID PLANS**   
**PART TWO**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   


... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 071820.00. All is well here. Everything is going according to plan. I must thank Kimberly for her part in this. She has done an excellent job tricking her _friends_, and now, the Titanprize is where it belongs.... in MY hands! Captain Vincent Russo!" 

Russo smiled coldly, and closed his log book. 

Ah yes... it was great being in control! 

Russo looked towards the man across the room from him, "So, Eric... why don't you salute the new Captain of the Titanprize?" he asked, then laughed, "Oh silly me... I forgot! It's hard to salute someone when your hands are tied!" 

Bishoff glared at Russo. Yes... his hands were tied... but his fingers weren't -- and he quickly saluted Russo with one in particular! 

*** 

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker tried not to step on the patients that littered the floor of Sickbay. He had had to pull triple shifts just to keep up with treatment. 

The crew of the Titanprize were sadly unprepared when the Nytron boarded. The rebels's weapons were highly superior, and very much illegal. Phasers would not cause half the damage the Nytron disrupters did, nor were they as fast at powering up. Hence the sudden flooding of victims to Sickbay. 

The information that Commander Stephanie McMahon and the Y2J Unit were being held hostage on the holodeck had quickly made it's way throughout the ship. Those who had wanted to fight back did not for the simple reason that it would end Jericho and Stephanie's lives. All though Stephanie was not a favourite, it seemed the Y2J Unit was quite popular among the crew. 

When Russo had barged onto McMahon's bridge with his rebels, McMahon had heard Stephanie screaming through the comm as Kimberly once again tortured his precious daughter. That alone was enough to make McMahon surrender. He was now locked in the brig under 24 hour surveillance 

But Dr. Taker knew McMahon had a plan. The only problem was... WHAT was his plan? Surely he would have left something... anything... for his crew. Instructions? Perhaps certain passcodes? Dr. Taker would have to find out. Perhaps find a way to sneak into the Captain's quarters or ready room. 

Dr. Taker smiled to himself. Lurking in the shadows was something he was good at. VERY good at. 

Now was not the time to think of that, however. There were vict--patients to tend to. 

Dr. Taker looked around and found the Nytron Chief Medical Officer. The young man's complexion was white as death, his cheeks hollow. He had braided black hair, and claimed to be from planet Kanata. He went by the name Dr. V. M. Piro. 

The young doctor was currently tending to his own people, who had been wounded in the takeover... albiet much less then Dr. Taker's. 

"Taker, where the hell is your other nurse, Saturn?" Dr. Piro asked angrily when he noticed Dr. Taker studying him. 

Dr. Taker frowned at him, "Your stank ass will NOT speak to the lord of medicine that way, boy..." he replied, "And if you must know, Saturn is in the Smackdown. He needed a rest. His eyes were beginning to cross..." 

"What kind of clip joint are you running here, man! You think you can just let your nurse go like that when you're in the middle of a medial emergency? What kind of doctor are you?!" 

Dr. Taker grew angry, "You'd better watch your mouth, boy... before I come over there and kick your teeth so far down your throat you'll chew your OWN ass out for pissing me off!" 

Dr. Piro frowned, but turned back to his own patients quietly. A few of the healthier, and less injured members of the Titanprize crew, were helping out Dr. Taker. Nurse Bearer was helping out as well. It's not as if Sickbay was understaffed. 

Dr. Taker swore under his breath. He'd have to share his sickbay with the uptight Nytron doctor as long as the rebels held the ship. 

Of course, if Dr. Piro annoyed him enough, Dr. Taker would make good on his threat... consequences be damned! And the dark doctor would enjoy every minute of it! 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Hey, hoochie! Gimme a glass of synthehol!" A Nytron named Big Poppa Pump demanded as Chyna walked by him. 

Chyna glared at him angrily. It had only been 3 hours since the Nytrons had taken over the ship, but Chyna felt like it had been 3 _years_! 

Chyna had other things to worry about then catering to these jerks - like getting Chris out of the Holodeck where he was at the mercy of that Nytron witch, Kimberly. If only Stephanie hadn't interfered! Chyna never detested the spoiled brat more then she did now! She felt like taking her anger out on someone... and the man who had just put his hand on her rear was going to be it! 

Pump screamed like a girl as Chyna twisted his fingers into an unnatural position, "Touch me again, and it won't be your FINGERS I twist, Nytron!" she hissed angrily. 

Pump swore angrily and pulled his hand painfully from her grasp, much to the laughter of his brother, Rick, "Oh Scotty! You got hurt by a woman!" he howled. 

Pump glared at him, "Shut up you little snot!" he snapped, and jumped to his feet, staring down Chyna, "Do that again, and you'll be sorry, wench!" he said as he fingered the Nytron disrupter at his waist. He turned on his heel and walked out. 

Suddenly a scream erupted from a few feet away. Chyna turned to see an angry black-haired girl yelling at a boy her age, "We were supposed to get married!" she screamed, "How could you DO this to me, David?! I HATE YOU!" the girl then slapped the boy repeatedly... and walked out. 

Chyna blinked. Good lord... they were worse then Jericho and Stephanie! 

"Oh... David, honey... did that mean ol' Daffney hurt you?" a sly, blonde woman came up to the boy and put her arms around him. Chyna blinked, and wondered if these two knew the meaning of the word '_jail bait_'. 

"That's 3 time, 3 time, 3 times those two have broken up!" A Nytron Chyna recognized as Diamond Dallas Page came up to her. "Daffney's a BANG whacko! 'course that Hancock scum is always there to mess things up even more.." he said as he watched David and the blonde. He turned to Chyna, "Have you seen my tramp ex-wife, Kim, by the way? Heard the scumette was on board..." he asked. 

Chyna opened her mouth to reply... then stopped, "No idea where she is..." she lied. 

"Ah hell... that wench is probably in some Ensign scum's bed by now..." he replied angrily, then found himself a seat in the back and nursed the synthehol in his hand. 

Chyna went up to Terri and took off her apron, "I'm going to find a way to get Stephanie and Jericho out of the holodeck," she whispered. 

"Good luck! Maybe when you're done, you can find a way to get these damn Nytrons out of my bar! They are the WORST patrons I've ever had! Even Bradshaw and Farooq are better behaved..." Terri replied. 

Chyna smiled, "One thing at a time..." she answered, then headed out. 

*** 

HOLODECK 3 

Lt. Commander Jericho studied Stephanie. She was shivering. Pain does that. It also didn't help that Kimberly had ripped off most of her top in their earlier fight. He sighed, and placed his tunic over her, " This might help..." he said. 

Kimberly eyed Jericho with interest, "How very noble of you, Chris..." she said, then smiled slyly, "I always DO enjoy some eye-candy from my hostages." She slithered over to him, too close for comfort, "Tell me, Chrissie... why are you so concerned for Stephie here?" 

He glared daggers at Kimberly, "Get. The. _Hell_. Away. From. Me!" he said slowly. His voice a low, angry rumble. 

Kimberly blinked, and smiled again. Jericho thought she looked like a cheshire cat. He always hated that cat… 

"Anyone ever tell you you're cute when you're angry, Chris?!" Kimberly said. 

"Anyone ever tell you you're skanky when you're breathing, Kim?" he replied. 

Kimberly seemed confused for a moment, "But I breathe all the time..." then stopped, and frowned, "Oh, very funny! You won't be such a smart ass when my man gets through with you! He's taken over your ship, you know. Your crew is under HIS control now! And your Captain..." she licked her lips gleefully, "I can only IMAGINE what Russo has in store for him!" 

"Bloodthirsty little wench, aren't you, Kimmy?" Jericho replied. A groan came from Stephanie. He quickly turned his attention to her, "Steph?" he asked, "You still alive?" 

"Barely..." Stephanie whispered. "Can hardly move my legs. It hurts too much..." 

"Yes... well.. phaser burns will do that to a person..." he muttered dryly, "I don't suppose there's a medkit in here... ?" 

"Should be... in all holodecks..." she replied, her words coming in short gasps of breath. 

"Where?" he asked. 

"Near the doors... the panel..." 

He quickly went up to the doors and removed a nearby panel. There it was... but would it be any use? He went through it, and found a moderate pain killing hypospray. He went up to Stephanie and pressed it against her arm, "I don't know how much this will work... but at least it'll ease it a bit..." 

Stephanie looked at him, "Took you long enough to think of that..." she muttered. 

Jericho frowned, "Oh well excuuuuse me! I'm busy being held HOSTAGE here!" he replied. Even when Stephanie was in great pain, she still managed to give Lt. Commander Jericho a hard time. 

"Well, while it's fun watching you two bicker like school children, I hear my communicator beeping... pardon me..." Kimberly said. She stood up, and smiled at the Y2J Unit as she ran a hand through his hair, "I'll be right back, darling..." she said. 

"I'll hold my breath," he muttered, "Maybe I'll pass out ..." 

"Oh... are you sure you want to be unconscious and at my mercy?" Kimberly asked, "Who knows what I might do with your beautiful body," she finished, then let out a cold laugh as she went to answer her communicator. 

Lt. Commander Jericho shivered. On second thought, maybe he WOULDN'T pass out.... 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Where are YOU going, chickie?" a husky female voice called out. 

Chyna turned around to come face to face with a Nytron woman about her size. She recalled her name being Aysa or something, "I... uh..." Chyna tried to find a quick excuse, "I'm on the maintenance crew..." she lied, "I'm simply doing a routine check on everything..." 

"And where is your cleaning equipment?" Aysa asked. 

"I am going to get it right now..." Chyna smiled, and quickly ducked into the maintenance room a few feet away. She waited a few minutes, then opened the door again. Aysa was gone... but... she had an idea -- Who else but maintenance would have a reason to go into the jefferies tubes just over holodeck 3? 

Chyna quickly put on a pair of WrestleFleet issue maintenance coveralls, and found the nearest jefferies tube opening. 

*** 

THE BRIG 

"Let me out of here!" Captain Vince McMahon shouted to the security guard. "Nash... we served together! If there's ANY loyalty left in you to Wrestlefleet, you'll let me out of here!" 

Nash laughed, "Loyalty to WrestleFleet?" he repeated, "You've got to be kidding me, Vinnie-mac! I have a sweet deal with Russo, and I'm not about to give that up!" Nash said. He looked towards his fellow security officer, Hall, "Get a load of him! He thinks we have some loyalty to WrestleFleet!" 

"Hey yo... let's take a survey..." Hall began, "If you don't got no loyalty to WrestleFleet, raise your hand!" Hall and Nash both raised then hands, then laughed. 

Nash shrugged, "Well, I guess that's two against one, Vinnie-mac!" 

Hall went up and put an arm casually on Nash's shoulders, "Hey yo... you think we should teach our former Captain a lesson?" he asked. 

Nash looked at Hall, an evil glint in his eyes, "Shall we?" 

"Why not!" 

With that, they turned McMahon's force field off, and taught him how to sell pain... 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"So, Saturn... how do you like being a Nurse?" Nytron Kanyon asked the bald-headed man in front of him, then burst out laughing, "Great promotion, huh?" 

Saturn narrowed his eyes, "Hey, I'm doin' something I like. Something HONOURABLE! At least you don't see me taking over ships and treating its crew like slaves!" 

Kanyon stood up, "You got a problem with that?" he asked angrily. 

Saturn stood up as well, "Yeah, I do..." 

"You wanna have a go? You think you're better then Kanyon?!" Kanyon asked, "NO ONE is better then Kanyon! And if I have to kick your ass to prove it, I will!" 

"Woah woah woah, boys!" a calming female voice broke in. It was Terri, "There will be none of that in my bar, you got it?" 

Kanyon looked at her, "It's the Nytrons' bar, woman! This ship don't belong to WrestleFleet no more!" 

"Listen, Kanyon! I'm not a WrestleFleet officer, I'm an entrepreneur. Even if this ship belongs to the Nytrons, this bar is still MINE... got that, big boy?!" she snapped. "And I would kindly appreciate you NOT dragging my friends into your petty need to show how much testosterone you have!" 

Kanyon looked at Terri, then at Saturn. He smiled slyly, "Damn, maybe we shoulda' taken over this ship earlier! If you can get a woman like that to defend you, who knows how many woman would come take MY side! Bang!" 

Page came up to Kanyon and glared at him, " It's bad enough you stole my clothing and hair, KanSCUM! Do you have to steal my lines too?" he snapped. 

Kanyon pulled something silver out of his pocket. A cutter. "You got a problem with me, Page?" he asked, "My Kanyon Kutter will fix that up real quick!" 

"You ain't worth my time, SCUMyon..." Page replied, and walked away. 

Kanyon frowned, but quietly sulked to the bar 

Terri rolled her eyes, "Was it ALWAYS this bad with your ex-shipmates?" 

"Worse..." Saturn muttered, then smiled, "But enough about them..." he put an arm around her shoulder. She didn't seem to mind as he led her to a table in the back where they could chat. 

*** 

THE BRIG 

Captain McMahon lay on the ground. Nash and Hall had given him enough powerbombs and Outsider's Edge's to render him immobile for a good few days. He could barely move due to the bruises that were now blossoming over his upper back. He did manage to crawl to his cot and lay down, but it was all he could do before he passed out. 

Scenes of getting revenge on Russo danced in McMahon's unconscious mind. 

*** 

HOLODECK 3 

Lt. Commander Jericho paced back and forth through the holodeck. How would he get out? He wasn't worried for himself... but for Stephanie! Any attempt to free them would cause Kim to pull out her trusty phaser and fire on the helpless McMahon. 

Jericho stood staring at Stephanie, arms crossed. He felt overly concerned for the woman lying on the ground in front of him, and this concern rendered his thought process almost useless! 

Jericho sighed, deciding he'd have Ensign Matt take a look at his emotion chip again. For now, he would turn the damn thing off. 

Kimberly slithered up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, massaging gently. "What's the matter, sweetie... worried about the little skank?" 

"I am not worried about anything at this moment..." he replied, his voice unemotional and almost mechanical. 

"Aw poop! You turned that little chip thingy off!" Kim pouted. "You're so much more fun with it ON!" 

"It is currently hindering my thought process..." he replied. 

Kimberly smiled, "Well... since you don't care either way..." she came around front and put her arms around him, "You're so warm..." she said as she snuggled against him. 

He quickly pushed her away, "Do NOT touch me..." he replied. Was that _disgust_? For some reason, he felt his skin crawl... even though he knew that physically, it was impossible. 

"NO ONE turns ME down…" Kimberly snapped, then smiled coldly, "I'll make you my personal play thing soon enough. Just wait, Chrissie. I plan to familiarize myself with every one of your... _functions…_!" 

"That would be highly impossible if I do not allow it," the Y2J Unit replied. 

Kimberly smiled slyly, "I'm sure if I crossed a wire here and there, you would allow it..." she replied. 

"The only ones qualified to _cross my wires, _as you put it, are Commander Stephanie McMahon, and Ensign Matt Hardy," he replied. "Neither will change my programming to suit your skanky needs..." he replied, then blinked. Smart ass remarks without his emotion chip? Something was definitely wrong with his systems. 

"Chris..." Stephanie whispered from the ground, "The pain is back..." 

Lt. Commander Jericho dutifully went to his superior officer and took another pain killing hypospray out of the Holodeck medkit. He pressed it against her neck and listened to the hiss. The medication was slowly working its way through her bloodstream, but how long before its effectiveness would wear off. 

Kimberly watched the Y2J Unit, a frown lining her lovely face. Even when his stupid chip was off, he still managed to be concerned about that useless McMahon wench. 

No matter. She would have the Y2J Unit all to herself in due time... 

*** 

JEFFERIES TUBES 

Chyna crawled slowly over where she thought Holodeck 3 was. She peered through the grate, and gasped. Stephanie was lying on the ground, noticeably injured... and Kim was gloating as Jericho tended to his superior officer. 

Chyna didn't have a weapon, but she didn't need one. A sneak attack worked just fine! She'd surprise Kim... and take HER phaser. 

Now... if only Kimberly would come a little closer to the grate.... 

*** 

SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

Shane stared at the wall. Pops was in the brig and Shane... well... Shane had lost his cushy Commander position as he had been replaced by the so-called chosen one... Jarrett! Shane frowned. After all the Titanprize had done for Jarrett in the past, he goes and does _this_! 

Well no matter. A plan was forming in Shane's evil little mind. He would find a way to get his ship back. Whether he would free his father was another matter. Captain Shane McMahon DID have a nice ring to it. Perhaps daddy-dearest could stay in the brig for a little while. 

Shane smiled. Yes... the plan would work... and the Titanprize would be back in WrestleFleet's hands -- Captained by a worthy successor! 

*** 

ENGINEERING 

Ensign Lita frowned as she watched the Nytrons sitting on their asses relaxing as her, the Hardys, and the various other crewmembers went about running the ship. It seemed all the Nytrons were good at were pointing phasers. 

The situation was made worse now that the Chief Engineer and the Co-Chief were being held hostage elsewhere on the ship. Many of the Ensigns in Engineering were making silly mistakes, the occupation and lack of superior officers jangling their nerves. 

"Here, Crash... let me show you how to reconfigure the subroutines. That's not the right way..." Lita said as she went up to the little Houdinian. "You take this, and do this..." she showed him exactly what to do. 

"Hey... watcha' doin' red?" a Nytron, calling himself The Cat, spoke as he stood up, "Don't you make me call my momma on you!" 

"I'm helping my fellow crewman, Nytron!" Lita replied, eyes burning with barely contained anger. 

"You need a whuppin' girl? I can give ya a whuppin'!" The Cat replied. 

Lita took a defensive position, "Try it, Rodman wanna-be!" she snapped. 

The Cat furrowed his brow and ran a hand through his close-cropped curly yellow hair, "Say what?" 

Lita relaxed a little. He was too dumb to do anything anyway, "Never mind. Unless YOU want to run this ship, stop breathing down my neck!" she snapped. 

The Cat frowned, and took a seat again, holding his phaser ready just in case. 

*** 

JEFFERIES TUBE 

_Just an inch closer... come on, Kimmy... come on.... GOTCHA!_

*** 

HOLODECK 3 

A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the holodeck as a darkly clothed woman pounced from the ceiling, and knocked Kimberly unconscious before the Nytron girl could see what hit her. "Gotcha, wench!" the woman snapped. 

"Chyna!" Jericho said, relief flooding him. _Relief_? He shook his head. Those energy surges were becoming quite a problem. 

Chyna kicked Kimberly's unmoving body and looked towards Chris, "Get Stephanie to Sickbay! The ship is under Nytron occupation and I really can't do anything more to Kim unless I want to get my head blasted off!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho understood, and gently picked Stephanie up, trying not to aggravate her injuries further. He quickly opened the holodeck doors and rushed to Sickbay. 

Chyna immediately pocketed Kimberly's phaser and snuck up back through the Jefferies tubes. It wouldn't do to let the Nytrons know SHE was the one who knocked Kimberly unconscious. It wouldn't do at all. 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

Kimberly rubbed the bump on her head as she sat at the bar, "Hey... what happened to YOU, girl?" Chae asked as she came to sit beside her. 

"Stupid grate in the Holodeck came loose and landed on me..." she muttered. At least, that's what she THOUGHT had happened. It's not like anyone could have jumped down from the ceiling and knocked her out, right? 

"Shame. I heard you had the android all to yourself too..." Chae replied. 

Kimberly smirked, "Well... that McMahon wench was there... but she was a little under the weather and couldn't really have done much but enjoyed the show..." she laughed a cold laugh, then paused and pouted, "If there HAD been a show..." 

Chae smiled slyly, "We run this ship now. If you want to play with the Y2J Unit, it can be done!" she winked, "Everyone here is at our disposal. We are free to use them as we wish. 

Kimberly smiled coldly, "The Y2J Unit will become my new toy... whether he likes it or not!" 

The two ladies laughed, turning heads of Nytron and WrestleFleet alike. 

Lt. Commander Jericho sat at the other side of the room by the pool table... and wondered what the two Nytron skanks found so damn funny. 


	52. Season 7 Episode 2 Big Brother

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 2

Creator's Note: I've picked up X_C as a co-writer. She has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 2: BIG BROTHER 

By:[X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   


... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Cap's Log, Stardate 071900.00. This is Vince Russo, broadcasting live from the Big Mac's office! Life aboard the Titanprize, which I do plan on someday re-naming the Turnerprize, is sweet as sugar, baby! I wonder...do Vincie and Eric Bishoff hear the tick-tock of their borrowed time running out?" 

Russo's voice was heavy with an exaggerated East Coast accent as he ran the blood red seams of a baseball through his fingertips. 

The new captain laughed. "Got a new game for ya Eric. See, I'm the pitcher and you're the catcher, though you may have to use your pearly whites to snag my knuckle ball...what with your hands tied up and all!" 

Silver-haired sneak! Russo would have to take him out of cold storage and toy with him later, show him the price tag for getting out line.... 

"Damn wacky thing went down today. So many of these pissant little Wrestlefleet losers try and snub their noses at me in their little defiant ways, but not Shane O'Mac! Oh no, Shane O' seems to have no love lost for Daddy or the zombie-like loyalty of your typical Titanprize officer! In fact, just a couple of hours ago the little puke had the gall to sit across from me and bleed secrets like a stuck pig!" 

A smirk appeared underneath the devilish black moustache. 

"But even snotty little ingrates have their uses. McMahon's oldest brat will be my new liason officer, smooth the troubled waters between his crew of whining crybabies and the Nytron who own this hunk of space junk. Do I trust him? Hell no! Can I use him? Hell yes! And of course, he will prove that he's the traitor he claims to be, I will make damn sure of that....." 

Russo closed his logbook. Shane would prove it...or die. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"The entire crew hates you." Benoit spoke so matter of factly he could've been discussing the weather. 

Shane shrugged, leaned over the pool table with a cue stick aimed like a rifle in his hands. Russo had bragged on the Commander becoming the new liason officer, turned the witless wonders on the ship against him. "They wanna waste their valuable hate on me, they're more than welcome." 

"You consider it a waste?" Benoit hissed. Their conversation was drowned out by the raucous noise in the bar, the Wrestlefleet officers refusing to give the Nytron the satisfaction of not enjoying their lives. "I thought you wished to change Wrestlefleet for the better, not sell it up the river to cowards like Russo!" 

The eight ball cracked off the corner of the table. Shane drew his stick back with an angry sigh. "Chris, I want this damn ship back! And I sure as heck want to be the Captain when it happens!" 

"It's dangerous to play with Russo like that." 

"It's more dangerous not to." Shane watched Chyna out of the corner of his eye, serving drinks with an innocent smile. _But it's not an innocent game you're playing is it, Chyna?_ he thought with a cold smirk. Let her act out her cloak and dagger, undercover waitress bit; as long as her noble attempts to rescue the Titanprize didn't interfere with his stab at glory, she wouldn't get burned. 

"Listen up Benoit." Shane casually moved to the scientist's side, keeping his voice low. "I've convinced Russo to allow the Hardly sisters to do a run to a Nytron base for supplies." 

"Supplies?" Benoit raised an eyebrow. "What could we possibly-" 

"Illegal Nytron weapons of course." Shane grinned. "And of course, the shuttlecraft would be blasted out of space if they pulled anything funny. Thing is, I don't think Matt and Jeff are stupid enough to play hero on this trip." 

"Those boy scouts?" Benoit oozed scorn. 

"It would be a shame if their shuttle were to...have an accident." Shane said with mock regret. "To have two such fine young ensigns die in a massive explosion or a catastrophic crash....I think I feel a tear coming to my eye." 

Benoit merely nodded as Shane brushed false wetness from his eyes. "Matt and Jeff aren't stupid - they will suspect-" 

"They will suspect nothing." Commander McMahon said flatly. "They'll do as they're told." 

"Your sister-" 

"My sister." Shane felt his chest tighten, his throat close up. God, the last person in the galaxy he wanted to discuss little Stephie with was the cold-hearted Chris Benoit, a man who'd almost used his kid sister as a human bomb to blast the loathesome Lt Rock out of existence. Of course, Shane had known all along, had even approved the disgusting murder attempt, but he'd been so damn drunk and intoxicated on the thought of unlimited power, so dizzy with the thought of making over Wrestlefleet in his own image that..... 

Now the memory of how he'd almost made his sister a sacrificial lamb turned his stomach. A cold sweat dripped down his forehead as the urge to throw up overwhelmed him.... 

"My sister will not pose a problem." Shane took several deep breaths to steady himself. "I'll protect her no matter what it takes." 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley has a soft spot for the Hardy ensigns. Her devotion to Wrestlefleet cannot be questioned. She will fight you." 

He glared at Benoit. "What I do to keep Stephanie safe may not be pretty but it'll damn well work, you hear me? Stay out of it!" 

"Aye sir." Senitmental little fool! Benoit thought, wanting to spit on his superior officer for being so weak. "I will attend to the Aerialian project immediately." 

"Beautiful." Shane smiled. 

***

"Can I...top that off for you, Commander?" 

"Anytime." Shane winked at his latest acquisition, a gorgeous blonde waitress who was poured into her skimpy serving outfit. One good thing he could say about Russo-his new dress code for the Smackdown's female employees was a blessing to the male customers. "All set for tonight, Trish?" 

Her smile was sweet, but it stopped there. That was why Shane had snatched her off Copeland-10, and fortunately her beautiful looks dazzled Russo to the point of blindness. "Oh yes sir. I always do my best work at night." 

Shane practically choked on his synthehol. Trish was a nice little toy, a very important player in his game, but she was far too obedient and pliable. Not like Lita, he thought, his eyes sweeping over the lithe red-head who was wasting her charms on that wimp Jeff Hardy. 

Commander McMahon smiled. Soon, there would be no more Jeff, no more Matt, and little Lita would be very lonely indeed. She'd need comfort, something to keep her occupied.... 

Lita was just the icing on the cake really. Shane could not risk having that rainbow-headed freak save his sister this time; sparing her from what her big brother had to do would probably get Stephie killed. Worse yet, there was always the possibility of those damn Hardyz saving the ship themselves, a nasty habit the Aerialian mutants had developed in the past several months. The Titanprize was Shane's to save-no one else's.... 

Shane leered as Lita's eyes snapped with pure fire. She'd felt his stare, turned to face him. 

_Soon Red, you'll be caught in the spider's web, and there will be no escape...._

***

ENGINEERING 

"I can't work like this!" Stephanie buried her face in her hands, head throbbing, the gash in her leg burning with pain. The phaser wounds that Kimberly had so graciously given her during the takeover were healing nicely, but sometimes white-hot agony seared through the scars... 

Counselor Snow claimed it was psychological, but then the idiot thought she was in love with that putrid Jericho too. What a quack! 

"Standing up?" Chris asked, only half-interested in his tri-corder readings as he scanned the warp core. "Fully clothed? Without an ensign on top of you? What's the problem?" 

"Normally, I'd say you." She scowled at him. "What I mean is that it's a pain in the butt working with all these freaking armed Nytron babysitting us! It's an insult!" 

"Sort of like an ensign leaving only one credit on the nightstand when you're through?" Jericho couldn't help it. Phaser or no phaser pointed at his head, that didn't change the fact that Stephanie was a skank! 

"That's it!" Stephanie's eyes blazed with a white-hot fury. "What have I done to offend the great Christina Jericho now? Is this about me screwing up your precious little plan with your little girlfriend Chyna? Maybe your macho pride is still smarting from having Hunter get the better of you! Heck, he practically bashed in your no-selling titanium with his sledgehammer-that still gnaw at your gut Chrissie? Get some brass ones and just spit it out!" 

Jericho studiously avoided her eyes. When she was angry like this, they just looked so stormy and so....so... 

Ick! What the hell was he thinking? Why couldn't Matt just fix his emotion chip and get it over with? 

"Lt Commander Jericho is a little conflicted right now." Jeff said seriously as he strolled past the warp core. "He wants to jump you but isn't sure if that's appropriate during an occupation. Androids aren't that familiar with sexual etiquette and get easily frustrated." 

Stephanie's mouth fell open. "You little-" 

"Ohhhh Engineering!" 

Both Jericho and Steph forgot about Ensign Hardy's crack as Kimberly pranced off the main turbolift in an ultra-short Wrestlefleet skirted uniform, squealing and clapping her hands together like a little girl hopped up on a gallon of sugar. 

"Come to stick your head in the plasma generator, slut?" Commander McMahon-Helmsley asked icily. "That would boost crew morale by about a thousand percent!" 

"Ohhh no." Kimberly giggled, training her phaser on Stephanie and enjoying it thoroughly when the little princess flinched. "Captain Russo sent me to keep an eye on things. I was sort of hoping Chrissie here could give me a little "hands-on" experience with the equipment." 

Stephanie felt heat flush her face, the loathing she felt for this piece of Nytron garbage like acid burning in her veins.... 

"Lesson Number One." Jericho smiled coldly. "Proper Phaser Use. Stick business end of the weapon between your lips, adjust setting to maximum kill, and depress the trigger. Go for it Kimmie." 

Kimberly laughed merrily. "The only thing I plan on wrapping my lips around is your pretty little android mouth sweetheart. But uhhh, you want to play hard to get, I can amuse myself in other ways." 

Stephanie was like a rock, unmoving and expressionless as the wench ripped the stars off her collar. 

"There!" Kimberly's smile was painfully sunny. "Class, you may now refer to the Titanprize's resident mattress as Ensign Helmsley! Oh my! That means there's two Ensign Helmsley's now - how confusing!" 

"I bet the idea of keeping your legs together confuses you." Jeff was smiling too. "And by the way, we're still going to treat her as our commander, no matter how catty and childish you choose to get." 

"You're cute." Kimberly beamed at him. "Aren't you the one who pretends to like girls?" 

"The fact that he's not willing to check into your crab motel says nothing about his manhood, Kimmie." Jericho was fuming. How dare she wiggle her way into his department and insult his officers! "What the hell do you want?" 

"I think I like you as a Commander." Jericho felt dirty as she leaned over him and pinned a pair of Stephanie's stars on his uniform. "Something about men in a position of power really turns me on." 

"Something about a man with a pulse turns you on." Chris said flatly. "I don't want a promotion from you or your slimeball master." 

"Tough!" Kimberly let her touch linger against his throat. "You'll soon find out dearest.... I can make you do exactly what I want, when I want. I can even make you like it." 

"We have work to do." Jericho wanted to reach out, wrap his hands around her neck and just squeeze...."Captain Russo expects us to run his little ship, we can't be disturbed. Get out of our face. Now." 

"Aye...Commander." She winked at him, savoring the horrid little look of humiliation and rage that creased Stephie's perfect little features. How perfectly awful for the precious princess, suddenly being the total inferior to the man she so desperately desired and could never have! 

But Kimberly could have him - as long as the Nytron controlled the Titanprize she could have whatever she wanted! 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Kanatian brandy - make it a triple." Stephanie hoped that was strong enough to ease the jagged lightning bolts of pain that tore through her head. Everytime she gazed down at her shabby new ensign's uniform, it made the agony more intense. 

"Aye Commander." Trish smiled warmly, with just that right touch of compassion in her honeyed voice. 

"Better not let Kimberly hear you address me like that." Stephanie massaged her aching temples with her fingers as she watched the curvy blonde pour the the high-octane liquor into a glass. Who was she? Shane had mentioned something recently about hiring a sexy new waitress...."She's vowed to shoot on sight anyone who doesn't refer to me as Ensign Helmsley." 

"Oh sure the skank talks tough." Trish tossed her silky golden mane of hair. "But I bet she'd cry like a baby if she broke a nail!" 

Stephanie didn't reply, couldn't reply as the amber-colored liquid ignited an inferno in her lungs. She could barely breathe, but what was the point of breathing in the foul air around here anyways? She'd expected a lot of things - horribly creative methods of physical torture tested out on the crew, chaining them all to the pipes down in sanitation, even execution. 

The Nytron, surprise, surprise, had been far more clever than that. Russo and his merry band of snivelling chickens had kept the Wrestlefleet officers alive and manning the ship, all the better to feel every waking moment of their ultimate humiliation. 

"Whoa - take it easy Ensign." Trish advised her, eyes luminous with concern. "Kanata produces some pretty strong poison." 

"I can handle it." The burning in her chest had mellowed, and now the brandy felt like warm satin sliding down her throat. All the tension in her muscles began to dissipate with each sip, her vision getting pleasantly clouded. To hell with the Nytron, to hell with Chris Jericho, and to hell with her husband, whom she hadn't seen since the occupation began! She didn't even know if Hunter was still alive, but dead or alive, she got the same sad amount of attention. 

Absolutely none. 

"More." Stephanie thrust the glass across the bar. She needed to drown out the sounds of these no-class, bottom-feeding Nytron scum partying it up all around her. Heck, Bradshaw and Farooq could guzzle all the beer in the bar and not act this obnoxious! Perhaps it was better that Daddy not live to see the carnival sideshow his precious Titanprize had become... 

"I'm gonna have to cut you off after this one, Stephanie." Trish said gently, a pale blue capsule sliding through her fingertips and splashing into the brandy. Too bad the freshly demoted ensign was too depressed to notice..... 

***

DECK 9-CREW'S QUARTERS 

"Commander - what's wrong?" 

"Lita?" Maybe there were two Lita's. Maybe Lita had a twin sister. Stephanie wasn't sure as her vision alternated between blurring and doubling . She leaned against the cool titanium walls, an icy sweat soaking the fabric of her wretched ensign's uniform. Oh lord, would the world just stand still for a minute? 

"Been to the Smackdown, Steph?" Lita sighed as Stephanie almost collapsed on her. "Try and stand up alright?" 

"I uhhhh...." Her tongue felt like it was a mile thick and oh so clumsy. Had she been in the Smackdown? Stephanie didn't quite remember if that was a dream or reality or if it had been yesterday or a year ago. All her memories were flowing together like liquid in her drowsy brain, the hallway near her door spinning like the center of a tornado. "Dunno Lita." 

"How many did you have?" That was...Jeff? Matt? Anyways, he sounded exasperated. 

"One." Yes, she was sure of that! "I swear....jussst one." 

"One my ass." Lita said bluntly. "I've seen Lt Bradshaw put away a keg and not be this drunk!" 

"What's the code to get into your room, Steph?" It was definitely Jeff; his colorful hair was making her queasy. 

"Uhhhh..." Stephanie stared blankly at the control panel. "My room?" 

Lita frowned. Of course, the Commander would take her demotion hard, but the stupid girl had to know it was temporary until the Titanprize could be returned to Captain McMahon's control! And she had to know that this was a darn poor time to be drowning her sorrows over some ridiculous marital problems! 

"Er...she's really messed up Lita." Jeff felt uneasy. "Maybe we should take her to Dr. Taker." 

"No!" Lita snapped. "She'll be humiliated! She just needs some black coffee and some time to sleep this off!" 

"Steph!" 

Ensign Hardy felt his stomach twist into that oh so familiar knot as Shane stalked towards them like a predator circling his next meal, a protective fire burning behind those sneaky weasel eyes. He'd already stripped Jeff of his rank and tried to use his own sister as a timebomb; god only knew how the brat would react to finding his favorite Aerialian with an arm around Stephie... 

"We were trying to help her." Lita said furiously as she watched Commander Scumbag tap in the manual override to Stephanie's door. "You're obviously too busy selling secrets to Russo to notice she's dangerously intoxicated!" 

"She needs a doctor." Jeff insisted. 

"No." Shane scowled. "What Stephanie needs is for you losers to stay the hell away from her! You call yourself her friends? Everytime my sister gets near you Aerialian geeks she ends up in hot water! You're a jinx!" 

"Do you know how many times we've saved her life?" Lita spluttered, so enraged she could've pistol-whipped Shane with her phaser, had the Nytron allowed ensigns to be armed. "As opposed to how many times you've tried to murder her!" 

"Ensign Hardy, you need to get to ShuttleBay 4 and do a pre-flight check." Shane's voice was dipped in ice. "Find that moronic brother of yours and get cracking. You have Russo's bidding to do at 1400 hours tomorrow!" 

"Considering how you've backstabbed the entire crew, pardon me if I don't rush right off and leave Steph alone in your custody!" 

Oh no, Shane thought, Jeff wasn't going to play hero this time! "I'm calling Counselor Snow. My sister obviously has broken down under the strain of what's been happening and has resorted to drinking! You think I enjoy seeing her like this? I want to help her!" 

"Let it go, Jeff." Lita lightly touched his shoulder. "I mean, he's calling Counselor Snow. Al can be trusted." She felt that cold shiver go up her spine, but she had to ignore it. Steph just looked so weak and tortured that it was easier to suspect dark forces at work than accept some sort of nervous fit. And while Shane was clearly the spawn of Satan, he did seem genuinely touched by his sister's plight. 

And maybe Lita didn't want to believe that Stephanie had a breaking point, that she'd have to see her friend this way.... 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"What the hell is wrong with my wife?" Hunter was wearing a path in the carpet from storming back and forth. He didn't want to be here, didn't want to bear witness to another of his bratty bride's little "emergencies" Watching his wife curled up in a catatonic ball, sucking her thumb and crying her eyes out was still better than taking crap from Russo and Jarrett on the bridge though. 

"Ask him!" Lita pointed an accusatory finger at Shane, who was standing in a shadowy corner looking dead tired. 

"I recommend you stow that disrespect, Ensign Lita!" Commander McMahon felt waves and waves of nausea crashing over him. Couldn't Lita leave him the heck alone? Couldn't she realize that he didn't want it to go down like this? No, of course not - she thought he was the devil incarnate. "If I find out you and Jeff had anything to do with this-" 

"I'm gonna throw every single one of your stank asses out of here if you don't shut the hell up!" Dr. Taker was kneeling in front of a sedated Stephanie, tombstone gray eyes locked on his medical tri-corder. He didn't like what he was seeing.... 

"Is it...physical, Doc?" Shane's knees were shaking, wondering if he would find the illegal Nytron drug being carried along in his sister's bloodstream. 

"Don't see anything bogus going on in her brain." Dr. Taker shook his head, sighed. Dammit! Stephanie was not at risk for this kind of breakdown. He had no love lost for the McMahon family, but he knew they had an iron will that couldn't be broken this easily. "Counselor Snow is right for once. It's functional." 

"You mean mental?" Lita's face became as flame-red as her hair. "Steph is not a psycho! He's doing something to her!" 

She had that finger of hers in his face again...."Stand down Lita! Before I lock you in the brig!" Shane's ears were getting pink too. 

"Believe me Lita." Dr. Taker smiled thinly. "I would love to pin this one on Ritchie Rich there, but Stephanie hasn't been compromised in any way that I can detect. Best thing we can do while the rats run the ship is keep her safe in here and let Al work with her. I'm sorry Hunter, Shane." 

"Not your fault." Shane ran his hands through his short, dark hair. So he'd gotten away with it this time, but what about next time? 

***

NYTRON MOON MYSTERIO-6 

"Now this is the definition of sucktitude." Matt spit out a mouthful of mud and dirt, touching a hand to his head. His fingers were slick with something damp and crimson - blood. "I must have a concussion. I'm quoting Edge and Christian for pete's sake." 

He winced upon opening his eyes, the glare of some unknown sun reflecting painfully off a giant pile of twisted, contorted metal. The air was acrid with the scent of burnt wiring and spilled chemicals. It came back to him in nasty little flashbacks - the warp core on the verge of detonating, the plasma blowing sky-high before they could eject the damn thing..... 

"Jeff!" Matt staggered to his feet, limping around the wreckage. "Jeff?" 

"Over here!" Jeff was kneeling behind some jagged rocks, wiping blood off his own face with the sleeve of his uniform. "Geez Matt, you broke it!" 

"Me?" Matt sat down, dizziness flipping the scenery in a most uncomfortable way. "You're the moron who pulled that freaking wire out of the navigational console. I told you not to play with stuff!" 

"It came off in my hand!" Jeff protested. "You know how low the production values of the Nytron are! I'm suprised the hull didn't dissolve everytime we collided with cosmic dust!" 

"Forget it." Matt sighed. A bitterly cold wind blew stinging dust into their eyes and noses, making them both choke. "Dammit! How are we supposed to get back to the Titanprize anyways? That thing is a complete loss!" 

"Hmmm too bad the long range scanners are broken." Jeff bit down on his lip. "I could use them to locate your sense of humor." 

"Whip out your tri-corder little brother." Sense of humor? At a time like this? Maybe Steph was right when she said that Lt Commander Jericho was a bad influence on Jeffrey. "See if it can tell you where my foot's gonna be in about two seconds!" 

Ensign Hardy unholstered his damaged tri-corder. "My ass?" he asked innocently. 

Matt laughed. "Well, at least we can figure out why this thing crashed. I'd hate to be abandoned and die in vain." 

"Let me enlighten you Matty." Jeff brushed himself off and duitfully followed his big brother over to the smoldering scrap heap. "Shane O' handpicked us for this mission and I doubt it was for our good looks and dazzling talent. Well, not yours anyways." 

Matt didn't argue. "So he's expecting to find two corpses if he scans the moon, right?" 

Jeff frowned. "Unfortunately. Alas, we don't have any phasers to shoot ourselves with so Commander Shane the Pain can be satisfied." 

Matt pressed a finger to his lips - he'd picked up the sound of heavy footsteps crunching the lunar dirt. The floating pebble would be just crawling with Nytron scum considering they had crash-landed near an illegal weapons factory. 

Jeff nodded to indicate he had heard it too, several yards away. Tearing a jagged, razor-sharp piece of metal away from the folded-up hull, his face lit up with a slightly bloodthirsty smile. "Looks like we got ourselves some volunteers to play dead Hardyz." 

Matt reluctantly removed his comm badge. It was the only way they could be tracked here, but right now it was better off pinned to a dead man's chest - their only hope of fooling the Titanprize's cursory scans. "Okay, after we eliminate these two, what the heck do we do? His voice was a whisper. "The two of us aren't exactly equipped to storm a Nytron base of operations." 

"Ummm...duh?" Jeff whispered back. "I guess we just survive til they come back to get us. Maybe we can get into the factory and find some way to communicate we're here." 

"They're gonna think we're dead, kid." Matt said impatiently. "Unless Steph wants to come and retrieve our bodies once Vinnie Mac gets his ship back. She does owe us a couple." 

"Steph's nuts." Jeff said bluntly. "She probably won't even remember us." 

"She is not nuts." Matt hissed. "Shane's messing with her. It's so totally obvious!" 

"Man." Jeff shook his head, crouching down as the footsteps approached. "You really need to stop hanging out with Edge and Christian so much." 

***

ENSIGN LITA'S QUARTERS 

Lita sat curled up on her sofa, staring into the dark. The lights bothered her eyes too much, made her head ache too much. 

It was all too much really. Ensign Big Poppa Pump and his cronies making lewd jokes about her in the Smackdown, the way she felt so violated everytime she walked into Engineering and saw those armed Nytron in her space, the way her friend was being pushed over the edge by her own big brother and Lita was so helpless to stop it.... 

If only Jeff was there to make her laugh! Why wasn't he back from that sleazy little mission of his anyways? 

"Get out!" Lita glared at Commander Shane McMahon, who had the incredible nerve to manually override her room locks and step inside her quarters. Her privacy was the only thing she had left to call her very own on this Nytron-run ship. "Get the hell out of my face right now, Commander!" 

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Shame on you, Ensign. Wrestlefleet protocol still stands during a time of occupation." 

"Screw protocol." Lita's smile was arctic. "Shouldn't you be off strapping Stephanie into a straightjacket or something?" 

"Lita, Lita, Lita." Shane sighed, sitting on the sofa with her, touching her fiery red hair ever so gently... 

She shuddered, squishing against a pillow. She hoped she wouldn't puke all over him, though it would be fun to see the look on his face if she did. 

"I need to tell you something, Lita." Shane said solemnly. "This is the hardest thing a superior officer has to do but.....god....Lita, Matt and Jeff aren't coming back from their mission. I'm sorry." 

"Aren't coming back? What do you mean?" Lita's hand flew over her mouth. She really was going to be sick. "Oh my god!" 

Shane watched with barely concealed amusement as Lita fled to the window, her hair like a bright red comet trailing behind her. She was almost hyperventilating trying not to cry in front of him. "You killed them." 

"What?" Shane exclaimed. "Their shuttle crashed, Lita. It was an accident." 

"Liar!" He was shocked by the Aerialian's agility and strength as she lunged at him, her hands locking around his throat, squeezing like no tomorrow. She was going to crush his windpipe if he didn't- 

"Ow!" Lita reeled back in shock as she felt her arm punctured by a hypospray. "I don't need to be sedated damn you! God, how can you sit there all smug and pretend to care about me when you've just murdered my two best friends? You're lower than Russo!" 

"If anyone killed your little love monkeys it was Russo!" Shane lashed out. Hey, when that Nytron cancer was scrubbed out of existence, disgraced after his failed coup, no one would believe a word he said anyways. Shane could blame stuff on him now with impunity. "I wish there was time to mourn but there isn't. I need your help." 

"My help?" Lita laughed. It sounded hollow. "Sure Shane O' Mac! You send my boyfriend to his death, I reward you by helping to betray the Titanprize! Sign me up!" 

"Guess what honey?" Shane snapped. "Things aren't as black and white as you may think! You sit there with your self-righteous saintly attitude looking down your nose at me, accusing me of trying to kill my sister, murdering your friends, selling out the crew by dealing with Russo! I'm sorry, Lita! I'm sorry I'm not some pure, holier than thou Aerialian hero with a boy scout complex!" 

"Commander-" 

"Shut up!" Shane was pacing circles in front of her. He had never been very good at the whole sitting still thing. "Or better yet, Lita, grow the hell up! I know your rainbow-haired love slave always performed his perfect little rescues by the book, but some of us have to play dirty to win! Sometimes, being noble doesn't cut it! What's happening to Stephanie is terrible, yes, but just stop and think, Red! If Russo thought she was a threat, what would happen? Look at what Kimmie almost did to her!" 

Lita blinked. What was Commander McMahon trying to say? That he was poisoning Steph's mind to protect her? That maybe Jeff and Matt weren't really dead? Shane's lips were pressed together so tightly that she knew no more secrets would be revealed. 

"What kind of help do you need?" She knew this was a risk, an extremely grave risk. Helping Shane would make her look like a backstabbing traitor in front of the entire crew. 

Then again, her image meant nothing at all if this risk would bring Matt and Jeff back to her! 

***

OUTSIDE COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Brother this is so totally the cushiest job ever!" Edge was smiling prettily, his teeth casting a blinding white light throughout the darkened hallway. Captain Russo had instituted a new rule about powering down the ship during the night hours. "Guarding a total skank is so much easier than flying the Titanprize!" 

"Nytron occupation rules!" Christian exclaimed, happily high-fiving his older brother. "This is like the single most coolest thing we've ever been ordered to do! It doesn't even mess up my hair!" 

"You speak the truth brother!" Edge nodded. "Like, the singularity of the coolness...and stuff totally defies sucktitude!" 

"Does your punk ass call that English, boy?" Farooq calmly removed the cigar from between his lips. "Cause to me you sound like a damn valley girl!" 

"It's like how people talk when they're totally hip, dude!" Edge shook his head sadly. "Don't you read the articles in Galaxy Beat?" 

"Uhhh..." Bradshaw really could've used a beer then. Really used one! "Only publication Farooq and I read is My Foot In Your Ass Journal. Ever turned the pages of that one, boys?" 

"Hello?" Christian looked disgusted. "I only read mags that have taken pictures of me!" 

"Yeah well." Lt Farooq pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. "Matt and Jeff Hardy left you something in their will, wanted us to give it to you special." 

Edge frowned. "Like....they're dead? No one told me." 

"Death totally sucks!" Christian grimaced. "I mean, you don't even get to do your own hair and clothes before they stick you in the coffin! I hope I don't look totally heinous when my number's up!" 

"You want what Matt and Jeff left you or not?" Bradshaw demanded. 

"Can I have DUH for $200 please?" Edge replied, with a practiced toss of his shimmery blonde hair. "Man, I just knew the Ensigns Hardy were down with us! Radical!" 

"Perhaps not brother." Christian said warily. "Imagine the total horror of being left young Jeffrey's wardrobe? That would be, like, the supreme definition of suckage!" 

"I doubt the fair Lita would allow Jeffrey to give her clothes away though." Edge assured him. 

"I think you're gonna enjoy this boys." Bradshaw was grinning from ear to ear. "I know I'm sure as hell gonna enjoy giving it to you!" 

"Cool!" Christian beamed. 

"Damn cool!" Farooq unholstered a steel pipe and wacked Christian across the shoulders with it, while Bradshaw enthusiastically dismantled Edge's shin with a 2X4 he's been holding behind his back. They couldn't help but laugh as the two blonde teen idols curled up into quivering little balls. It was a damn crying shame that the will only called for five minutes of stiff, old-fashioned ass-kicking! 

"Please!" Edge moaned. "Just...spare...the....face!" 

"Sucktitude!" Christian could barely whisper that one word as he lay sprawled in a bloody heap on the floor. 

"Oh yeah, and Jeff especially wanted you to have this." Bradshaw spit in both their faces. "Well I've worked up quite a thirst there. Beer in the Smackdown?" 

"You bet your ass!" Farooq nodded at the cocky Kanatians. "Evening boys." 

"Ahhh saliva!" Christian was able to scream now. "My skin has been sullied! The synthehol in his spit will burn my delicate face like acid!" 

Edge tapped his comm badge. "Medical Emergency on Deck 9...hurry!" 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"I gotta hand it to ya, Shane O'!" Vince Russo had the gall to stick his dirty boots up on his father's desk, laughing as he watched the images of the Hardyz fatal shuttle crash on Mysterio-6 flash across his monitor. "Murdering those two sissy boys really took some testicular fortitude!" 

And then he dared to use Pop's catchphrases? Where did he get off? Well, besides with Kimberly? "Trust me, it's for the best." 

"Oh I know, I know!" Russo was rocking back in his chair, darn near giggling so hard enjoying the film of Matt and Jeff's shuttle spiraling in a fireball towards the moon's surface that he almost fell on the floor. "I read their glowing little service records! I mean, what the hell, what kind of crap runs this ship when two uppity little ensigns always have to save the day?" 

"They were just lucky." Shane said through clenched teeth. Little losers had more commendations for bravery on their records than he did! 

"Thanks to you, their luck just ran out!" Russo smiled, steadying his seat. "I think you should be rewarded." 

"A phaser?" Shane raised an eyebrow as The Chosen One silently slipped the weapon into his grip. 

"Sure." Vince nodded. "Hey, if you wanted you could take both me and JJ out right now." 

Commander McMahon grinned and holstered the phaser. "The Titanprize is finally being run like a real federation flagship instead of a travelling soap opera! And I'm gonna punch a phaser hole through the man who made that a reality? Cut me a break Vinnie!" 

"I love a good suck-up!" Russo glowered at the Chosen One. "You taking notes, slapnutz? This is how you get on my good side!" He shook his head at Shane. "Good help is freakin' hard to find!" 

"I don't suck up, Russo." Shane said icily. 

"Course you don't." Now why didn't Bishoff have brass ones like this kid? "Bloodthirsty little brat aren't you though? Guess cutting down young ensigns in their prime helps to block out the pain of your sister going looney tunes!" 

Shane went rigid in his seat. Killing Matt and Jeff was just for kicks and giggles, but how dare he crack jokes about Stephanie! "Your girlfriend put my kid sister through hell in that holodeck! What did you expect?" 

"Take it easy, Shane O'!" Vince had to admit, that McMahon temper could be most amusing. "I'll keep my little freak on her leash. I just feel sorry for all the horny little ensigns that will be left high and dry cause of your sister going bonkers!" 

His face was turning deep hot crimson despite his efforts to check his rage. Shane knew this was just a sick test of his loyalty, but for one second it would've been so worth it to make Russo suck plasma.... 

"Let go of me fatso!" Shane's head whipped around in surprise as Lita was dragged through the door by pathetic, over-the-hill Ensigns Nash and Hall. 

"Ensign Lita!" 

"Commander Weasel!" She spit on him as Nash and Hall hauled her over to Russo and forced her down on her knees. "Golly, I feel just like your sister right now, Shane!" 

"Have you been a naughty girl, Lita?" Shane smiled as he pressed his newly acquired phaser into the back of her neck. "More Aerialian blood on my hands won't bother me a bit, Captain." 

"Not the head, Shane O'!" Russo grinned. "She's got such a pretty, pretty face! Oh and those eyes....such fire in them! What did the wench do?" 

"That babe Trish caught her behind the bar ransacking the liquor cabinet." Nash explained. "Ranting and raving that she was trying to poison Stephanie. We let the catfight go on for five minutes before we broke it up!" 

"I want that security tape!" Russo barked. "Well, well Lita, I really don't care for your tendency to take the law into your own sexy little hands. But you're just too damn hot to kill you know? Shane, I know how much this one floats your boat so....take her?" 

"Take her?" 

"You're a busy man, you need a devoted slave!" Russo was grinning so sadistically.... "And if she refuses to...satisfy your wishes, feel free to kill her. Painfully." 

"I could use a decent foot rub." Shane picked Lita up by her hair, making her yelp. "Come on baby, I'll wash away the taint of that Hardy mutant for you-OW!" 

Lita had kneed him in the groin. 

"Holy cow Lita." Shane hissed as he doubled over. "I said make it realistic, not so damn convincing I'm unable to reproduce." 

"I think I just did the world a favor!" she hissed back. "And I will cut it off if we go back to that Nytron moon and find only Jeff's dead body!" 

Shane flinched as she removed her brutally oppressive knee from between his legs. He was definitely gonna have to find a good hiding place on this ship when they arrived at Mysterio-6 again, cause no way on God's green earth did the little Hardy freak survive that fiery explosion..... 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"What a pleasant surprise, Commander!" Kimberly licked her high-gloss lips as Jericho stormed off the turbolift. Oh but he did look dashing in that sexy red uniform she'd forced him to wear...and he wouldn't look half-bad out of it either! Boy, the hallway was getting warm..... 

"Do you know what would be a pleasant surprise, slut?" Jericho wanted to toss his cookies all over her spiked heels. Granted, Skankanie had tried to stuff herself into some pretty revealing and desperately unflattering skirts, but this get-up of Kimmie's was like some sort of sequined band-aid. She looked so darmn smutty that she'd have to work at raising herself up to the level of gutter trash!. "If I were to stumble across your corpse in this corridor!" 

"Ohhh, having fantasies about me on my back." Kimberly's perfume was so cloying and sweet he wanted to find an oxygen mask to help him breath. "Naughty Chris, very naughty." 

"Move!" 

Kimberly pressed her back against the steel door. "Take it easy tiger! She'll still be nuts five minutes from now - and you need to pay the price of admission!" 

Jericho did openly gag as she closed her eyes and puckered up her lips. "I've listened to your cheap prostitution cliches for 30 seconds wicked wench of the west. I dare say that is payment enough!" 

She pouted. "I thought you Kanatians liked hockey. I just wanna play the tonsil kind." 

Good sweet lord! He felt wires in his positronic net starting to sizzle and burn from the sheer stupidity of the encounter. "I really need to check on my ensign, Kimmie. Go jump on Russo for a while." 

"Cut the crap Commander!" Kimberly's seductive manner disappeared into thin air, her eyes blazing with genuine rage. "Is that little dreamworld you and Stephie live in a happy place, Chrissie? God, how could you be such a brilliant android and be so freaking stupid at the same time? She hates you!" 

Was Kimmie having a temper tantrum? She was jumping up and down like a petulant child, only this aggravating brat was about to come out of her microscopic top and blind him permanently if she didn't stop! 

"How can you love her?" she demanded, her own nails digging into her palms so hard she could feel blood. "How Chris?" 

"Love?" Jericho burst out laughing. "What don't you get, Kim? I don't love! I don't hate! I just plain don't feel!" 

"This job does have its perks." Kimberly had switched on her sunny smile again as she reached into his holster and removed his tri-corder. "You won't be needing this." 

"You can take your hand out of there now." Jericho would crush her wrist into powder if she didn't. 

In fact, he wouldn't feel guilty about crushing a whole lot more if given the chance.... 

***

"Chris!" 

Jericho experienced a shock to his emotion chip as Stephanie flung her slender, fragile arms around his neck, the cool silk of her nightgown pressed uncomfortably close to his body...."Wow Stephie, you really have cracked up haven't you?" 

"I'll forgive that this time." Oh no. She was laying her head on his shoulder, long,dark hair smelling just like cinnamon...ICK! "Oh Chris, you have no idea how good it is to be around someone normal, someone who isn't trying to drug me or poison me or god knows what!" 

_Great Matt - you picked a perfect time to croak!_ Jericho thought bitterly. _Couldn't you have at least fixed my emotion chip before you went?_

"Well, you haven't gotten any prettier that's for sure." Chris said, eyeing her critically after she'd let go of her embrace. Her skin was washed out and chalk-white, she'd thinned out a little too much for his taste, and her eyes were puffy and red from crying. "But you aren't acting any crazier either." 

Stephanie laughed weakly, sinking into her sofa. She was so slight and delicate that it seemed like the luxurious piece of furniture could swallow her right up...."I'm not even close to being wacko, Chrissie. Believe me though, it's not cause someone hasn't been trying." 

"Explain." 

"I can do better than that." Steph reached behind a cushion, palming what would turn out to be a sparkling blue puddle of mush. "Don't give me that look!" She scowled. "I found this in my food, half-dissolved. I don't know what it is, being denied a tri-corder and all." 

"No problem." Jericho sat beside her and popped a small hatch on his arm, a convenient hiding place for the small medical scanner that Dr. Taker has smuggled to him. Naive little Kimmie - she'd trust anything she thought she could sleep with! "Well, well, well. Nytron drug! it induces psychosis and hallucinations by altering brain chemistry. Neat trick!" 

"Thought so." Stephanie eyes sparkled with tears. "Shane's newest trinket Trish has been bringing all my meals to me. I thought she was so sweet too." 

"Sweet like cyanide." Jericho frowned. "Interesting that it was Shane who hired her." 

"I know my brother is a traitor." Tears streamed freely down her face now. "The worst thing is that the pill I found was spit out by the replicator! He must have programmed it to drug me when he came to check on his poor kid sister!" 

Jericho awkwardly put an arm around her as she sobbed angrily. "Steph-" 

"Shane said it was broken!" She threw the pill across the room, watching it splat against a wall and drip poisonous slime onto her carpet. "All he wanted to do was rig the thing so it would contaminate my food and I would go nuts! What the heck kind of family was I born into?" 

"Oh my god." He stared at her. "Are you telling me you haven't eaten in days? No wonder you look like a skanky little toothpick!" 

"Ease up on the compliments Chrissie, would you?" Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Once in a while Hunter shows up and he gets me something from Tori or Terri or Chyna. You know, I'd tell him but I don't really think he'd care." 

"He'd probably try to replace Shane's drugs with rat poison." Jericho muttered, heading into the bathroom and returning with a handful of tissue. "Here-get a hold of yourself." 

She wiped her eyes obediently. "It's almost pleasant you know? Not having to be in Engineering and get hassled by those Nytron slugs." 

Chris didn't say anything. Odd....in his own twisted way, Shane had spared his little sister a whole lot of grief by keeping her trapped in here. However, the Y2J Unit wasn't quite ready to invest a whole lot of trust in big brother's nobility. 

"Stephanie, I have to tell you something." 

She brushed the last tears away, looking up at him with...was that...hope in her eyes? What did she expect him to say? 

"Chris?" 

"Jeff and Matt...." Jericho looked down at the floor, surprised at how...how empty he felt when he said their names, as if he actually missed them. He knew he had his chip on, but crushing Stephanie with this kind of news bothered him more than he expected. "Well....they're...." 

His voice trailed off. He didn't like this whole grief thing, the void that opened up in him when all these ridiculous memories came flooding back. Jericho would never forget the first time young Jeff had insulted Stephanie in such a way that even the great Y2J Unit had stepped back in admiration. The pride he'd felt at that moment brought a tear to his eye now.... 

"Chris?" Stephanie touched his arm, her expression genuinely concerned. "Jeff and Matt what? Has Russo done something to them? Don't tell me those little idiots tried to save the ship?" She sighed. "I know they're good at the whole hero thing but-" 

"They're dead." Well, wasn't he just the paragon of sensitivity today? "I didn't mean for it to come out like that Steph, I'm sorry." 

"Dead? No..." 

"Yeah." he said softly. "Your darling brother recommended them for a run to a Nytron weapons factory. They took some piece of junk WCW shuttle and it crashed on the moon after a warp core explosion No survivors." 

"When's the memorial service?" 

Chris laughed, wondering why he was so cruel. He didn't mean to be. "Stephie, do you really think our fine new Captain is gonna allow us that? He's sure as heck not gonna go back and retrieve the bodies." 

"Well excuuuuse me!" Stephanie buried her face in a cushion, just in case she got a little weepy. Crying over herself? Fine, Chrissie could see that. Crying over the Hardyz-no thanks! "Jeff can't be dead! Who's supposed to save my life now? I might as well go jump out an airlock now that the stupid idiot's gone and killed himself!" 

"Amazing sweetie." Jericho shook his head. "Wherever Jeff is right now, I bet he's deeply touched by your empathy and compassion. It's that kind of selfless devotion to your ensigns that-" 

"Oh would you just shut the hell up?" she snapped, jumping off the sofa and running to her window. Stephanie hugged herself tightly as she watched the unfamiliar stars race by in streams of light. Didn't Chris realize how hard this was for her? "How's Lita?" 

"Oh yes, Lita." Jericho made a face. "She's fine. I think being in Shane O' Mac's hip pocket is helping her out a lot." 

"Lita and Shane?" Stephanie wrinkled up her nose. She looked to see if Chris was kidding, but there wasn't a hint of a smile on his gorgeous lips. "That's.....didn't Jeff mean anything to her at all?" 

Jericho shrugged. "I suppose. Maybe she's just cozying up to Prince Charmless to see what devious scheme he's hatching next. Maybe she's just trying to forget her decent boyfriend by playing kissing games with a man who's the total opposite. I didn't ask-it's none of my business." 

"Who on this ship can I trust now?" Stephanie asked quietly, her frail arms failing to keep herself warm. "The only female friend I have is degrading herself with my backstabbing brother and-" 

"I think you need something to eat." His startling android reflexes caught Steph before she passed out from dangerously low blood sugar. She felt so tiny, like if held her too close she might break...."You can trust _me_ alright? I'll have Chyna find you something in the Smackdown." 

Stephanie nodded. 

"My, my, my how utterly cozy." Kimberly stood in the doorway, phaser pointed at the pair, a malicious smirk twisting her features. "You do have this toy robot wrapped around your little finger, don't you princess?" 

"She's sick Kimmie." Jericho had gone frigid. "She can barely stand up on her own." 

"Oh stop your whining Chrissie!" Kimberly giggled as Stephanie cowered and clung to her big bad android protector. "Easy street just became a very bumpy road honey. Captain Russo has decided that his Nytron warriors deserve some nice plush quarters and will be evicting the Wrestlefleet crew effective immediately." 

"Where are we supposed to sleep?" Stephanie cried. 

"My man is nothing if not caring." the Nytron assured her with a patronizing smile. "All the shuttle bays have been magically transformed into living quarters for the Titanprize crew. I've personally selected a lovely pair of bunks for the two of you-Chrissie on top and Princess on bottom where she belongs!" 

"My husband-" 

"Hunter?" Kim laughed slyly. "Gee, since he'll be sleeping in a whole other shuttle bay I hope he doesn't have one of those jealous streaks or creative imaginations!" 

Jericho wore a nasty smile of his own. "Don't you worry sugar. I'll make sure and point him towards the witch who thought up the idea in the first place." 

"If you can still talk when he's done hammering you into a thousand pieces, be my guest!" Kimberly said pleasantly. "You have five minutes before I drag you out of here kicking and screaming." 

"Fantastic." Stephanie sighed. "I always knew that if I ever had to sleep with you it would be god-awful and forced at gunpoint." 

"Hurry up and get your stuff." Jericho fixed her with a withering glare. "If we don't get you fed soon your trademark chubby thighs will disappear altogether." 

"Get it for me, Chris." She smiled faintly. The zingers just weren't as much fun under Nytron occupation, but maybe that was because Russo was so good at ruining the entertainment value of anything with his dictates and orders. "I'm too shaky right now." 

"Try not to die while I'm gone." Jericho disappeared into her bedroom, not exactly excited to lay hands on her intimate apparel. The war of words had lost some of its fire, but maybe that was because the illusion of hate they'd both worked so hard to create was stretching thin under the pressure of the occupation. 

And maybe, just maybe, Jericho needed to find himself another enterprising young ensign to repair his emotion chip, before too many ideas like that started running around in his head!   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	53. Season 7 Episode 3 Adjustment

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 3 ****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 3: ADJUSTMENT 

By:[Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 072520.00. My new alliance with McMahon's son seems to be working out well. I predict we will have much success. My crew is now comfortable in the Titanprize Crew quarters, and the Titanprize Crew is less-then-comfortable in the shuttle bays..." Captain Russo smiled smugly, "End log..." 

Russo looked towards his tied-up buddy, who was now sitting on the floor, "Things seem to be going well, hmmm Eric?" he asked. Bishoff said nothing. Russo simply laughed, and picked up a bowling ball, "Let's see if I can get a spare..." he said, and rolled the ball between Bishoff's outstretched legs. 

Russo smiled coldly as Bishoff let out a scream, his voice as high as a little girl's. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker paused as he studied his patient files. He watched Dr. Piro out of the corner of his eye. The Nytron doctor had pretty much taken over his Sickbay. HIS Sickbay! How DARE the punk? 

Dr. Taker sighed. He had other things to concern himself with right now, such as getting rid of the Nytron bastards aboard the Titanprize. 

The doctor had been serving with Captain McMahon for over ten years, and knew him better then anyone else on the crew. He KNEW McMahon had a plan. That man ALWAYS had a plan. 

It was only a matter of Dr. Taker finding it. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Hunter... honey.... we can always sneak into each other's bunks you know..." Stephanie smiled as she wrapped her arms around her husband. 

"No... no we can't. The Nytron's watch every move we make! We try to switch shuttle bays and they'll notice!" Triple H said quickly. 

Stephanie looked at him and pouted, "Well, you seem to be giving up so easily. I mean..." 

"Listen, Steph, we'll just have to do without each other's company until we can get the ship back, ok?" he replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've had an exhausting day on the bridge and I want to take a nice long shower!" With that, he stood up from the table, and headed out. 

Stephanie frowned, "We've been doing without each other's company for SEVEN MONTHS now!" she shouted, but Hunter either didn't hear her... or pretended not to. Sure, it had only been a few weeks since the Nytron occupation, but even before that, she and Hunter had been without each other's company for a long, long time. 

"Husband problems?" Terri asked as she sat down beside Commander Stephanie, "Boy, I sure know what THOSE are like..." she said as she remembered her ex-husband. He had joined the Nytrons some time ago, but she had yet to run into him aboard the Titanprize. 

"He acts like he doesn't care! I mean, he's a _man_! Doesn't he have _needs_?" Stephanie asked, then stopped. Of course he did... but... NO! She didn't want to think of that! Even sleeping alone was less painful then thinking her husband was finding companionship elsewhere. Stephanie sighed and stared at the table top. 

"Hey, listen, Steph. You gotta make him want you again!" Terri said, then smiled slyly, "He said he was taking a shower, right?" 

Stephanie nodded, "Yeah, so...?" 

"Oh come on, Steph! If your man is taking a shower, then it's your duty to join him! I guarantee he won't want to kick you out of his bed for a LOOOOOOOOONG time!" Terri replied. 

Stephanie brightened, "You think it'll work?" she asked. 

"I'm SURE it'll work!" Terri replied. 

Stephanie jumped to her feet, "He's in shuttle bay 5. He'll be using the showers near there!" she smiled slyly, "I'll make Hunter want me like he's never wanted me before!" with that, she headed on her way. 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 5 - PUBLIC SHOWERS 

Stephanie tightened the towel around her. Luckily, Lt. Commander Jericho hadn't been in the shuttle bay section they shared, or else she could only imagine what comments he would have made. 

She quietly made her way to Shuttle Bay 5's public shower room, and only heard ONE shower going. Good! That means it was only Hunter in there. Stephanie tried to contain her excitement as she opened the doors and walked in. The room was filled with steam, but she could make out the outline of long hair, and a muscular physique sillouhetted through the shower curtains. 

Stephanie carefully made her way up to the curtain, dropped her towel to the ground, and stepped into the shower. "Honey..." Stephanie started, "I'm all yours!" 

"Gee, Skankanie... what if I really don't want you...?" 

Stephanie's horrified screams echoed throughout the shuttle bay corridors. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I hate this occupation! I just wish we could get rid of these stupid Nytrons," Chyna said as she sat beside Eddie at the bar. 

Eddie didn't seem to be paying attention. He was staring intently at a table seating three Nytrons known as Corporal Cajun, Major Gunns, and Lt. Loco. He frowned as he stared at Lt. Loco, "We may not be able to do anything about the occupation," Eddie started, "But I can sure do something about one particular Nytron!" 

Eddie stood up angrily, and focused on the Nytron table a few feet away from him. "Be careful," Chyna said. 

"I'm through being careful with him!" Eddie replied, "Now it's time to get serious!" 

With that, Eddie headed over to the table where Loco, Cajun, and Gunns sat. 

He would be damned if he was going to let Little Chavo off scott free! 

***

THE BRIG 

Dr. Taker studied Captain McMahon through the forcefield. Behind the dark doctor, Hall and Nash lay unconscious on the floor. Dr. Taker had Terri to thank for slipping the two Nytrons a little extra something in their drinks. 

"Hey, uh... we'd better hurry before they wake up..." Counselor Snow said as he stood beside Taker, eyeing the unconscious guards nervously. 

"Calm down, Al. Trust me..." Taker said. 

Al shivered. No one in their right mind would trust Dr. Taker... but then Counselor Snow was hardly ever in his right mind. He hugged H.E.A.D. to his chest, "McMahon is sort of out cold, doc..." Al said, "They keep him sedated. I don't think there's much we can learn from him," 

"You idiot," Taker snapped, "Why the hell do you think I dragged your stank ass with me? Use your damn H.E.A.D. to read his mind!" 

"Oh, yeah... uh... ok..." Al closed his eyes, and concentrated. After a moment, he opened one eye and looked at the biker-doctor, "Uh... what am I looking for?" 

Dr. Taker rolled his eyes. If Al hadn't been linked to that damned useful H.E.A.D., Taker would have kicked his ass long ago, "You're trying to find out if McMahon had any escape plans! He was suspicious of the prison colony before we even arrived. Surely his stank ass would have set SOMETHING aside - plans or codes - just in case we were boarded!" 

"OH yes. Well, that make sense...." Al said, "Ok, I'll try again," he closed his eyes and concentrated once more. 

Dr. Taker waited. Behind him, Nash and Hall began to stir, the drug wearing off. Taker could easily knock them out again - without even having to touch them. 

The dark doctor smiled coldly. In fact, Dr. Taker could rid the _whole ship_ of Nytrons if he chose to... but watching the Titanprize crew squirm under the occupation was so much more entertaining. 

Besides, it gave him a challenge. A challenge to try and escape the old-fashioned way, and the doctor always loved a challenge. The crew needed a challenge themselves once in a while, or else how would they be able to tap into their ingenuity? Necessity was the mother of invention, as they say. And circumstances like this called for a lot of quick-thinking inventions! 

Dr. Taker turned back to Al, "Well?" he asked. 

Al opened his eyes, "The only thing prevalent in the Captain's mind is various scenes depicting extreme violence against Russo. I can't tap any deeper right now," he shrugged, "Maybe Lt. Commander Jericho could modify H.E.A.D. to look deeper into McMahon's subconscious..." 

Dr. Taker sighed, and a groan escaped from Hall and Nash, "Let's go," he said, "We'll figure out something later..." 

Counselor Snow and Dr. Taker were gone moments before Hall and Nash came to. 

"Hey yo! That was some strong stuff, mang..." Hall muttered as he tried to fight back his hangover. 

"No kidding! Damn Kanatian beer!" Nash replied, then smiled, "So, Scotty... whaddya say we get that pretty blonde barkeep to bring us another?" 

Hall smiled, "Survey says... oh yeah, big Kev. Definitely!" 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Lt. Loco let out a shout as someone grabbed him by the ear and pulled him out of his chair. 

Corporal Cajun and Major Gunns quickly got to their feet. Gunns was about to jump into action when Cajun put an arm in front of her. 

Cajun and Gunns watched as WrestleFleet Ensign Eddie Guerrero dragged their friend away. Gunns spun on Cajun angrily, "Why did you stop me?" 

"It's family business, ma chere. You don' get involved in family business..." Cajun explained. He sat down, and Gunns reluctantly did the same. 

Eddie angrily shoved the younger Loco into a nearby empty chair, and dug into him, "Why are you hanging around with Nytron scum?" he started angrily, "And what would grandma say if she found out her little Chavo, Jr. was a rebel?!" 

Lt. Loco looked at Eddie, eyes wide, "Are you gonna tell grandma?" he asked nervously. 

"I just might!" Eddie snapped. 

Russo had actually disabled all communications, save for those on the bridge... but Loco didn't need to know that. 

Eddie didn't let up, "Just think how sick grandma would be! Her poor heart...!" 

"No no!" Loco said, eyes wet with unshed tears, "Not grandma's heart!" Loco bit his lower lip, "But... I had no choice, Eddie!" he said, "When you left..." 

"YOU could have come with, Chavo!" Eddie snapped, "Captain McMahon would have found a place for you!" 

"But... but... I was in line for a promotion!" Loco protested, "I mean, I'm a LIEUTENANT now! And you're still an Ensign, Eddie!" 

"And did you get that promotion before or AFTER Russo turned on WrestleFleet??" Eddie asked. 

Loco turned away, staring at the ground, "After..." he said quietly. 

Eddie nodded, then frowned, "What happened to your WrestleFleet dreams?" he asked, "You and I were going to move up the ranks together! We were going to be the most successful WrestleFleet Guerreros ever! We would have made Grandma so proud! But now..." he shook his head, "Now you're just a rebel, going against everything the Guerrero family ever stood for!" 

Lt. Loco looked at Eddie, his face serious and stubborn, "I'm sorry, Eddie..." he said, "But things are different now..." his voice became quiet, "I'm really sorry..." he finished, then stood up and rejoined Corporal Cajun and Major Gunns. 

Chyna came up to Eddie and gently massaged his shoulders. She could tell by his posture things didn't go well. Chyna pulled him back against her in a gentle but firm hug, "He'll come around," she said, "He's family..." 

Eddie shook his head, "He truly IS loco!" 

"Just give him time, Eddie..." 

Eddie allowed a small smile, "I hope you're right, Mamacita... I hope blood IS thicker then water," he turned to face her and gave her a quick kiss, "I have to get back on duty. The Nytrons are making everyone do double shifts!" 

Chyna smiled, "Don't worry, sweetie..." she said, "I'm sure we can ease all that tension when we sneak past the Nytrons to spend some private time on the holodeck tonight..." 

Eddie's smile grew wider, "Ay, Mamacita... you're naughty!" 

Chyna winked slyly at him, "And you wouldn't have it any other way!" 

Eddie raised his eyebrows and grinned, then headed off to his duties. 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Lt. Commander Jericho walked into Shuttle Bay 4 and headed to his section. The Shuttle Bay had been divided into 6 parts: Section 1 bunked the Cocky Kanatians, Ensigns Edge and Christian. Section 2 bunked Lt. Rock and Lt. Commander Austin. Section 3 bunked Ensigns Crash and Lita. Section 4 bunked Ensign Guerrero and Chyna, Section 5 bunked Terri and Kitty, and Section 6 bunked Stephanie and himself. 

Each section had drapes for privacy... though as much privacy as they provided still didn't drown out the sounds of Chyna and Eddie the previous night. Jericho shivered. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to hear on a regular basis. 

He arrived in his own section and saw Stephanie sitting on the upper bunk, combing out her wet hair with her back to him. 

Jericho climbed halfway up the bunk ladder and put his legs through the rungs, sitting comfortably, "Looks like you just took a shower, Steph. Anything interesting happen?" 

Stephanie jumped so high, Jericho had to grab her before she fell off the bunk. "Let go of me you PERVERT!" she snapped angrily, craning her neck to glare at him. 

Jericho laughed, but let go of her, "Need I remind you who walked in on WHOM, Skankanie?" he asked. 

Stephanie turned her whole body around to face him, her face bright red, "Just leave me alone!" she pouted, and crossed her arms. 

Jericho leaned forward, his legs swinging back and forth through the ladder rungs. The two looked very much like kids in a camp dorm. He smiled up at her, "Come on, Stephie! The last thing I expected was embarrassment! It's not like half the ship hasn't seen you naked already! I didn't think you had any modesty LEFT!" 

Stephanie quickly turned away, heat burning her cheeks, "Stop staring at me that way, you stupid bucket of bolts!" 

"WHAT way? Mildly amused?" he asked, "It was FUNNY, Skankanie!" 

Stephanie glared daggers at him, "Well, I'm glad you found it so humorous!" she snapped. 

He studied her for a moment, and grew serious, "It's because it was ME, wasn't it?" he asked. 

"What do you mean?" she replied defensively. 

"You're embarrassed because it was ME," 

Stephanie frowned, "Who says I'm embarrassed... and since WHEN did you become expert on human behaviour?" she asked. 

"I know little about human behaviour, but I can safely say I know way too much about YOU!" he replied, "Listen, you have no reason to be embarrassed! I'm just a stupid robot, remember?" he said, his tone a bit bitter. He sighed and rested his head on his arms, then looked up at her with a boyish grin, "Come on," he said, "Where are the insults? I'm sure you've got a lot of material your just itching to use!" 

Stephanie stuck her nose up at him, "Well, I was wondering if Irvine Inc was cutting costs when they designed you… because they seemed to take a few _shortcuts_..." 

"Oooh..." he winced, "The bitch is back!" Lt. Commander Jericho pulled his legs out of the rungs and climbed back down the ladder, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do a second shift in Engineering thanks to those Nytron bastards!" he replied, then headed out of the shuttlebay. 

Commander Stephanie watched him leave. The Y2J Unit had managed to change her mood from highly embarrassed to extremely comfortable. Stephanie briefly wondered if Hunter would attack Jericho in a blind and jealous rage if he found out about the _run-in_.

Stephanie then let out a resigned sigh, realizing Hunter probably wouldn't even give a damn…

***

SICKBAY 

"Where have you been, Taker?" Dr. V. M. Piro asked. He glared at Dr. Taker, hands on hips, as the dark doctor came through the sickbay doors. 

Dr. Taker studied the pale young man who dared take over his sickbay, "None of your stank ass business, Piro!" 

"Yeah, if Dr. Taker doesn't want to explain where he's been, he doesn't have to! It's true!" Ensign Angle said as he came up to Dr. Taker's side, his arm in a sling -- though it wasn't because of the Nytrons. Angle had just gotten on Dr. Taker's nerves one time too many. 

Taker glared down at him, "Get away from me before I kick your stank ass out of my sickbay..." he said, "Literally..." 

"Anything you need me to do, Mr. Taker? I can help you clean up sickbay! HE," Angle pointed an accusing finger at Dr. Piro, "Messed a whole bunch of stuff up!" 

"Why are you in here, Angle?" Taker asked. 

"Uh... can't do much with one arm, Mr. Taker..." he said. 

Dr. Taker rolled his eyes. Great. Now he would be stuck with this so-called hero for a few weeks. He had other things to worry about... such as finding out where McMahon would hide escape plans. "Go clean up my tools..." Taker said. Angle nodded and quickly went to it. He then turned to Dr. Piro, "As for YOU, Nytron prick--stay the hell out of my way, or you will find out why they call me the WrestleFleet bad-ass! Got it?" 

Dr. Piro frowned, "Perhaps if I don't stick you in a grave first," he hissed. "I can find a nice cozy one for you to rest in!" 

Dr. Taker looked at the presumptuous Nytron, and laughed, "You trying to scare ME, son?" he stepped closer to Dr. Piro, "Let me tell you something, boy... you have NO idea what scary _is_!" then he grinned coldly, "Trust me..." 

Dr. V. M. Piro stuck his nose up and walked away to tend to an injured Nytron. A Nytron who had dared take Lt. Commander Austin's beer. 

Taker made his way to the Sickbay doors, and quietly stepped out unnoticed. 

Next stop --- Captain's ready room. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"What was all that about, Loco?" Corporal Cajun asked his friend. 

Lt. Loco frowned, "Stupid Eddie..." he muttered. "Just 'cuz he's my uncle, he thinks he can boss me around!" 

Major Gunns looked at Loco, "I can take care of him if you want..." she smiled, "He IS kind of cute..." 

"Don't go near him..." Loco replied, "Or his woman will tie you into a pretzel. She's like an amazon or something..." 

Major Gunns frowned, "Didn't Kimberly mention something about an Amazon who was getting kind of suspicious?" 

Lt. Loco nodded, "That would be Chyna, yeah..." he smiled, "Guess her suspicions were confirmed, huh? Nothing much she can do about it now, can she?" 

Gunns smiled in return, "Nope. Nothing at all..." she turned to the bar and saw Chyna glaring at her. Gunns frowned, and turned back to her fellow Nytrons, "Still... we should still be careful around her. If she becomes too suspicious..." she let the sentence trail. 

Loco looked at Gunns. He didn't like where this was heading. Eddie was still family... and Chyna was the love of his Uncle's life! "Listen, let's not do anything rash! We have the upper hand here! There's nothing these WrestleFleet officers can do to us, so let's not even go where I think you're going, ok?" 

Major Gunns sighed, "Fine. It was just a fleeting thought anyway..." 

Lt. Loco nodded, but decided from now on he'd be keeping a close eye on Gunns. 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Dr. Taker looked around Russo's new office. Russo was busying himself on the bridge and didn't know the dark doctor was snooping. Of course, the Ready Room could only be reached through the bridge... but Dr. Taker could always find his way around conventional entrances... 

Taker went up to the portrait of the Titanprize that sat on the wall. He smiled and removed it. Russo had not yet found the safe hidden behind the portrait. Dr. Taker quickly unlocked the safe (in his own special way) and looked inside. It was filled with various data chips, and papers. He quickly took it all out, closed the safe, and put the picture back up. 

Dr. Taker turned to leave... when he heard a noise coming from the closet. 

He went up to it slowly, and listened. It sounded like whimpering. Dr. Taker opened the door a crack, and raised an eyebrow when he saw what ... or WHO... was inside. 

"Russo? Is that you?" the tied-up man asked. His gag had fallen out of his mouth and onto the floor. Taker quickly shut the door. "Wait! Who's there??" the man said through the door, "Please, let me out! Help me!" he cried. 

Dr. Taker smirked. 

So _that's_ where Bishoff had disappeared too. How very interesting... 

The dark doctor tightened his grip on McMahon's safe stash, and disappeared from the room. 

He would have to study the data chips and papers carefully. And maybe, just maybe... he could come back, and find a way to make Bishoff useful. 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	54. Season 7 Episode 4 Becoming the Hunted,...

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 4

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 4: BECOMING THE HUNTED   
**PART ONE**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   


... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Cap's Log, Stardate 072400.00. Two McMahons down, one to go! Vinnie Mac has become my own personal bi-well actually that's Bishoff, but I've got the Genetic Jack-Ass locked down tight in the brig, sparing the universe from his efforts at reproduction! I'm thinkin' about maybe wakin' the old man up and rubbing my superiority in one of his many ridiculous faces! 

Shane O' - oh god - he's like the son I never had! The kid is beautiful! Doesn't even care that the putrid Wrestlefleet cowards under his command hate his stinkin' guts-talk about grapefruits!" 

Russo sighed. All was not well under Nytron occupation, because one rat was still free. 

"Stephanie - that sweet sweet little angel...well....even angels must fall from grace! Go ahead, little princess, I dare you! Just take enough rope to hang yourself with, cuz I would love to just tighten the noose around your pretty little neck!" 

A smirk as he heard scratching and whimpering behind his favorite closet door. What game would he play with Bishoff today? 

***

SICKBAY 

"You sure she passed out?" Dr. Taker gnashed tobacco between his teeth as he pointed a thin stream of light into Stephanie's eyes. Sanitary? Hell no, but it was a better poison to swallow than that punk ass Piro, who loomed like a dark shadow every damn time he turned around! "I mean, it ain't no shocker to find little Stephie Mac flat on her back!" 

Jericho half-smiled. "Yeah Doc, but she didn't have an ensign on top of her." 

Only the threat of tossing her cookies kept Stephanie silent. 

"Must be medical then." Taker spat on the floor, ignoring how green little Steph's face turned. "You been getting all her meals for her?" 

"Sure have, and you should see this one eat!" Jericho grinned. "I've seen black holes with less sucking power! And speaking of sucking-" 

"I'll be damned." Dr. Taker cut the Y2J Unit off. How sickening! If the dead man wasn't mistaken, Jericho was making an...an affectionate joke towards Commander McMahon-Helmlsey! And hell, the way he'd carried her ass on in to Sickbay had seemed downright... tender or something! 

He had to launch more saliva onto the floor, just to get the taste of it out.... 

"This sorry Nytron poison is still kicking around in her blood." Taker shook his head, wondering if Vinnie Mac would ever find out he'd throttled his boy half to death for driving his own sister loco. "Just keep an eye on her for a couple more days, the meds should have their stank asses out of there soon enough." 

He had a feeling he didn't need to ask Chris Jericho to do that little favor! 

"Hear that Slutephanie?" the Y2J Unit tugged at her braided hair teasingly. "Guess you didn't catch some water-borne virus in the... shower!" 

Stephanie doubled over and gagged for real this time. Why did he have to keep reminding her, rubbing more salt in the wound. She would never ever forgive herself for stepping naked into a spray of hot, steamy water with that, that...thing! 

Did robots even get dirty? What in the name of all that was cosmic had possessed Chris to think he'd even needed a shower? 

"Trouble arriving at a diagnosis, doctor?" 

Dr. Taker craned his neck around and stared deep into the soulless eyes of the good Dr. Piro. "Your punk ass stays away from my patients, boy. Mrs. Helmsley's diagnosis is damn well confidential!" 

"Of course." Piro oozed sincerity. "I just thought that maybe Nytron medicine had answers you Wrestlefleet incompetents hadn't yet discovered. After all..." He smiled thinly. "We're willing to step outside the rules to save our people." 

The dead man's laugh rang hollow. Rules? His own existence defied every rule of reality. As for Piro, well, he knew just what kind of "medicine" the anemic little ghoul practiced on the Nytron people as part of Russo's quest to develop biological weapons. It was the kind of experimentation and fooling with mother nature that filled more graveyards than a damn plague! 

No way in hell was Dr. Taker gonna hand little Stephanie over like some sort of guinea pig! 

***

NYTRON SPACE-MYSTERIO-6 

"You hear that?" Matt frowned down at his little brother as they crouched outside the Nytron weapon's factory, their bodies contorted in ways that would make other species downright uncomfortable. 

"Umm noooo." Jeff made sure a curtain of brightly colored hair was hiding his face. 

"Oh my god!" Matt hissed, kicking him in the shins. Jeff had to almost bite through his tongue to stifle the pain-induced scream that would've alerted the nearby Nytron guards to their presence. "You're eating! You give me half that ration before I make you cry like a little girl!" 

"I thought you might've taken something from the shuttle before these nimrods torched it!" Jeff rubbed his knee, looking wounded. "Hey is that-" 

"Rey Rey?" Matt peered through the window at their fellow Aerialian. The Nytron's confidence was almost borderline egomaniacal-no motion sensors, no tinted windows, no security satellites that he could see hovering over their heads. It made sense to some degree; the base was so beyond top secret that there was no need for maximum security-if you weren't supposed to be there, you'd be killed, end of story. 

"I'll be damned." Jeff laughed bitterly. "I wondered why that twit didn't sign on when Wrestlefleet recruited on Aerialia. He already had his nose up Russo's behind so far he couldn't see the light of day!" 

"Gee, I guess we'll just have to punk him out." Matt nodded at an ultra-tight vent that was carved into the building's shell. "That's about your size, I believe." 

"Ah yes." Jeff sighed. "The price of having such a flexible bod. You got the drugs?" 

Matt brandished a specially modified hypospray that they'd stripped off the dead Nytron guards back at the shuttle crash. It went well with the lethal disruptors they'd also acquired. 

"Cya in five." Big brother watched with a twinge of anxiety as Jeff was swallowed up by the tunnel of darkness. Matt knew they were now the hunted, that the Nytron suspected them of running loose on the moon after finding the shuttle wreckage and the rebel scum that he and Jeff had eliminated. And no way would Russo and his little lackey Shane be fooled into thinking the Nytron corpses were actually the Hardy brothers for much longer! 

Time was ticking down, and this might be the one time Matt and Jeff couldn't beat the clock.... 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-THE SMACKDOWN 

"Oh god no." Shane felt his stomach lurch violently as Stephanie's faded eyes scoured the Smackdown. They rested on him and Lita, a fire dulled by illness roaring back to life in a split second. Every Nytron in the room tensed as the only free and loyal McMahon made strides across the carpet. 

"Oh geez sis." Shane blinked rapidly and tossed his synthehol back, ignoring how it burnt his throat going down. "Turn around and walk out of here now. Please!" 

"I don't see the need to get your undies in a twist, Commander." Lita said coldly. 

"That's cause everything is peaches and cream in your little dream world." Shane muttered. Her disrespect failed to shock anymore. Someone as full of that purity and nobility crap as Lita wouldn't value the depths he'd had to sink to in order to protect his baby sister. As long as Stephie was a raving lunatic, Russo just wouldn't give a damn. 

Stephanie the healthy ensign and infamous with this crowd for turning against her own beloved husband to save the Titanprize from a Degenerate mutiny was a whole other story, one with a potentially bloody ending. She was Vince's daughter, and cutting her down would set quite an example if needed. 

Shane didn't doubt that Russo would ask big brother to commit the execution if it came to that.... 

"You slut!" Stephanie spat the word at Lita. "You two-faced, backstabbing, bed-hopping, treasonous Aerialian slut!" 

Lita flinched. Her friend's tone shook with genuine rage. "Pardon me, Commander McMahon-Helmsley?" 

"Ensign Helmsley." Stephanie snapped, her face turning bright red. "I've been demoted, much like your dead as dirt boyfriend Jeff! Or did you conveniently forget about him when you jumped down my brother's pants?" 

"How dare you!" Lita jumped to her feet, fists clenched. Her eyes had become almost as red with seething fury as her radiant mane of hair. "Don't you ever talk about Jeff-" 

"Take it easy sis!" Shane was standing too. "Take it easy! Chill out Stephie, just chill out!" 

He wanted to yell, scream, anything to get his kid sister to shut her big mouth in front of the Nytron rebels! Watching her lash out at the two biggest Wrestlefleet traitors on the ship would make the Russo rats question just how far little Stephie would take it.... 

"Chill out?" Stephanie's laugh was cruel. "Chill out watching you crush the good McMahon name with your filthy disgusting betrayal? Hah! And you, Lita!" She turned on her so-called friend again. "Why don't you just go find Matt and Jeff's graves and do my brother on them to insult their memory a little more! I'll have you shot when this is over!" 

Ensign Helmsley was far too woozy to absorb the sting of Lita's hand across her face. She collapsed in a puddle of fatigue on the floor, blood flowing freely from her nose as raw hate flashed in her eyes. Like a cornered animal, she found the necessary adrenaline and savage anger to lunge back at the lean, athletic Aerialian. 

"Shane!" Stephanie gasped as her knees weakened, pain screaming down her neck as big brother's phaser connected with the back of her head not once, but twice. Good god-her own flesh and blood had just pistol-whipped her! 

The Nytrons in the bar were snickering in her direction, savoring her wicked humiliation.....Stephanie looked up at her brother's dark, veiled eyes. 

There was no remorse. 

***

"And just what the hell did you think you were doing?" Jericho sounded like some sort of prissy schoolteacher, scolding Stephanie for sticking bubblegum in the hair of the boy next to her. "I don't suppose it occurred to you that the spawn of Satan would logically not be moved by your sibling angst?" 

"Stick your logic, Commander Nitwit." Stephanie pouted as he forcibly sat her in a chair across the room from Shane and his Aerialian lovergirl. The only thing more embarrassing than being beat up by her brother's girlfriend was having Chris drag her away from the heated situation like some sort of caveman hero.... 

"Here." Chyna felt a twinge of sympathy as she handed Stephanie a tissue for her bloody nose. "God why did you provoke Lita like that?" 

"To hell with her!" 

"You're going to get yourself killed." Jericho said flatly, waving at Tori to bring Stephanie something, anything to mellow her out. "Don't cross the boss sweetie, and as long as Shane O' has that phaser and Russo's butt permanently stitched to his nose, he is the boss." 

Stephanie opened her mouth and quickly closed it again. Was Chrissie actually suggesting she bow down to her cowardly traitor brother? 

"You should hear these Nytron jerks." Chyna lowered her voice to a faint whisper. "If cocky was a crime, they'd be on death row! Yeah, they've got us and the Titanprize, but so what?" 

"They can't enjoy this jack-ass joyride forever." Jericho grumbled. 

"I don't know man." Eddie sighed. "I can't help but think....the weapons Jeff and Matt were sent to retrieve....that must be some brutal firepower!" 

"Yeah well, I'm glad Jeff died so that Lita could get on with the business of playing up to the poor little rich boy!" Stephanie's lip curled in sneering anger. 

"Forget Lita!" Jericho snapped at her. Princess had to get herself under control before the Nytron put her on a leash. 

"Ey man." Eddie gave him a withering look. "I understand, Commander. Believe me, I know what it's like to have the family blood tainted." He could only manage a half-smile as Chyna squeezed his arm affectionately. 

"Chavo is not the same." Stephanie shook her head. "Chavo isn't leading his own people to their death." 

***

NYTRON SPACE-MYSTERIO-6 

"What was that Rey?" Jeff grinned wickedly as he jammed a bar of Aerialian chocolate into his mouth. "I didn't quite catch what you said!" 

Rey snarled at the Hardy brothers, though the effect was somewhat dulled by being stripped down to his boxers and hung from the ceiling by his overalls, lest he have some clever communicating device hidden on his person. His nasty Aerialian curses were stuck in his throat, thanks to the heavy industrial tape strapped across his lips. 

"Man, this Nytron programming is sooo inferior!" Matt was laughing it up as he booted Rey's inferior little computer and accessed the factory mainframe in under a minute flat. "Don't worry sport - I'm sure High Commander Russo won't do anything more than bathe you in acid for allowing the dead Hardy brothers to hack his precious weapons plant!" 

Damn, damn, damn those heroic Hardyz to hell and back! Ensign Rey wanted nothing more than to cut himself loose and kick Matt's teeth down his throat - him gloating on his computer genius with that smirking rainbow-headed freak brother of his poking Rey with a stolen disruptor like he was some sort of filthy animal! 

He'd always hated them - back on Aerialia they had attended the same school and Rey had always been overshadowed by the dazzling Matt and Jeff! The older one with all his academic awards and that scrawny brat Jeff wowing all the girls with his magically morphing hair....damned Hardyz always had to take the bigger badder risks, fly higher than any other Aerialian teenage boy, make everyone eat their dust.... 

Well, soon Matt and Jeff Hardy would be eaten alive by the Nytron-no way could they last on this lunar rock much longer! 

"You want some of this?" Jeff held out the half-melted, gooey chocolate bar to his brother. 

"Honest to god Jeff!" Matt pushed his hand away. "Give your sweet tooth a break already! I don't suppose you're at all worried about how Lita's handling this?" 

Jeff's chewing slowed down. He couldn't look his brother in the eye. "I haven't really had time for that Matt, what with dodging Nytron merchants of death and all." 

Matt didn't say anything as he blew past firewalls as solid as thin air. He knew his little brother idolized Jericho, but he couldn't believe that he'd copped the 'droids infuriating inability to feel. The way Lita's heart must be breaking was all Matt could think about..... 

"Pipe down Rey Rey." Jeff poked the little Nytron scum with his hypospray. The rabid little nutter was practically foaming at the mouth, trying to growl something at them. 

God, what Rey wouldn't give to wipe that smile off the little freak's face! Just to have that one sliver of joy from telling him that sweet Lita was now playing musical beds with Commander Shane O' Mac! 

"Oh my god." Matt's face paled. "Russo is out of his freaking mind!" 

"Of course he is." Jeff shrugged. "He's dating a woman who could install a revolving door in front of her bed to handle the business ." 

"Comedy hour is over Jeff!" Matt elbowed him in the ribs. "This psycho is building a quantum explosive." 

"Oh." Little brother felt the room go cold, or maybe it was just the way his blood turned to ice in his veins. Quantum explosives were just weapons in theory until now. Supposedly, if one could be created and controlled..."He can create a temporal distortion with it, can't he?" 

"No." Matt shook his head. "After the bomb goes off, the aftershock tears space-time so violently and quickly that everything collapses into a black hole. Planets and stars all get vaporized in the blink of an eye and no one knows what hit them." He whistled admiringly. "God, this could actually work." 

"Why oh why does he have a stellar map of the Milky Way?" Jeff frowned. "If he plants the explosive dead center of the galaxy-" 

"The center of the Milky Way already contains a huge black hole." Matt finished the thought grimly. "The bomb goes off in that thing, then it'll be like Earth and the entire galaxy never even existed." 

"And no one ever questions Russo's supremacy again." Jeff said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Couldn't the wacko just vandalize Wrestlefleet Headquarters or something?" 

"It gets better." Matt told him. "The original research for the bomb belonged to a young Vincent Kennedy McMahon." 

"Oh lordy!" Jeff laughed out loud - he couldn't help it. "Counselor Snow could have a field day with that one! Russo would try to prove his superiority by using what Vince created to destroy the Federation! What a loser!" 

"Oh heck!" Matt fired his disruptor into the computer, blowing Rey's little toy to bits. "We got company. Thanks for the good time old pal!" He lowered his weapon to stun and gave the pint-sized Aerialian a scar to remember them by..... 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-COMMANDER MCMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Russo wants you to what?" Lita was hopping mad as she watched Shane paw through Matt and Jeff's personal effects at his desk. What the heck did he think he was doing? "You promised!" 

"I didn't promise a damn thing, Red!" Shane lashed out. Didn't those two Aerialian wussies have anything he could blackmail them with in case he found them alive on Mysterio-6? "I said maybe they survived the crash. I'll find out when the Cap sends me to drag their dead bodies back to the ship and get the illegal weapons." 

"Well if they are still alive isn't it a tad rude to be going through their stuff?" Lita demanded, hands on hips. 

"Here. Have your clothes back." Shane threw a box of Jeff's shirts and pants in her direction. He was sweating up a storm. If he did find Matty and Jeffy alive, so what? He couldn't bring them back like that or Russo would fry both him and Lita in hot oil while the whole ship watched! Somehow, the thought of facing this woman's red-headed wrath seemed all the more scary.... 

"What?" Lita kicked the box back at him like it was a soccer ball. "I have my own wardrobe thank you!" She didn't want to touch anything, smell anything, see anything that reminded her off Jeff, just in case..... 

"Whatever." Shane shrugged. "Hey didn't Matt win this for you at that Resian carnival a couple months ago...Pre-Jeff?" 

"I guess. I don't remember." Lita pretended not to see the battered chocolate brown teddy bear Shane was trying to wave in her face. She turned towards the replicator and called up a hot chocolate to soothe her frazzled nerves. 

Oh yeah, Matt had given her a lot of sweet gifts and said plenty of pretty, pretty words to her, but he'd been such a phony! Ditching her while she was still recovering from painful surgery to save Stephanie's life-she hadn't even been out of Sickbay when he'd ended it! It was so wrong to hate him now, now that he might be gone forever.... 

Or maybe she just hated herself-his intentions had been good when he'd let her go, and Lita was the one who'd used him when Jeff wouldn't pay any attention to her. She'd never apologized, just taken advantage of his kindness, his feelings.... 

"....letter from ol' Matty here. Juicy stuff!" 

Lita grabbed the envelope out of Shane's grubby little weasel hands. It had her name scrawled on it in Matt's loopy handwriting and had obviously been violated from Ritchie Rich over there... 

Please Matt, she thought, sliding the paper out with shaking hands. Please just say you forgive me! 

"Wait!" Lita forced herself to tear up the letter. "If he's not dead, then I shouldn't be reading this!" 

"Aren't you the good little girl scout?" Shane smirked at her. "Guess you'll never know just how hot you make young Ensign Hardy! Actually...." He looked thoughtful. "...you're kind of a skank. I mean, you did play kissy face with both brothers!" 

Lita was able to smirk back. "So did your sister, Shane O'." 

He wasn't sure how many deep breaths he'd needed to take to calm himself to the point where he wouldn't strike Lita. Having to pistol-whip sickly little Stephanie in front of all those Nytron to show he had sis under control....he was in no mood to hear her slandered this way! Shane tapped his comm badge with more force than necessary. "Dr. Taker-I need something from you-report to my quarters immediately!" 

***

SHUTTLEBAY-4 

"Oh would you two just cut it out before I turn a hose on that bunk?" Stephanie angrily threw one of her slippers at Eddie and Chyna's curtain, which fortunately masked the visual of what was making them whisper and giggle so much! 

"Er...sorry Commander!" Eddie's frisky laugh didn't sound too darn regretful! 

Jericho sighed as he re-read the same padd data for the thousandth millionth time that night. If only he did require sleep; these boring nights with programmed insomnia were eating away at what little patience he had. Helpless to save the Titanprize thus far, unable to happily kick Shane O' Mac's teeth down his throat, having to lie awake always knowing she was beneath him.... 

What if he couldn't protect her? He didn't even know why he felt so damn responsible for Steph anyways, but logic told him that Russo was the type of sicko who would find such creative ways to use the precious daughter of his most hated enemy! Jericho struggled not to tap his emotion chip off as inexplicable fury rose up in him. 

He would never let anyone violate or torture her, especially that scum Russo! 

Chris closed his eyes, took a deep breath. He was a robot - there was no reason to have a personal stake in this..... 

His positronic net flashed on Shane striking his own sister down with a phaser. As much as Jericho would've liked to shoot the older Mac in the heart for sticking a dagger in the back of Wrestlefleet, he could see the cold, cruel genius in what he'd tried to do for Steph. Turning her into a babbling mental patient had prevented Russo from seeing her as a threat. Of course, like the stubborn, smart McMahon she was, Stephanie had to discover the ploy, had to save herself! 

And Jericho had assisted her, maybe helped her dig her own grave with the Nytron, who loathed almost anything that contained Vinnie Mac's genetic material. 

But they'd never get to act on their hatred for her... 

Never! 

***

Couldn't that slimebot just sit still for two seconds? Stephanie wondered irritably as he turned over on his side for the zillionth time that evening, shattering the sweet silence. 

She stared hard at the special photo padd she held in her hands, trying to lose herself in the fairytale, the fairytale only she believed in....slivers of memory from her wedding day blurred through her tears. No matter how much she tried to twist the truth in her heart.... 

No matter what illusions Stephanie tried to create for herself, they couldn't change the cold, cruel reality. Oh yeah, it was the wedding day little girls all over the universe dreamed about-a groom who gazed at his bride to be in her lovely white dress with not a flicker of heat in his eyes, a new husband who spent their honeymoon playing cards with his Degenerates on Copeland-9 while Steph tossed and turned in an empty bed.... 

Dammit! She kicked the bed above her in a fit of frustration and rage, the unforgiving, frigid metal making her foot throb on impact. She whimpered softly. 

"I recommend you don't try that again, Princess." Jericho's voice was ice. "I'll remove your toes one by one if you do." 

Stephanie choked on a witty retort, a lump threatening to close her throat. If she sobbed as hard as she needed to, Chris would come down like her knight in shining armor and she just couldn't take that tonight! 

"Princess?" 

"Uhh sorry Chrissie." Steph sniffled and rubbed furiously at her eyes, trying to erase the evidence of her tears. "I was just pretending you didn't exist again. It's much more fun than any Holodeck program." 

"Hmmm." That was just a bit half-hearted! Jericho peered over the edge of his bed. "Why so sad sweetie? Wait! There's something missing...." He pressed his lips together, obviously deep in thought. "Ah yes-the half-naked ensign!" 

"Another ensign joke?" Stephanie managed a weak laugh as she crammed the wedding album under a pillow. "How utterly inspired!" 

_ Not so fast honey _Jericho thought with a grin as he slid down to her bunk with slick android speed and grabbed the hot little padd. "Ahh what's this? How quaint! The Helmsley affair!" 

"Give me that!" Stephanie cried out, trying to reach over and retrieve her precious memories. It wasn't easy considering Chris was fending her off with an immobile titanium arm. 

"Goodness." Jericho chuckled with amusement as the little princess tried to climb over his arm. "You'd think Trip would have the decency to at least get a nose job before he walks down the aisle! That thing made it to the altar before he did!" 

Stephanie's mouth fell open. "I have a gorgeous husband!" 

Oh yes, Hunter did indeed look quite dashing, didn't he? And the happy little smirks the couple shared-it made Lt Commander Jericho sick to his stomach, a normally impossible feeling for the android. 

"So tell me, sweetie, did the spoiled brat get what she wanted?" His tone was so damn snide! "Did Daddy dearest have a spazz?" 

"As a matter of fact he did!" Stephanie gloated. "You should've seen the face ol Vinnie Mac made that day! He was so-" She shut up quickly. God, she'd just practically confessed she'd only married Hunter to provoke her father! Chris didn't need that kind of ammo! 

Jericho merely raised an eyebrow - he'd thought as much. Now if he only knew why he felt so incredibly relieved.... 

"Wow." His positronic matrix shifted into neutral as the images flashed across the small monitor like some kind horror movie. Of course though, the best tales of terror could have their beautiful moments, and this was one of them. Stephanie wearing that devilish smile, her eyes lit up like diamonds to match the glittering white silk of her wedding gown, living up to the nickname Princess and then some... 

"Hunter didn't even notice." Being reminded of how much it hurt her made her less careful about what she said. 

"How could he not?" His filter must have been tripped up by something. "To be honest, I didn't think a filthy, dirty, disgusting, nasty, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag ho could look this...this...." Clever words escaped him. "...beautiful." 

"You - you think I'm beautiful?" Stephanie blinked. Was Chris even capable of judging beauty? Her eyes were flooded with tears again.... 

"Logically, I can't deny it." Jericho tried to shrug it off. "What? Don't you even know how to take a compliment Steph? You don't cry." 

"Why don't you hate me?" The explosion of emotion shocked him so much he dropped the padd and didn't notice it clattering to the floor. "How can you be nice to me? I ruined everything!" 

"Stephanie-" 

"I was such a childish little witch!" she ranted on. "I just had to go into that Holodeck and confront that Nytron slut Kimmie and spring the trap you'd set! Don't you get it, Chrissie?" Stephanie's face was flushed and her voice was steadily reaching the shrieking point. "This whole damn thing is all my fault! If I'd just left it alone, you and Chyna would've handed Kim over to Daddy, Russo would've been executed, and Matt and Jeff would be alive!" 

Jericho just stared at her. She was ninety-nine percent right when she put it that way.... 

"Oh god!" Now Stephanie was bawling her eyes out. "I handed the Titanprize to Russo! I caused the Nytron occupation! And now they all want to kill me just because I'm Vincent Kennedy McMahon's daughter - I know they do!" 

"Good lord, Stephie." Jericho's mind was reeling, his internal calculations assuring him that yes, had Stephanie not interfered, chances were damn good that none of this horrific occupation would've gone down. He couldn't lie to himself or Princess about that, but...."You've always got to be the star, don't you? Russo is a madman-he would've found a way to get the ship regardless of your bratty temper! And Shane killed the Hardyz-he's wanted to get them out of the way for a long time now." 

"I'm no better than Shane really." How could a damn computer be so full of it? He could reassure her for eternity and she'd always know she'd cost Wrestlefleet everything because of that one time she couldn't control herself! 

"Stop it Stephanie." Chris was brushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes, which continued to shimmer brightly with tears of self-pity. "You know that's not true. He's a traitor." 

"Daddy's going to die, I'm going to die..." She lowered her head so Jericho couldn't see her cry. Stephanie felt his fingers lightly touch her skin, erasing the tears that fell. 

"I will never let anything happen to you." The pre-programmed human emotions he could always rely on to do the exact same thing in every situation misfired badly; all his instincts made him want to shorten the distance between his mouth and hers... 

Was Chris going to kiss her? Stephanie was so dazed, afraid to breathe because the noise might wake them both up. 

He pulled away so suddenly...."Uhhhh-" Jericho blinked rapidly, his mouth dry. "God I really miss Matt right now." 

Stephanie frowned, yanking her hand away once she realized her fingers had become entwined with his. "You're thinking of Matt Hardy right now?" 

"Well yeah." He nervously ran a hand through his gorgeous blonde hair. "He was doing this crucial research on my positronic net and-" 

"Hunter!" Stephanie sensed his presence instinctively, no matter how silent the Game tried to be as he stood in the shadows watching. God, how long had he been there? "Sweetheart-" 

"Oh I can trust you, Steph?" Hunter shook his head, his muscles trembling with barely concealed rage. "You hate the 'droid? Dammit!" He kicked a nearby bunk so hard Crash came tumbling out of it. Of course, the young Houdinian disappeared immediately. "I'm coming after you Jericho, and this time there won't be a trace of your sorry ass left!" 

"Hunter!" Stephanie tried to chase after him, but Jericho's fingers were digging into her wrist so hard they were sure to leave bruises. "This isn't what it looks like! We weren't - I wasn't - Hunter!" 

"You are not going after him!" Chris glowered at her. "Can't you see Trip is that damn angry enough to kill someone? You want it to be you?" 

"He wouldn't!" Stephanie wrenched her arm free, but didn't run. "You pervert! Why do you always have to ruin everything for me? Trying to put those disgusting, synthetic lips on me...." She shuddered. "What if he never forgives me?" 

"Oh god go ahead Steph!" Jericho turned his back on her. "Run back and lick his hand like the beaten little dog you are!" 

Of course. Princess sprinted out of the shuttlebay, just like he knew she would. 

__

You come and get as much as you think you can handle Trip! Jericho seethed inside. _Without your puppet on a string to sabotage my programming, I will destroy you!_   
  
TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	55. Season 7 Episode 5 Becoming the Hunted,...

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 5

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 5: BECOMING THE HUNTED   
**PART TWO**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   


... And many more! 

NYTRON SPACE-MYSTERIO-6 

"Cya later Crocky!" Shane waved merrily as Lt Rock was escorted by four heavily armed Nytron guards into the depths of the weapons factory. Let the People's Chump get his grimy little fingerprints all over the illegal phasers and dangerously modified bombs - that dirty work was beneath a proud McMahon. 

Now, sealing the earthly remains of those Hardy twits in airtight coffins - he could throw a party around something like that! Matty and Jeffy being dead meant Shane O' Mac wouldn't have to try and run a scam on Russo, something he wouldn't live to tell about if he failed... 

Maybe he wouldn't live to tell anyways; it was rather hard to breathe when someone had their knee in the base of your spine and a blade pressed so tight to your throat that inhaling just a little too deeply would slice you open. 

"Hardly?" Shane managed to croak out. 

"Bingo." Jeff was hissing in his ear. "You win a prize for passing round one. I won't cut your throat for the next five minutes." 

"Get off me! I'm still your superior officer!" 

"You're backstabbing pondscum!" Matt was laughing. "I gotta say, you really suck at this whole murder thing. By the way, did you even realize you're helping Russo blow up the Milky Way?" 

"What?" Shane glared up at him, which took some doing since he was almost facedown in Nytron mud. "You're crazy!" 

"Well, well, well, The Rock'll be a monkey's ass!" Rock smirked with amusement as he saw the knife gleaming against the young McMahon's preppy flesh. "Looks like you found your little jabronis!" 

"Shane O' was just explaining to us how he rigged our shuttle's warp core to explode, stranding us here on this floating chunk of space debris." Jeff greeted the Communications Officer. "And after that I believe he was going to confess to poisoning his sister and selling out Wrestlefleet." 

"Like hell!" Shane would rather bleed to death than give anything up to the Hardyz. "But I will confess I do enjoy your girlfriend's sweet, sweet lips Ensign Jeff! Did I forget to mention that Lita's moved up in the world since your untimely death?" 

"Commander McMahon, the Rock says this!" He was on his knees, shouting in Shane's face. "You screw the Great One, taking your candy ass to Wrestlefleet and reporting the Rock for laying the smackdown on you and Benoit's intelligence operation? You make the Rock save that dirty panties model you call a sister and then you spit in The Rock's face! Two things that don't go together are Shane McMahon and Intelligence! Now you better start singing, you steaming pile of McMahon monkey crap, or the Rock's just gonna let ol' Jabroni Hardy carve a new blowhole in your neck!" 

No wonder Benoit wanted to assassinate this moron! "Fine!" Shane spat the words out. "I tried to kill Matt and Jeff! I poisoned my sister! I sold you up the river Rocky! And yes, Rainbow Bright, I have played tonsil hockey with Lita!" 

"Why?" Jeff pocketed his knife and stood up. "To get back at me for liplocking Stephie so long ago?" 

"You two have a nasty chronic case of immortality." Shane brushed his uniform off, trying to maintain his dignity. "And by the way, Lita-lover." He poked a finger into Matt's chest. "The Titanprize is two months away from Earth now. Where do you get a looney idea like Russo wants to rip my galaxy apart?" 

"Uhhh maybe from the plans we found for a massive quantum explosive." Matt snapped back. "Accompanied by maps of the Milky Way. We sort of just put two and two together." 

"I'll bet." Shane wanted to jump up and down, throw a temper tantrum. Those freaking, freaking Hardyz! Of course-you try and wipe them out of existence, they live to discover Russo's maniacal master plan! God how he hated them more than ever! "Dr. Taker?" He pounded on his comm badge. "Beam down the coffins. I've found what's left of the Hardy ensigns." 

"Aye sir." 

Matt and Jeff looked slightly queasy as two standard issue Wrestlefleet burial chambers materialized on the surface. Aerialians liked wide-open spaces they could fly through, not high-tech, oxygen-deprived caskets. 

"Play dead boys." Shane was smiling so ghoulishly it made Jeff take a step backwards. "Take it easy, Gumby. As much as I'd looove for you and your big brother to slowly suffocate, you'll be all snug in a stasis field." 

"A stasis field?" Matt frowned. "How long do you plan on storing us exactly?" 

"I convinced Russo to keep you in Taker's morgue til we do a fly-by near Aerialia. The ship should be mine before then." Shane explained calmly. "You'll keep for three months. Don't look so anxious Jeff-Lita won't want for a pair of arms to keep her warm!" 

Matt and his brother exchanged glances. Commander McMahon was playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with a total madman. If Shane hadn't been doing it so he could sit in the captain's chair, the brothers might have admired his bravery and sacrifice. 

And just what had Shane given up about Wrestlefleet to make Russo trust him completely with this retrieval mission? 

"Well...." Jeff hesitantly sat inside the cramped coffin. "I'd feel a lot better if I had my favorite teddy bear." 

"Pipe down you monkey's behind." Rock hissed. "Those Nytron jabronis are about to bring it! Lay your candy ass out in there and know your role!" 

"Aye aye, Commander Catchphrase!" Jeff saluted Lt Rock before allowing the lid on his final resting place to be sealed. As the stasis field was activated, he just prayed that ol' Shane O' Mac hadn't gotten any funny ideas about sabotaging the specially rigged coffins.... 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-THE SMACKDOWN 

"Slut!" 

"I'm sorry!" Trish's face turned bright pink and she recoiled as Ensign Helmsley brought a huge fist crashing down on the bar. "Is that synthehol n-not right?" 

"It's fine!" Hunter spat, ignoring the glasses that shattered on the floor from the impact of his blow. "It's just-Stephanie...." He was too angry to put it into words! 

"Trouble in paradise?" The Kanatian beauty's wide eyes sparkled with innocence. 

"Paradise?" Hunter laughed scornfully. "Blondie, I don't define paradise as finding my tramp wife about to make first contact with another man's lips! If you can call that a man!" 

"Oh nooo." Trish sighed. "Stephanie and Chris huh?" 

"How the hell do you know it's Jericho?" Hunter was practically frothing at the mouth as he leaned over the bar. "Is there something going on behind my damn back?" 

Trish felt her back collide with a rack of champagne bottles. Provoking the Game was a fine art she'd better learn fast! "No! Of course not, sir! Sure, there was that shower thing and-" 

"Shower thing?" Helmsley's eyes were wild. "Talk or die Trish!" 

"Oh god." She whimpered. "I shouldn't have been eavesdropping but Chyna and Eddie were talking while she was here at work and....it was nothing! I swear it!" 

"If it was nothing you shouldn't have a problem spitting it out!" 

"Chris told Chyna.... man Ensign Helmsley." Trish was trembling. "He said that Stephanie climbed into the shower with him! It was probably an accident-" 

But Hunter didn't hear anything about any "accident"-he couldn't hear a damn thing above his own pulse thundering in his ears. Something broke inside him when he spotted Jericho and his blushing bride sitting at a table in the corner. It didn't matter that they weren't looking at each other, weren't speaking to each other... 

Something inside him just snapped. 

***

"Hey!" Last Call Hall, Nytron terrorist turned synthehol sponge, was slow to react as Hunter stripped him of his weapon and turned it towards Lt Commander Jericho, his teeth bared in a predatory smile as super-charged plasma burned a hole in one rugged titanium shoulder, causing the scumbag 'droid to reel back in shock. 

Jarret, who'd just strolled into the Smackdown, waved at his Nytron officers to stand down. Russo should've been here to savor the moment-the fiery young ensign was gonna kill two birds with one lethal stone by cutting down the patriotic toy robot and Vince's spoiled spawn with phaser fire! Beautiful! 

"Oh god-Chris!" Stephanie knelt beside him, wishing she'd had her tri-corder. 

"Get away from me Princess!" Jericho pushed her away, out of Hunter's line of fire as another blue beam of death exploded against the wall. No one was going to stop the attack either-not a single Nytron even so much as twitched a muscle... 

Shooting a hole in the Y2J Unit's mechanical heart just wasn't good enough after watching Stephie fall over it like some sort of angel of mercy! Jericho wasn't entitled to mercy! 

"You don't wanna play it that way, Trip!" Chris ignored the searing heat that burned his shoulder, watching with smug pleasure as Hunter tossed his phaser to the ground. Oh this was soooo perfect! No way could ol Needle Nose match his lightning fast android speed or superhuman strength! It would be like shooting fish in a barrel to pick the son of a bitch apart once and for all! 

"Make me bleed Jericho!" Hunter sneered at him. "Break every damn bone in my body, make me hurt so bad I'll wish I was never born! There ain't a damn price I wouldn't pay just for the chance to kill you with my bare hands!" 

"Oh please god, don't do this!" Stephanie cried out in horror, watching as the Nytron formed a circle around the two men, chanting for a fight with a bloodlust that frightened her. She just knew one of them wouldn't come out of this alive.... 

"Who am I to deny Trip his death wish?" Jericho flinched as Hunter landed a fairly impressive blow to his ribs with a solid kick. The pain lasted a mere second before the android wrapped one hand around Helmsley's throat and threw him like a rag doll across the bar. The roar of approval from the Nytron audience was drowned out by Stephie's hysterical screams. 

"Stop it Chris!" Stephanie wailed. "I am begging you, please, I will do anything-just don't kill my husband! Stop hurting him! Oh god-Hunter!" 

She ran over to where he was staggering to his feet, blood dripping down his handsome, sweat-streaked face. Stephanie tried to touch his arm, steady him, but he flung her aside like a piece of furniture. 

"Don't pretend you care about me!" Hunter shoved her again, this time cracking her skull against a turned over chair. 

Jericho was blinded by rage, watching that demonic Helmsley so out of control with Stephanie! He snatched the phaser off the floor and launched a fiery stream of plasma at his mortal enemy. 

"Stephanie!" No-no way! Hunter had pulled her in front him like a human shield, so that the little princess absorbed the phaser fire with her body. That insufferable coward! 

"You shot my wife!" Ensign Helmsley roared, lunging at the android. Jericho didn't put up a struggle, cause the sooner he jobbed to Hunter, the sooner Princess could get medical attention. 

Next time Trip... it will be Game over! 

***

SICKBAY 

"Steph's time is running out Shane." Lita's breath formed icy clouds in the frigid morgue air, her heels clicking and creating hollow echoes against the metal floor. "You should lock Hunter up immediately before he gets her killed." 

"Hunter?" Shane raised an eyebrow. "Jericho's the one who shot her! That titanium twit is lucky I don't throw his robot ass in the brig!" 

"You won't because you know I'm right." 

"I don't know any such thing." Shane told her. "There's your boys!" 

Lita felt a wave of revulsion wash over her as she stood next to the two coffins. She was helping the slime who was playing Russo's right hand man-and Russo had murdered Matt and Jeff in cold blood! 

"They kept nice." Shane smirked as he watched Red kneel beside her boyfriend's so-called corpse, wanted to laugh out loud as the luscious Aerialian broke down and sobbed to the point of convulsions. Who knew the feisty little wench had such a soft heart underneath the layers of fire and ice she'd built around her? 

"I can't do this anymore!" 

"Lita...." Shane got down on his knees beside her, gently touched her hand. She wasn't just talking about the dangerous mission either-she looked like she wanted to curl up and die. What the hell did he just feel? A twinge of empathy? A pang of compassion? Could he trust her? "Lita, please listen to me. They're not dead." 

"What?" She wiped her eyes, ashamed at her weakness. "Of course they are. They're in airtight coffins you idiot!" 

"They're in stasis." Shane whispered. "Til we get the ship back." 

"Stasis." Lite murmured. She felt such a rush of joy she wanted to get up and dance. She could've even kissed Shane on the mouth just then...wait....no she couldn't! "Can we just wake up Jeff for a second so I can say something to him? Please?" 

"Are you nuts?" Shane hissed. "If anyone catches the freak awake, he'll have a phaser hole between his eyes so fast his head will spin. And so will we, Lita. You'll just have to postpone your little game of Aerialian tongue tag til after I save Dad's precious Titanprize." 

"Well, well, well Shane O'" Lita smiled. "You are a sweetheart aren't you? I know how much you hate them!" 

Shane blushed furiously. "Sweetheart? I'd give my right eye to unplug their oxygen right now! God-just go check on Steph alright?" 

"Aye sir!" Lita winked at him. Most intriguing-all this time she was looking for his weakness and all she had to do was look in the mirror! 

***

SHUTTLEBAY 4 

"Don't even say it!" Stephanie stared daggers at the top bunk as she slithered under her sheets, her body aching from the way the super-charged plasma still burned in her veins. At least she didn't have to lay under the cold, curious eyes of Dr. Piro anymore.... 

He'd looked at her like he wanted to perform a live autopsy or worse. God! She shuddered violently-there was just something about the creep that left her scared! 

"I'm sorry I shot you." Jericho said flatly, his baby blues fixed on the ceiling. 

"Get real Chrissie." Stephanie said scornfully. "Isn't "I told you so" on the tip of your tongue?" 

"I told you so?" Jericho closed his eyes, wanting to block out the memory of what he'd done to hurt her after he'd silently vowed to protect the little princess.... 

"Cut the crap!" Stephanie sighed. "I know Hunter used me as a human shield. Make you happy to see it, slimebot?" 

Jericho bit down on his lip, hard. Stephie was already a marked woman as it was, to turn her anger loose on her rotten husband would be digging a grave for the naive wench. 

"He was trying to help you up. My shooting you was an accident." 

"Oh god!" Stephanie laughed. "Hunter saw you aim at him!" She stood on her tiptoes, looked at Chris curiously. "He threw me in front of the phaser blast as soon as you pulled the trigger." 

Jericho's gorgeous blue eyes locked with hers. "I have a very clear memory of that night. Hunter didn't know I was going to shoot him. He was helping you. Doesn't that make you happy, Princess?" 

Funny, Stephanie thought. It really didn't seem to make her happy at all.   
  


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	56. Season 7 Episode 6 The Best Toys

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 6 ****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 6: THE BEST TOYS... 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, Stardate 072620.00. All is going as planned. We are currently making our way to our destination. I have decided to go at half-impulse to truly revel in the joy of ruling the Titanprize and her crew," Russo leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, "In other news, Kimmy has asked permission to _study_ the Y2J Unit closer. I have assigned our resident computer expert, Ensign Torrie Wilson, to assist her. End log," 

Russo looked at the silver-haired man in front of him, "Kimmie thinks I don't know about her obsession with the Y2J Unit," he let out a snort, "_Study_ him, my ass! She wants Ensign Wilson to mess with his programming to make him want her. Was she like this with you, Eric?" 

Bishoff tried to answer, but his gag prevented that. 

Russo shrugged, "If I actually cared about her, I'd probably be upset," he smiled, "But our relationship is purely physical. It's a good set-up.." 

He leaned forward, his smile growing cold, "So… do you think McMahon's daughter would find me attractive, Eric?" he asked, "Talk about the ultimate insult! First, I take his ship, then I take his little girl!" Russo spun around in his swivel chair, and laughed cruelly. 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Jericho went to his rooming section and saw Stephanie lying on the bottom bunk. He went up to her, "I thought you liked being on TOP," he started with a smirk. 

Stephanie glared at him, "Shut up, Jericho! I'm _really_ not in the mood tonight!" 

"I'm sure you don't say THAT too often..." he replied. 

Stephanie jumped to her feet and swung at him, "I SAID shut up, Jerkicho!" 

The Y2J Unit grabbed her wrist before she connected. "Woah woah! What's YOUR problem?! Bad PMS?" Stephanie swung her other fist at him, and he caught that as well. She attempted to kick him, and in a blur of motion, he grabbed her legs, and she soon found herself lying flat on her back, "I bet this isn't a new position for you!" He could so easily flip her over and wrench her back.... but... he wouldn't. He just _couldn't_... "Now you want to explain to me why you're super-bitch today?" 

Stephanie looked away from him, mouth set in a tight line. Lt. Commander Jericho sighed, and let go of her legs. She quickly got to her feet, trying to save some dignity, and climbed up to the top bunk. "I brought him some flowers from the garden deck..." she said, her back to Jericho, "And he threw them out, saying he didn't have time for that kind of stuff..." 

Jericho didn't have to ask who HE was. He shook his head as he climbed part-way up the ladder and dangled his legs through the rungs, "Why do you even bother holding on to a man who would throw you out as quickly as he did those flowers?" 

"Because... I love him..." she said. 

"Do you really, Steph? Can you honestly look at yourself and say you LOVE that flower-boy jackass?" Jericho asked. "Or are you just desperate?" 

Stephanie spun towards him, "What would YOU know about love anyway?" she snapped, "You're just a dumbass robot who's emotions come from a stupid chip in his finger! You don't know ANYTHING about loving someone! There are always obstacles! You just have to overcome them!" 

"Listen, Skankanie, I may just be a _dumbass robot_ but when someone tries to kill you, that's a pretty big obstacle to overcome for your so-called 'love'!" Jericho snapped. 

"Like you said the other day, he did NOT try to kill me!" Stephanie replied angrily. 

Jericho rolled his eyes. Why bother? "Whatever, Stephie. I'm heading to the Smackdown. Feel free to stay here and pine away for Triple Nose if you want..." with that, he climbed down the ladder and walked out. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"So how are things with Chavo, Jr," Jericho asked Chyna as he sat beside her at the bar. He studied Lt. Loco from a few feet away. 

"Not well," Chyna sighed, handing him a synthehol, "He's as stubborn as Eddie, and is passing off his Nytron rank as some sort of great accomplishment," 

"Kids..." Jericho shrugged, "What can you do?" 

Chyna let out a small laugh, "Like you would know anything about kids..." 

Jericho sipped his synthehol and shrugged, "I've been reading up," he smirked, "Maybe I'll build one..." 

"I'd rather do it the old-fashioned way..." Chyna replied with a sly smile. 

"Speaking of which," Jericho put his drink down and raised his eyebrows, "You and Eddie been trying to have kids lately?" 

Chyna furrowed her brow, "No. What do you..." she stopped, and giggled, "I forgot! You don't sleep much! You've probably heard us in the wee hours of the night!" her giggles turned into laughter, "I'm sorry, Chris! We'll try and keep it down..." 

"Hey, I think you two are a great couple," Jericho replied, "but I really don't need to hear HOW great you are in the middle of the night!" 

Chyna laughed louder... until a voice interrupted her, "Did my Chrissie tell a joke? Do share!" 

Chyna's good humour quickly faded as Kimberly slithered up to the bar. Jericho frowned, "Since when am I YOURS?" he asked, not hiding his annoyance. 

"Silly Chris... don't you know? EVERYTHING aboard this ship is mine! Mine and Russo's that is," she smiled sweetly, "That includes toys like yourself!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho wanted to knock Kim to the ground and put her in his patent move -- the move he couldn't bring himself to put on Stephanie earlier. He turned to Chyna, "Do you smell something?" he asked, "Smells like bullshi---" 

"CHRIS!" Kimberly snapped angrily, "As long as Russo runs this ship, he said I could have anything I wanted! That includes YOU!" 

Jericho looked out over the Smackdown, "Hey, Page..." he called out to the Nytron sitting a few feet away, "I think you should get your dog spayed! The Bitch seems to always be in heat!" 

"She ain't MY problem anymore, Jeri-scum!" Page replied, and continued talking to his fellow Nytrons. 

"Damn..." Jericho muttered, and turned back to Chyna as if Kimberly wasn't there, "So, how are things going in here? Anything interesting happen lately?" 

"Chris!" Kimberly said. Why wasn't he paying attention to her? Surely she was more interesting then CHYNA was. 

"Do you hear something?" Jericho asked his friend. 

"No, nothing at all..." Chyna replied. 

Suddenly, Kimberly swung her hand and smacked the Y2J Unit across the face. He was GOING to pay attention to her, damnit! 

Jericho jumped to his feet, knocking his bar stool over. He looked about ready to kill. 

"I got this one, Chris!" A voice said, and soon Kimberly found herself in an Aerialian headlock from Lita, who had been sitting a few feet away, "NO ONE touches my friends, wench!" Lita snapped angrily. 

Kimberly's fellow Nytrons did nothing but watch with amusement as Lita sent the dark-haired woman crashing into a nearby table. 

Chyna put a hand on Jericho's arm. She could feel him shaking with anger, "Turn the chip off, Chris, before you do something you'll regret..." 

Jericho snapped his head around to look at her, "I DID turn it off!" he replied through clenched teeth, "After she slapped me!" 

Chyna slowly removed her hand from his arm, "My god... Chris... then why are you 

still--" 

"Adreneline rush, " he interrupted, "It has yet to run its course..." At least, that was the most logical explanation. 

A few feet away, Kim climbed to her feet, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth. "I'll see you DEAD, Aerialian slut!" she shouted angrily at Lita, then looked at Lt. Commander Jericho, "And I'll see YOU later!" she allowed a cold smile, and walked out. 

Jericho watched her leave, and flicked his emotion chip back on. Is this what pure hatred felt like? 

It disturbed him. It disturbed him greatly. 

***

SICKBAY 

"Dr. Taker, anything you need me to do for you this fine evening?" Ensign Angle asked. 

Dr. Taker looked at him, "Yeah, you can get your stank ass out of here!" he replied. 

Ensign Angle saw the papers on Dr. Taker's desk, "Need help going through that, sir? I can file it away for you," he began to grab the papers, but one look from Dr. Taker froze him in his tracks. "or... maybe not..." 

"Maybe not!" Dr. Taker replied. 

Ensign Angle saluted respectfully and headed out of Dr. Taker's office to busy himself with cleaning up sickbay. 

Finally, peace and quiet! Dr. Piro was in the Smackdown with his buddies. Now Dr. Taker could go over the files he had found in McMahon's safe two weeks ago. 

He picked up a file, and began to read... 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Lt. Commander Jericho sat on the bottom bunk since Stephanie had decided to take over the top one. She seemed to do that a lot, even though it wasn't her assigned bunk. Not that it mattered to him. He didn't actually require sleep, though he would practice the human routine when there was nothing better to do. 

Jericho heard something so quiet and faint, he couldn't quite make it out. He got to his feet, and heard it again. Was that his name? Someone was calling him... but... 

He looked up at the top bunk. Was Stephanie calling for him? He quickly climbed the ladder... and saw she was still sleeping. She had a sweet smile on her face... and she WAS saying his name. "_What the hell?" _He frowned. She was probably dreaming of putting him through another beating from Triple H. 

Stephanie turned her head towards him, and slowly opened her eyes, "Chris?" Stephanie asked quietly. 

"Yes… it's me." 

Stephanie suddenly blinked, and everything came into focus. She looked rather annoyed as she sat up in the bed, "CHRIS!" she snapped, "Why are you staring at me? You get some weird joy watching me sleep? PERVERT!" 

"Watching you? EXCUSE me?" He frowned, "You were calling out my name, Skankanie! Unless you there's some young Ensign named Chris I don't know about...." 

Stephanie quickly turned away. "Go away!" she snapped, voice strained -- as if she was about to cry, "Just leave me alone!" 

Jericho furrowed his brow. He'd never seen Stephanie react that way to an Ensign comment before. He sighed, "Steph," he started, "I was wondering something..." 

"What? Wondering how many Ensigns I've visited tonight?" she asked, eyes flashing with fire. 

"No!" he snapped, "Listen to me, I still have some of your memories. That's how I knew about the Snow Globe," Stephanie winced at the mention of that gift. She had broken it a while ago in anger. Unfounded anger. "But this whole slut thing... tell me honestly -- is it just something you---" 

"I'm really tired, Lt. Commander..." Stephanie interrupted, voice hard. Jericho blinked. Why was she being so formal suddenly? "Leave me alone," 

The Y2J Unit would have said more, but realized it was a wasted effort, "Fine," he replied coldly, "I'll leave you to your sadistic little dreams of Trip pulling that sledgehammer on me again," with that, he climbed down the ladder. 

Stephanie turned to him, but he had already disappeared through the curtains. She let out a deep breath and studied the ceiling, "That's not what I was dreaming about, Chris..." she whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear her, "Not it at all..." 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Jericho headed out of the shuttle bay and walked to the nearest turbolift. He suddenly stopped in his tracks as he heard something behind him. He spun around and saw a flash of dark hair. 

The Y2J Unit quickly flicked off his chip. Kimberly was nearby, and he didn't need those disturbing negative feelings running through his body. 

To think he was even _capable_ of such evil thoughts frightened him. 

Jericho continued down the hall, and was quickly confronted by three Nytron girls holding phasers. 

"Chris, I told you you'd be mine," Kimberly's voice was like ice behind him. 

Even with his chip off, the negative impulses still made their way through his wires. If only Matt was here to run a diagnostics on him. 

Jericho took a deep breath. That was something else all together. There was still a void. 

Suddenly, Jericho felt something digging into his back - and a paralyzing surge of energy filled him. He collapsed to his knees as Kim's stun-gun rendered his functions useless. He heard Kimberly laugh as another surge went through him, then all went black. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker walked around Sickbay aimlessly, spitting every so often on the ground. 

"Oh! Let me get that for you, Dr. Taker..." Ensign Angle said. He quickly brought out a mop and cleaned up Taker's little mess, "You know, sir... that is an unhealthy habit..." 

Dr. Taker looked at him, and spit again. Like a good little butt-kisser, Angle cleaned up THAT one as well. 

Dr. Taker scowled at him, "Go away, boy. I really DON'T want you here. Go kiss Dr. Piro's stank ass!" 

"But sir!" Angle gasped, "He's the ENEMY!" 

"Listen, son, if you don't get outta my face, I'll hurt you!" Dr. Taker looked at him, his eyes like ice. 

Ensign Angle swallowed hard, "I'll... uh...." he cleared his throat, "I'll clean this up later," he said with a nervous smile, then quickly left Sickbay. 

Taker was finally alone again. 

The dark doctor sighed and sat down in his office. He opened the drawer in his desk and took McMahon's files out again. _Damnit, Vince! Surely you had SOME plan!_

__

He frowned and studied them for another hour, then let out a frustrated shout and put the files away again. 

Well, if McMahon's files showed nothing, then perhaps the answer would lie in McMahon's logs. 

The doctor quickly turned to his monitor, and called up all the private and professional logs he could find. 

***

COMPUTER LAB 

Lt. Commander Jericho came to slowly. His emotion chip wasn't on, he knew that much. But, it was also MISSING. He found himself lying on a workshop table. Or more like TIED to it. 

"Oh, you're awake!" Kimberly said happily, the looked behind him, "You can put it in now Ensign Wilson. " 

A leggy blonde came up in front of Jericho, and snapped his emotion chip back in place, "All done," she said with a smile. "Shall I turn it on?" 

"Yes please," Kimberly replied, then turned back to Jericho, "We've moderated your chip. You'll like it a lot more now," she smiled coldly, "You'll like ME a lot more now..." 

The Y2J Unit suddenly bolted upright on the table as a surge of power went through him. He opened his mouth, and let out a scream. Whatever they had done to his chip sent painful bursts of energy throughout his positronic brain. Were they trying to reprogram him? 

Kimberly paled, "What's wrong?! What's happening!?" she asked. 

"I don't know!" Ensign Wilson gasped. She seemed at a loss, "Maybe the modifications aren't compatible?" She went to a nearby monitor and called up the Y2J Unit's schematics, "I did everything I was supposed to! I don't understand this!" She said loudly, trying to be heard over his screams, "It's like there is something else in his body that's refusing the chip!" 

"That's impossible! He's just a robot! He couldn't possibly be refusing the chip! I mean... a robot is only the sum of his parts, right?" Kimberly asked. When Ensign Wilson didn't answer, she raised her voice, "Right, Torrie?! RIGHT?!" she tried to be heard over the horrible sound. 

"Wench..." Lt. Commander Jericho hissed, glaring at Kimberly. Kim gasped. She could have sworn his eyes were GLOWING, "DIE!" he began to scream again.

"Torrie! DO SOMETHING!" 

"I don't know what to do, Kim! He's more complicated then your average 'bot!" Ensign Wilson said, "I don't think we can force him, emotion chip or not, to FEEL the way you want him too!" 

"What are you telling me, Ensign?" Kimberly asked angrily, "I can't make him want me?" Jericho stopped screaming long enough to spew obscenities at Kimberly. Violent, vulgar obscenities. The ear-piercing screams then continued. Kimberly's eyes went wide, "What's going on?" 

"He HATES you, Kim. Even modifying his chip can't seem to change that!" Ensign Wilson said, covering her ears. The sound was horrible! 

The Y2J Unit suddenly stopped screaming, and slumped over. Everything was quiet. Ensign Wilson slowly removed her hands from her ears. 

Eerie Silence. 

Kimberly's voice was no more then a whisper when she spoke, "Is he… dead?" 

The Y2J Unit jerked suddenly, and broke the ropes that bound him to the table. He jumped off and began to stalk towards Kimberly. 

Kimberly looked helplessly at her friend, fear in her eyes, "What's happening to him?" 

"Oh god..." Ensign Wilson gasped, "The chip is totally fried!" 

"Wh--wh--what does that m-m-m-m-mean?" Kim stuttered as she backed herself against a wall. 

"It means that his emotions are running uncontrollably throughout his body. Particularly his HATRED!" Ensign Wilson said, not believing it herself. 

"He's gonna kill me!!" Kimberly shouted, "Stop him!" The Y2J Unit reached out, and grabbed her by the throat, squeezing, "T--t--tor--rrrrrieeeeee.." Kim squeaked. 

Ensign Wilson quickly grabbed the stun gun, and ran at him. Jericho let go of Kimberly, and spun on Wilson, knocking the gun out of her hands. 

"Oh crap!" Wilson gasped. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" she repeated, and ran out of the room, leaving Kimberly grasping for the stun-gun on the floor. 

Lt. Commander Jericho turned to his original victim, and his body wrenched violently as Kimberly raised the stun-gun, and fired. 

The Y2J Unit fell to the ground, unmoving. 

Kim stood over the unconscious form, her pulse thundering in her ears. There was only ONE person on the ship who could reverse the damage, and the very thought that she'd have to ask this particular person for help disgusted her. 

Nonetheless, Kimberly ran out of the room, and searched for Commander Stephanie McMahon. 

***

COMPUTER LAB 

"What did you DO to him?" Commander Stephanie snapped angrily as she looked at the unconscious Jericho. A hysterical Kim had dragged Stephanie out of bed, crying that the Y2J Unit had fried its circuits and tried to kill her. 

Stephanie couldn't blame him. 

"I... I didn't do ANYTHING," Kimberly said quickly, nervously. Stephanie didn't believe her. 

The Chief Engineer and the Nytron girl picked the Y2J Unit up and placed him on a near-by table. 

Stephanie didn't appreciate being dragged into the computer lab wearing only a faded tank top and spandex shorts, but from the way Kim sounded, it had been an emergency. She ran her tricorder over Jericho's unmoving body, and saw where the problem lie. Stephanie grew angry, and glared daggers at Kimberly, "His EMOTION CHIP?" she shouted, "Of ALL things... you messed with THAT?" 

"Well... it... it wasn't me... it was Ensign Wilson..." Kimberly sputtered. 

"YOU instigated it! EVERYTHING he IS was in that chip, Kimberly!" Stephanie was noticeably upset, "You might as well have KILLED him, you Nytron slut!" 

"I wanted to PLAY with him.... not KILL him!" Kimberly replied. 

"PLAY with him?" Stephanie yelled, then swung back and slapped the taste out of Kimberly's mouth, "Is he just a TOY to you? Is EVERYONE on this ship just a toy to you?! We're LIVING BEINGS!" she snapped, "And DAMN you Nytrons for thinking we're your own personal playthings!" 

Kimberly was taken aback by the anger in Stephanie's voice and eyes, but then again, rumour had it Miss McMahon was a tad loony toons. Kimberly walked away, and sat in a nearby chair, her expression cold, "Just fix him," she said, "Or you will see EXACTLY what I think of you and your crew!" Kimberly pulled something out of her pocket. It was a phaser. The Nytron girl smiled, and promptly aimed her weapon at Stephanie, "Do it! NOW!" 

Commander Stephanie frowned, then turned back to the Y2J Unit. She popped opened his fingernail and studied the chip. It was scorched and burnt beyond repair, "Damnit..." she sighed. She scraped it out, and it fell in ashes on the table. "Damnit, damnit!" She felt like crying. 

For all intents and purposes, Lt. Commander Jericho was dead - leaving only a fancy, unemotional walking computer in his place. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker studied his monitor. Everyone's personal thoughts and feelings were here before him, although the fools didn't know. 

He allowed a cold smile and pressed a button. Before him were the official and personal logs of one Captain Vincent K. McMahon. 

Surely something would have to come up... wouldn't it? 

***

COMPUTER LAB 

Lt. Commander Jericho's eyes flew open. He looked up at Commander Stephanie, and bolted upright. Stephanie jumped away from him, startled. He quickly hopped off the diagnostics table, his eyes wild and confused. 

"Is he ok?" Kimberly asked as she stood up. He spun around to face her, pure unbridled hatred in his eyes, "No...!" she gasped. "Not again!" 

The Y2J Unit began to walk towards her, jaw clenched angrily. He looked almost psychotic. 

"Chris!" Stephanie gasped. "Stop!" He turned to her, and within seconds, she found herself pinned against a nearby wall, "Chris!" Stephanie cried. He was HURTING her! "What did you DO to him, Kimberly?" 

"I had Ensign Wilson reprogram his chip. Make him want me. Turns out he hates me," she smiled coldly, "At least I can be happy knowing he hates YOU too, if his current behaviour is any indication!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho looked towards Kimberly, then back to Stephanie... as if unsure who to attack first. He lifted a hand to Stephanie's face, but paused. He gently touched her cheek, and felt an odd wetness under his fingers. Tears? "Commander," he asked, "What's wrong?" 

Stephanie's eyes went wide, "You're hurting me!" she whimpered. 

Lt. Commander Jericho noticed the grasp he had on her arm, and quickly let go. He took a step back, "I'm malfunctioning!" he gasped, and grabbed his head, wincing in pain, "Overloading!" he sounded almost hysterical. 

Stephanie grabbed her sore arm, but stepped away from the wall, "Calm yourself, Lt. Commander!" she ordered. 

"Orders to calm Unit Y2J disobeyed. Emotion chip inaccessible," he said, backing away. His eyes darted around the computer lab erratically. "Unable to comply!" 

Stephanie glared at Kimberly, "You like your new toy, Kimmie?" she shouted. "YOU LIKE THAT YOU JUST DESTROYED JERICHO?" 

Kimberly grew angry, and aimed her phaser at Stephanie as Jericho tried to steady himself. Not only was his behaviour erratic, so was his walking. "Don't blame this on ME! It's not MY fault he's defective scrap!" she smiled cruelly, "And soon, you'll be a defective SKANK, Stephie-dear!" She pressed the trigger on her phaser, and fired. 

In a blur of blonde hair, Stephanie was thrown to the ground, missing the phaser beam by an inch. Kimberly's eyes went wide when she saw what had happened. 

Despite his malfunction, the Y2J Unit had saved Commander Stephanie McMahon. 

Lt. Commander Jericho cocked his head to the side, and studied Kimberly. He held a hand out, "You are not authorized to carry a WrestleFleet weapon. Surrender the phaser to me," It was a demand. 

"You were malfunctioning two seconds ago!" Kimberly gasped, surprised at his recovery. 

He still stood before her, hand out, "I repeat - surrender the phaser to me. You have fired on my superior officer. Therefore, I must confiscate your weapon. I am aware that the current occupation spares you any further punishment... but if you do not hand over the weapon, I will take it by force!" 

"She is NOT your superior officer! I DEMOTED her!" Kimberly said. 

"In WrestleFleet's eyes, she is still a Commander, and I will refer to her as such. Now give me your weapon, or I will TAKE it from you..." Jericho took a step towards Kimberly, his expression hard. 

Kimberly dropped the phaser on the floor, and quickly ran out of the Computer lab... before Lt. Commander Jericho had another mental breakdown. He quickly picked up the phaser and pocketed it. No telling when it would come in handy. 

"Chris," Stephanie started from the ground, "Thank you... but... how did you fix yourself?" 

Jericho went over to her and assisted her to her feet, "When I have a malfunction such as this, my program automatically runs a systems check and reconfigures my positronic matrix. Unfortunately, it took longer then the normal estimated time due to the severe damage the modified emotion chip did to my systems," 

Stephanie blinked. She hated technobabble. She took a deep breath, and spoke, "I'm sorry I couldn't save your emotion chip. It was destroyed," Saying it like this made it all too real. His emotion chip was no more, and it upset her greatly. 

"Irvine Inc. will provide a replacement..." he paused, "That is, if Nytron Captain Russo allows us to contact them," he studied Stephanie for a moment. She was still rubbing her arm. Jericho held the injured arm and touched the sore spot gently with his fingers, "It seems I have damaged you. Forgive me, Commander. I ask that this not be written up in my file due to extenuating circumstances, though it is your choice to make." 

Stephanie allowed a small smile, "It's ok. You weren't in your right mind. Anyway, it's just a bruise. It'll go away in a few days," she searched his eyes for a moment, but no sign of the Jericho she knew was there. He was just a robot now. That's all. " I… I should get back to the shuttle bay. I need to catch up on my sleep. I suggest you do so as well, Chr—Lt. Commander," Stephanie turned around and began to walk out. 

"Good night, Commander Skankanie..." 

Stephanie stopped in her tracks, and spun around, "What did you say?" 

The Y2J Unit's face was unreadable, "I said 'Good night, Commander Stephanie...' " 

Stephanie eyed him carefully. She could have sworn he had said something else.... but... without his emotion chip, snide comments like that weren't in his programming. She sighed, and walked out of the computer lab. 

Lt. Commander Jericho watched the doors swoosh shut, unaware of the smug smile on his own lips... 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

By the time Lt. Commander Jericho returned to the shuttle bay, everyone seemed to be sleeping. He had been wandering the ship aimlessly, getting dirty looks from the jobber Nytrons on duty. 

Jericho walked around the shuttle bay quietly. He came up to Ensigns Edge and Christian's section and peeked through the drapes to see the blonde brothers sleeping peacefully, both hugging mirrors close to them. Jericho figured the Kanatians would probably be hugging females if they were not so egocentric. 

Jericho turned and went to the next section. He opened the curtains to see Terri and the Kat showing off their rather revealing lingerie as they slept. He quickly closed the curtains, knowing full well the two ladies would be less then pleased should they wake up and find him studying their sleeping patterns. 

"Roody poo candy ass ... layeth the smacketh down ... turn it sideways... " 

Jericho turned at the sound of the voice and quickly made his way to Lt. Rock and Lt. Commander Austin's bunk, "Lt. Rock? Are you awake?" he asked, but when he pulled the curtains apart, he saw that Rock was indeed sleeping... and talking in his sleep. Jericho let the curtains fall back into place. 

__

Lt. Commander Jericho peaked through the next set of curtains to see Lita sleeping on the top bunk, and Ensign Crash gone. He turned to see if Crash was walking around the shuttle bay, but all he saw was Miss Kitty's kitten, and Chyna's puppy cuddled together in a corner of the shuttlebay - sleeping just like everyone else. 

Jericho turned back to Crash's bunk, and the Houdinian was suddenly there, dreaming happily and hugging a small stuffed animal. Odd creatures, these Houdinians, with their canny ability to appear and disappear at random. The Y2J Unit let the curtains fall back as he walked away. 

Jericho decided to pass on Chyna and Eddie's bunk. He could hear barely muffled giggling, and knew they were quite awake. He briefly wondered why humanoids needed to touch one another so frequently. 

The Y2J Unit, of course, had no need for such things. He was, quite understandably, untouchable. 

Lt. Commander Jericho went through his own curtains, only to see Stephanie sleeping peacefully on the bottom bunk. She had apparently kicked her covers off, revealing her faded "WrestleFleet Academy" t-shirt tucked into barely decent spandex shorts. 

The Y2J Unit gently pulled the blankets back over Stephanie, wondering what possessed him to do so. He reasoned that it was somewhat cold in the shuttle bay and it was his duty to make sure his superior officer was comfortable. 

Lt. Commander Jericho quickly climbed to the top bunk and stared at the curtains in front of him. 

Truth be told, if he was capable of emotion at this moment, the Y2J Unit would feel somewhat lonely in his untouchable world...

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	57. Season 7 Episode 7 Heartbreaker

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 7

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 7: HEARTBREAKER 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   


... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate-oh screw this!" Vince Russo exploded at the same time his logbook did, the steel shell shattering against the wall in a shower of sparks. "That TRAMP! That SLUT! That BIMBO!" 

Bishoff was a trembling mass of muscles strapped to a chair with industrial tape. Each outburst from the High Commander was like a bullet fired into his chest, making him flinch. 

"She BROKE it!" Glass rained to the carpet in a sparkling mist as Russo swept one of Vinnie Mac's valuable million dollar vases to the floor. Too bad, but the disgraced Captain had more to worry about than antiques right then - much more. "Jericho ain't nothin' but a worthless piece of crap without that emotion chip! I can't re-program his loyalties if he ain't got any! That idiot Kimmie turned him into a fancy calculator!" 

Bishoff's eyes rapidly darted back and forth as Russo paced the room. 

"I gotta do something about Stephanie! She's causin' riots in the Smackdown, she's been cured of her looney tunes - I don't know what the hell is going on! You can't trust those damn McMahons as far as you can throw them...except for Shane. God, like the son I never had Bishoff, like the son I never had...." 

The door chirped at him. Russo stopped mid-tirade. 

"Come." 

***

"I believe you already know Eric." Russo nodded at his bound and gagged captive. It didn't bother him that his visitor was going to bear witness to Bishoff's humiliation. "Now feast your eyes on this!" 

He spun his modified padd around, the specifications for the ultimate Nytron weapon flashing like a neon sign on the screen. "Whadd'ya think?" 

"A quantum explosive." Benoit said flatly. "A bomb in theory only. It can never be successfully developed or used." 

"Think again, sucker!" Russo was chomping on a cigar, removed from Lt Farooq's private stash by JJ. "I didn't call you in here so you could rain on my parade, Wolfman!" 

Benoit stayed silent. 

"Let's just say that Earth and the rest of the Milky Way will expire in 30 days, Lieutenant!" Russo chuckled. "Thanks to this so-called theoretical device being driven into the heart of the galaxy. You scientists just don't know how to live on the edge, how to believe!" 

"I believe you will never cause the death of billions with this fantasy weapon." Benoit's laugh was so mocking it set Russo's teeth on edge. The scientist with the sub-arctic personality felt blessed that his precious homeworld of Kanata was light years from the blast site. A shame he was not capable of feeling empathy for the sappy little earthlings aboard the ship...."The most you can hope to accomplish is opening a very minor and unstable wormhole-" 

"You're a heck of a techie." Russo ignored Benoit's doubts-he had to. His ego would not allow him to accept even the most remote possibility of failure. "You can put the finishing touches on this little sweetheart here." 

A glimmer of anger flashed in Benoit's eyes. "I will not." 

Russo merely smiled, stabbed his cigar out on Bishoff's bare hand. Both he and the Lieutenant ignored the muffled squeals of pain. 

"Tell me, Benoyt...you tried to assassinate the lovely Mrs. McMahon-Helmlsey once, did you not?" 

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Benoit replied calmly. "I had no intention of murdering Stephanie. I merely pretended to in order to further a high-stakes Wrestlefleet Intelligence operation." 

"Intelligence operation my ass!" Russo laughed like it was the joke of the year. "But you got brass ones to run that bull past me! You and Shane...you're my kind of people." 

Benoit's jaw clenched instinctively. He was no traitor! 

"Would you say Stephie baby was a threat to my occupation?" 

"You have already eliminated those Aerialian pretty boys, so you needn't fear any noble heroics from that end." Benoit said thoughtfully. "Jericho without passion is useless.....Stephanie is the only one left who may ruin your plans." 

Russo raised an eyebrow. He couldn't know that Benoit cared little if an officer like Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley lived or died. In fact, Benoit cared very little about anything except himself...."A shame she recovered from her psychosis." 

"Indeed." 

"You failed to kill her once." Russo pointed an accusatory finger at Benoit's massive chest. 

"My intentions-" 

"Would you like a second chance?" 

Benoit smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "I'm not Shane. I will not murder a superior officer for you." 

Russo speared his comm badge. "Jarrett? Please come and escort Lt. Chris Benoit to the brig!" 

"Be right there, slapnuts! Sir!" 

Benoit sat like a statue across from Russo, unmoved by the fact all his freedoms would soon be stripped away. He saw no reason to mention Bishoff to anyone either-it wasn't his business if the maniacal High Commander wanted to have a pet. 

Russo kept his back turned as his first officer escorted an annoyingly calm Benoit from the Ready Room. Thirty days! Surely word of the quantum explosive would spread through the ship like a virus, making the Titanprize crew edgy and eager to try something foolish....but they wouldn't. Vincent Kennedy McMahon was now his own personal bitch and didn't even know it! 

Because Russo had a plan, a scheme so evil and treacherous that Satan himself would have wept with envy.... 

***

SHUTTLEBAY-4 

"Ensign." 

"Commander." 

Icicles hung in the space between Stephanie and Lita as they each faced the grimy mirror in the ladies room of their spartan shuttlebay-turned-quarters. 

"Too bad we're not friends anymore." Steph was feeling pouty about having to share a bathroom with every wench on the ship. "I have something really juicy to tell you." 

"Too bad." 

"It's about me and Chris." Stephanie persisted, sweeping her glossy chestnut hair into an elegant French braid. Hunter did so like it that way.... 

"Jericho?" Lita laughed, though it sounded distracted. She hated the overly chic, glamorous fire-red evening gown that Shane had brought her for that night's....celebration in the Smackdown. No matter how many credits it was worth, the clingy silk simply wasn't daring or cutting edge enough for her. "His personality has sunk below Ensign Blackman's!" 

Stephanie scowled to cover up the twinge of pain in her chest. Maybe she would never tell her "friend" about almost kissing Chris...upon reflection, it did seem disgusting that she'd almost, almost put her very human mouth against those icky synthetic lips! The more days that passed, the more she was reminded that Jericho was incapable of feeling anything without a stupid sliver of silicon underneath his fingernail! 

He was a good-looking computer whose smart-assed comments and moments of compassion were tripped by some sort of internal trigger - a machine! She closed her eyes tight, the sensation of moisture behind her lids a sign that she still had _her_ heart.... 

"I can't believe you're going to the ball with Hunter tonight." Lita cursed herself for not holding it in. 

"You can't believe me?" Stephanie opened her eyes again, wondered what Chris might say about her teeny tiny silver mini-dress. It was like he'd forgotten the word "slut" even existed. "Your boyfriend's body is in the morgue and that doesn't stop you from being Shane O' Mac's trophy trollop." 

"My boyfriend never got me shot." Lita said coldly. Hah! Wouldn't Stephie feel lower than dirt when Matt and Jeff rose from the "dead"! 

"True." Stephanie smiled sweetly. "Jeff was too busy shooting me twice. Oh - when he wasn't using me to play kissing games with, that is. Say....did you ever ask yourself how your little freak got his promotion anyways?" 

_I must not slap my commanding officer no matter what,_ Lita reminded herself. "You know what, Steph? I'm getting a little suspicious of just why you care so darn much about my reaction to Ensign Hardy's death! It's like....well you _do_ have a certain thing for men with long blonde hair!" 

Stephanie's face turned green. Okay, Lita had won that game of chicken. "That's...that's disgusting! Like I would ever have a crush on your little...your little whatever the heck Jeff is! And I like men, not boys! Especially inexperienced boys!" 

"Sure Steph." Lita just smiled knowingly at her. "Now that I think about it, Jeff was acting a lot like Jericho before he died, and we all know exactly how you felt about your Chrissie!" 

"Yeah well Chris is fully functional and there's no chance Jeff-" Stephanie blushed furiously. How dare Lita trick her into thinking about that! "You just shut up! Wasn't helping my brother beat me down with a phaser humiliation enough?" 

Lita just shook her head. God, how she hated her hair pinned up and looking so disgustingly elegant! If she looked too cutsie, she'd have a hard time taking herself seriously! "Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have a brother like Shane?" 

Stephanie practically choked. "Lucky? Yeah, lucky like someone with a deadly disease. Good-night Lita." 

Lita kept her gaze on the mirror as the Commander stalked out. 

_Taking Jericho's loss of emotion a little rough, are we Stephie?_

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Get your filthy, slimy hands off me!" 

"Come on little lady!" Ensign Big Poppa Pump's hand brushed a little too close to the backside of Trish's anatomy, making her shudder with revulsion. "I don't want a simple synthehol when I can get a whole lot of watermelon!" 

"Oh my god!" Trish gasped, almost dropping her tray full of drinks. Why did she have to do all this silly work stuff anyways? Shane never said anything about it being soooo hard! "That is sexual harrassment! I'm reporting you! No - I'll sue you!" 

"Don't sing it, honey!" Last Call Hall slurred. "Bring it!" 

"You're as repetitive as Lieutenant Crock!" Trish snapped. "Hey-Nash! You better not be looking up my skirt!" 

"I dropped my spoon, baby." Nash was laughing. "It happened to fall at your feet!" 

"You idiots got some sort of mental block against respecting ladies?" Ensign Helmsley was glaring daggers into each of their hearts. "Maybe my foot in each of your old lazy asses will remind you how to treat a woman!" 

"Whoa, take it easy Game!" Hall snickered. "We respect the ladies, man! But what's that got to do with Trishy here?" 

Hunter was mad enough that he and every other Wrestlefleet officer aboard the ship had been forced to take part in this horror show, a grand celebration, a typically gaudy Nytron affair to pay tribute to the glory of High Commander Russo. He didn't need to put up with crap from these overrated, no-talent rebels who acted like they owned the place! 

"I'm - I'm fine, Ensign Helmsley." Trish assured him, daintily smoothing out the brief whisper of a skirt that Russo had forced all the help to squeeze into. "I can handle these pigs." 

"Oh you sure can." Pump roared with leering laughter. "I got a whole lot you can handle, blondie!" 

"Keep this in mind." Hunter said, his smile menacing. "Pigs might have their fun, but they always get taken to the slaughter. Let me know if they bug you again." 

"I - I will." Trish nodded, backing away from the table slowly. They just oozed so much sleaze! "Thanks! I guess you're not as bad as everyone thinks..Hunter." 

"I'm not." He laughed. "I'm far worse." 

***

And Jericho calls _me_ a slut? Stephanie thought scornfully, watching Trish watch her husband cross the room with long, arrogant strides. She knew the look in the blonde Kanatian's eyes well - predatory, manipulative, and downright wicked! 

_Well you already poisoned me, Trish dear_, she thought coldly. _Why not try and steal my property too? You think you can have whatever you want just cause you're so damn beautiful men would die just to touch you?_

There was one thing Trish was never going to get, Stephanie would make sure of that! "Lt Commander Jericho?" Formality was the only way to deal with the stupid 'bot anymore. She watched with angry eyes as Hunter just blew past her, headed straight to a table full of Degenerates. There were some nights where she would honestly care less if he did crawl into bed with every skank in the universe! 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley." 

"Care to dance?" 

"Dance?" Jericho frowned, slowly sipped a synthehol. It seemed the "human" thing to do. 

"Uh yeah, Chrissie." Stephanie said impatiently. "Sort of like Eddie and Chyna are doing, but not quite so...so - don't put your hands there, okay?" 

"Putting my hands there is equal to insubordination, Commander." Chris furrowed his brow. "Why would I show such blatant disrespect to my superior officer?" 

Stephanie counted backwards from ten. She hated this Jericho! 

"Are you ordering me to dance with you?" the Y2J Unit asked, appearing mildly confused. 

"Yes!" she hissed. "Now, dammit!" 

Jericho was as obedient as a puppy dog, taking her hand in such a gentlemanly manner that it would have turned Ensign Angle's stomach. For a gentle touch, it was so damn cold... 

Those amazing blue eyes no longer gave off that radiant supernova light they used too - even the way they widened with shock as she moved her slender body so close to his there was no room to breathe between them was feigned - a mere imitation of surprise. 

"Commander - this style of dancing is highly unorthodox-" 

"Shut up!" Stephanie whispered in his ear. "Russo doesn't want you to have another emotion chip. He turned down my request for lab time. I can't build one now." 

Jericho was rapidly processing the sudden change in temperature against his skin, the way Stephanie's oh so warm lips murmured in such close proximity to his throat caused a minor heat wave...his positronic net struggled to adjust, to make the bizarre electrical tingling in his flesh just stop.... 

"An emotion chip is not necessary." he asssured her. "All other systems are functioning at 100% efficiency-" 

"You need your passion, Chris." The void inside disappeared in a rush of adrenaline, the colored lights swirling together as the room spun in a whirlwind of vertigo. Jericho could've sworn he'd felt her soft, sweet mouth brush that little spot just behind his ear...."To save the ship." 

No! His chip had been fried. Maybe other systems had been thrown into chaos as well, explaining the major fluxes in body temperature, balance, optics- 

"Passion is an illogical choice for a weapon." the Y2J Unit commented in that dreadful monotone. "The Nytron cannot be defeated through overzealous emotion and-" 

"Chris-" The 'bot talk should've angered her, but it just created a vacuum inside her heart. Was this what Jericho felt like? How terrible for him...."I've been looking through Matt's research and the original plans from Irvine Inc. and I think...I think I can make you feel again, if you want. Chris?" She was so careful to talk lightly, her face hidden by a curtain of his blonde hair so that Russo's lackey couldn't read her lips. Jericho's fingers seemed to dig into her back with every word she whispered.... 

"Chris?" 

"Ensign Matt Hardy's research was inherently flawed." Jericho's lips curled with disapproval. "He was unable to repair several glitches-" 

"Matt found some intriguing things." she remarked softly, searching his glittering blue eyes for a reaction. Of course they only glittered because of the way the strobe lights reflected off the specially enhanced glass... 

"Ensign Hardy's research methods were extremely unprofessional." Jericho said flatly. "Any results are therefore suspect and non-scientific." 

"It's not nice to speak ill of the dead, Chrissie." Stephanie scolded him. "I found Matt's work very helpful. I could make you feel anything you wanted, take away things you didn't like feeling before. Of course, this would all be on the sly, mind you, but if it's worth the risk to you-" 

It didn't seem proper that Commander McMahon-Helmsley conduct this conversation just a breath away from his lips! Her body language was offensive to every level of Wrestlefleet protocol! 

"If you stepped back one foot and modulated your voice point seven eight decibels, this exchange would be just as satisfactory." 

"Sure Chris!" Stephanie glared at him. "And have Russo's rats hear me planning to defy his direct order not to build you a chip?" She jerked away, appalled at how mechanical he was. It grossed her out to realize she was practically dirty dancing with a talking tin soldier! Ick! "What? You think I like being close to you, slimebot? You think I'm whispering sweet nothings in your ear to give you some sort of thrill?" 

"I have no idea." 

"Let me clarify!" Stephanie slapped him viciously, mildly surprised when he didn't catch her open hand in mid-air. "Just forget it okay? Sorry I offered to give you your life back, Chrissie! You know, you make one hell of a fantastic zombie!" 

He stood rooted to the spot as she fled the Smackdown, although his legs were tense with the agony of not chasing after Stephanie. There was no logical reason to pursue the argument or to console her. After all, he didn't understand female emotions, especially that one's..... 

***

SICKBAY 

"Damn." Stephanie shivered, the filmy silk jacket that matched her microscopic dress no barrier against the frigid cold of the morgue. She could almost feel her tears morphing into icicles as she leaned against the metal wall. 

Why did she bother humiliating herself? Offering Jericho so much when he wanted absolutely nothing from her! What a fool she was! 

"I'd like to be alone, Ensign Angle." 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley." Kurt chewed on his lip, eyed the cold storage drawers nervously. "Let me add a fourth I to my list - I don't think so! Dr. Taker-" 

"Oh to hell with the Jolly Dead Giant!" Stephanie glared at the Olympic twit. He was so nauseatingly noble, so charming, and just so masculine, yet so utterly unable to generate a spark of anything inside her. Funny - he made her feel less than a sophisticated, walking, talking computer did! "I outrank Taker by a mile!" 

"Er-I believe you meant to say "heck", Commander." Kurt corrected her piously. "Not H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!" 

"I appreciate your integrity, Ensign." Maybe she'd take the sniveling suck-up approach he seemed to favor. "But I think you can be assured I have nothing to fear from the dead." 

"Well, it's not the dead I'm worried about, sir." he explained with a frown. "It's how deeply Dr. Taker's boot will be imbedded in my as-- butt if the bodies were to become contaminated in any way, shape, or form. He's already threatened to kick me so hard that I'll travel back in time from the sheer force of it!" 

Stephanie stifled a snicker. "The truth is, I really am grateful to have such a big, strong man here with me...I mean, corpses are kind of scary and they make me a little faint - all that decomposition and I know this is crazy, but just the idea that maybe...you know...what if they're not really dead and they - god." She shivered. 

"Uhhhh..." Kurt knew he was in deep sh-trouble for accidentally re-crossing Nurse Saturn's eyes with the optic lazer, but could Taker blame him for leaving Stephanie alone when he was feeling so queasy? It would be far less intelligent to hurl all over the floor and taint the bodies that way! "I suppose a few moments alone with the deceased couldn't hurt. Just...umm....don't mention this to the good doctor please!" 

"Oh no!" Stephanie smiled sweetly. That would be the first thing she did! "Say Kurt Cute.....before you go...ummmm." She batted her eyelashes. "Wouldn't it be like totally freaky to get your innocence stolen right here?" 

"Don't be too long, sir!" Angle was out of there so fast she could have sworn he was Houdinian! And my, my, my - his face was just about as red as those goofy tights he liked to wear during training exercises! Still, she could easily grow bored with such a naive little toy.... 

"Alright, now that you guys are dead, I feel comfortable saying this." Stephanie sighed, not quite looking at the Hardy coffins set side by side. "This is like really hard for me, but er....." She lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper, just in case someone was listening. "Thanks and stuff. You know, for saving my life all those million zillion times. Well, that's it." 

"No, that's not quite it!" Stephanie angrily kicked Jeff's stasis chamber. Someone on this damn ship had to feel something! "You idiot! You stupid jerk! How can you be so damn selfish? Weren't you even thinking of me when you were plunging towards your death in that cheap-ass Nytron shuttle? Russo is going to kill me - I know he is! And where's my guardian angel? Dead!" 

She kicked his casket again, just for good measure. 

"You think Hunter is any use? Someone has to actually be around you to save your life and we all know my devoted husband fails that requirement! And Jericho - well sweet Chrissie may be programmed to rescue me if necessary but considering he has all the emotion of a damn wind-up toy, I don't have high expectations! So actually Jeffrey - thanks for NOTHING!" 

Her foot was throbbing, but she still let Matt have it too. "And you! You're an idiot just for being related to this idiot! I need you Matt! I need some help with Jericho's emotion chip! What I need most of all is your damn password for getting into the _oh so top secret_ aspects of your research! What is so damn precious about Chris's feelings that you gotta hide em from me? Does he hate me?" 

Wait a minute....something wasn't right here.... 

Jeff's hair was still vibrantly rainbow, yet he was dead? Perhaps her knowledge of Aerialian biology was sketchy at best but his locks should have turned that scuzzy washed out dishwater blonde color almost as soon as he drew his last sarcastic breath. 

Yet he and his geeky brother were in airtight containers - they couldn't be alive.... 

Stasis! Of course! She kneeled down and tapped at the control pad on Matt's coffin. Manual override was proving to be very difficult. 

"Sis!" She was wrenched so violently away that she stumbled backwards over the casket, striking her head against a metal shelf. Stephanie moaned, feeling sticky moisture in her hair. "Do you have any idea what you almost did?" 

"What are you doing to them, Shane?" Stephanie was woozy as she dragged herself to her feet. "I need Matt and Jeff in Engineering! They can only stay two more weeks like that, three at the most!" 

Shane paused. If Lita knew the truth, that he'd stuck her precious love muffins in stasis fields composed of super-charged, rapidly-degrading power cells, he'd be digesting his own teeth for months to come. He still cringed at the memory of the way she'd sprained that sleaze Nash's neck in the Smackdown with a devastating Aerialian Hurricanrana. All he'd done was wink at her.... 

"I'll have Pop's ship back in our hot little hands by then, sis." He nervously raked his hands through his hair. There was no way Shane could allow her to free Matt and Jeff. He and Lita would be brutally tortured for their deceit, Russo would use his baby sister for his own perverse games before throwing her out an airlock, and he'd make sure the Hardyz were good and dead the second time around, not that Shane O' cared about that! "Just take it easy Steph-chill out!" 

"Do you really think I'm that much of a fool?" Stephanie's lower lip trembled. Oh she wanted to be furious and angry with her brother, but all she felt was completely broken-hearted by what he'd become. "The way you're kissing Russo's ass, I know you'll never hand this ship back to Daddy! And you won't ever let Matt and Jeff out of stasis will you?" She was shaking as she backed away from her brother. "You did try to kill them!" 

"Listen to me Steph!" Shane felt his eye starting to burn too. It had to be the frostbitten air in the morgue..."I want you to know that I love you and I wish this didn't have to happen but..." 

Stephanie screamed bloody murder as Shane yanked her away from Matt's coffin kicking and scratching. He hadn't expected her to put up such a fight, like she was some sort of rabid wildcat or possessed by a demon, but she wasn't about to go down quietly.... 

"I am so sorry Steph." Shane shoved a hypospray deep into the back of her neck, flooding her spinal cord with a particularly nasty Nytron sedative. "Damn! Oh god, Stephie...." 

There was nothing he could do now. It wasn't his fault, really, that she'd spazzed so much when he was trying to drug her, was it? Shane had accidentally given her the whole needle, a lethal overdose. 

"I promise, Steph, I will get the ship back for the McMahons." He took one last look and left her. At least she'd die around her precious little pals, who were more like brothers to her then he'd ever been.... 

***

DECK 10-GARDEN DECK 

"It's alright, Eddie!" Chyna rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to be in the mood every single night you know!" 

"Ey I'm Latino Heat!" Eddie frowned as he stared into the strange Nytron space, at comets and gauzy blue nebulae that made him ache for the stars of home. "And you're the most beautiful woman in the world! How can I go five minutes without kissing you, let alone a whole evening?" 

She laughed. "I'm just going to sneak over there and pick a Houdinian flower okay? Crash accidentally spilled chocolate milk on Lita's bed and wants to make it up to her." 

"Sure Mamacita!" Eddie winked. Well, at least the little blonde ensign didn't have his silly crush on Latino Heat's lady anymore! Not that it wasn't cute of course..... 

Ah well, maybe she would take an extra few minutes and test the theory that absence made the heart grow fonder! Chyna kneeled beside a lush Houdinian plant, admiring the yellow and blue petals that bloomed so brightly amid the emerald green leaves. It was then that she heard urgent whispering. 

She froze. One voice seemed familiar. 

"....didn't know anything about the whole planet man!" It was Chavo. "When Russo recruited, he said only Wrestlefleet Headquarters and the Academy! My family lives there, Billy!" 

"Damn - you've been spending too much freaking time letting Eddie bend your ear!" Kidman sighed with exasperation. "You don't make a statement to the whole federation with some lazy ass bombing of a single building on a single planet!" 

"It ain't right!" Chavo hissed. "A galaxy colonized by billions and you just make it like the those lives never happened? Not cool!" 

"What the heck has gotten into you, Loco?" Kidman demanded suspiciously. "Every other galaxy, all those other planets will join Russo once they see the alternative-to end up like the Milky Way! Think of the power, the credits, the honor we'll have!" 

"Honor?" Chavo spat. "Ain't no honor in murdering that many people. I knew a few people would have to die, but no way man, that ain't even a war. That's a wholesale massacre." 

"You're just scared right Chavo?" Kidman was acting concerned, but the underlying tone of voice was menacing. "I don't need to repeat none of this conversation to Russo right?" 

"I'll do what I have to." Chavo said grimly. "I don't go for being a traitor. The Nytron cause has been good to me!" 

Chyna eased a particularly radiant flower from the rich Houdinian soil. It was such a contrast to her dark spirit. 

She wouldn't tell Latino Heat. She'd give young Chavo one more chance to change his heart..... 

***

SICKBAY 

"Such a pretty pretty girl." Stephanie's hair was being caressed by icy fingers. "The more beautiful something is, the more pleasure I take in destroying it." 

She groaned, but her agony was faded by the potent sedatives that were casting a spell over her. She knew she was dying and that one of hell's own was hovering over her, but yet there was something blissful and dreamy about the whole surreal affair. 

Heaven must be a glacier, she thought drunkenly. Or maybe it was just the chilled steel of the morgue floor. 

But heaven wasn't supposed to have angels like this one-ones with colorless eyes that were gateways to nothingness, skin so clammy and translucent that it made a corpse look flush with good health. She recoiled from the probing touch of the... _thing_. 

"High Commander Russo can own your father's mind, but he would also love to possess a McMahon's body." Dr. Piro smiled, revealing a mouthful of inhumanly sharp teeth to his hallucinating victim. "Some men are content to steal innocence, but I sense he will be far more happier murdering yours, my dear." 

"No." Stephanie whispered, eyes frantically searching the room for something sharp to cut her wrists, even her own throat if she had to...Gruesome death was the only preferable option to- 

"It will only hurt...forvever Princess." 

It felt like a spider bite-a hot stinging sensation on the back of her hand. 

Helpless, she slid into a void, praying she would never return to the waking world... 

***

THE BRIG 

"I said WAKE HIS ASS UP!" Russo was screaming at Nurse Saturn from outside the gleaming emerald green sheet of electricity that stood between McMahon and his beloved crew of do-gooders. "What part of that didn't you understand, baldy?" 

"You have him heavily sedated!" Nurse Saturn growled back, pushing another hypospray into Vince's doped up bloodstream. To think, he could've been enjoying a nice stiff synthehol and staring across the bar at Terri's luscious form while she giggled at all his jokes instead of doing Russo's loathesome bidding! 

"I'd tell you to look at me when I spoke to you, Nursie, but I have a feeling it's physically impossible!" Russo felt like a kid on Christmas morning, about to open the best gift of all! "Ahhh Vincie! Welcome back." 

McMahon's face was bright red, his salt and pepper hair sprawled in all directions, eyes feverish and nearly glowing. "Screw you Russo." 

"No, no, no - screw _you_ McMahon!" Russo laughed wildly as his nemesis tried to spit at him through the force field. "Remember that fateful day when you had the Big Red Retard cart me off to a Wrestlefleet prison-do ya Vincie?" 

"Happiest damn day of my life." McMahon snarled. 

Russo waited for Saturn to slink off like the two-bit coward he was. "You'll recall that I vowed to come back and make you my New York bitch! Well here I am Vinnie Mac, and guess what time it is?" 

"I'm your bitch?" Vince had his turn to laugh. "You got the Titanprize on some glorified joy ride and you think that's something to brag about? My crew still runs the ship cause your Nytron movement is staffed by jobbers and you blow hot air about how big your grapefruits are? Hah! You're still the second rate hack you always were!" 

"Hack on this old man!" Russo poked his finger at Vince, careful to avoid contact with the electrified shielding. "In twenty-nine earth standard days, the Milky Way and every pathetic little Wrestlefleet citizen in it will cease to exist! Shane O' Mac has adopted me as his new father-oh you'd be proud of the little devil Vincie! He's like a little cannibal, eating his own crew alive, killing 'em when they look at him wrong. And oh what he does to his little sister? Cold man." Russo shivered for effect. 

McMahon sank down on the cold, hard bench, his face draining of color. "No. Not my boy." 

"Oh definitely your boy, Vince!" Russo chuckled. "I don't what the hell you did to him when he was growing up, but it's paying off very nicely for me! Heck, he begged me to execute you when I took this little paper airplane over! Didn't like the way you were running the show, I guess." The High Commander shrugged, but the delight was evident in his maniacally dancing eyes. 

"What has he done to Stephanie?" Well, Vince just had to let his son go then. A traitor with his blood? As far as he was concerned, Commander Shane McMahon had never been born into his family! "Tell me dammit!" 

"Ease up old man!" Russo frowned at him. "You'll blow a valve and I'd hate for my favorite toy to get broken! Shane's just been practicing his pistol-whipping techniques on baby sister is all. Actually it's his little wench Lita that's done most of the damage!" 

"Lita?" The room was spinning. Heck, reality was spinning. Vince thought Lita was the closest thing Stephanie had to a girlfriend on this ship. The feisty Aerialian had even risked her own life during a dangerous operation to rescue his daughter from a miserable, short life of being paralyzed from the neck down. A relationship with Shane didn't make any sense. 

"Ahhh Stephanie." Russo was smiling now, like the cat who ate the canary. "You've got such a sweet, sweet little angel McMahon. So soft and lovely and so...so tempting you know?" 

"You haven't touched her!" It wasn't a question. 

"Kimmie is such a bimbo." Russo complained. "Stephanie is so different, so innocent. She's got lips like a flower, Vinnie and the way her hair smells-my lord, it's more beautiful than roses. And the way she cries her gorgeous little eyes out when you put your hand on her knee or pin her to your desk-it gets me right here." 

Russo mocked having a dagger thrust into his monstrous heart. 

"Shut up!" Vince lunged at the force field, thrown back in a violent shower of sparks. He didn't even feel it. "YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" 

"I'm just yanking you Vincie!" Russo was doubled over with laughter. "Maybe. No time to act out bedtime stories with your baby when ol' Vamp is testing out some new Nytron medical devices on the little darling." 

McMahon was filled with a horror that had never touched him before. Dr. Piro....the ghoul had been stripped of his medical credentials in every damn galaxy that existed for the ungodly human experiments he'd carried out. Even those who survived them usually committed suicide rather than cope with the nightmares that were destined to violate them.... 

"Please." Vince didn't care about his own pride anymore. "I'll give you anything. Don't let that demon ruin her..." 

"Give?" Russo was trembling with rage now. His mood swings startled the captive. "You won't give me a damn thing! I will take what I want from you!" 

"Fine, fine." 

Glorious! Vince was on the verge of tears and he hadn't even stuck the last knife in! 

"The Titanprize will arrive at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy in exactly twenty-nine days, three hours, and fifty-four minutes." Russo sounded like Lt Commander Jericho, spitting out detailed calculations. However, the Y2J Unit rarely sounded this arrogant! "A quantum explosive will be placed at the event horizon of the supermassive black hole there, detonating after the Titanprize has warped out of your charming little solar system." 

"You can't do that!" Vince cried. "Quantum explosives don't work, and even if your second rate wanna be ass created one that did, that is billions of people! Innocent people, children!" 

"Oh be still my bleeding heart!" Russo taunted him. "As that slapnutz first officer of mine might say-don't ever piss me off Vinnie Mac!" 

Vince was sweating-he was starting to feel claustrophobic in the cramped cell. There was nothing but helplessness here, no way to save his ship, his crew, the billions of federation citizens who looked to him as their protector. 

He'd let them all down; his hands would be soaked in their blood, never to be clean again. 

"My crew won't let you do this!" 

"They will, because you'll order them too!" Russo said smugly. "Each and every one of them will stand down and watch as the Milky Way disappears into thin air! They will say nothing, do nothing as billions of living breathing humans beings are blown into interstellar cosmic dust!" 

"Never!" 

"Never say never, Vinnie Mac." Russo was beaming with pride as he thrust a tiny sliver of metal in Vince's face. Upon closer examination, the disgraced Captain could see it was a sophisticated chip with a miniature capsule attached to it. It appeared to have a self-contained energy source that he couldn't discern without a tri-croder. 

"What the hell is that?" 

"A little medical device I asked Dr. Piro to develop." Russo said casually. "Funny thing is we have a hard time keeping some Nytron loyal and in line, so I wanted insurance. Insurance that can't be beat." 

"I don't give a damn what you do to your own people, Russo." Vince scowled in frustration. 

"You'd be surprised at how much you care." his mortal enemy assured him. "See, this little gem gets clipped to the patient's heart and will then time its energy pulses to match heartbeat." 

"Cyberbiology." Vince's mouth went dry. That branch of science had been banned because of the potential lethal applications that could be developed by less than ethical scientists. 

"Little hobby of Vamp's." Russo shrugged. "Anyways, once this attached to a person's heart, it can never be removed. It's programmed to fire a deadly charge if it's tampered with. Also, Dr. Piro has possession of the sole trigger, so he can kill the carrier of this device at any time." 

"Clever." 

"No Vincie, it's brilliant!" Russo corrected him. "Cause see, if someone destroys or harms the trigger in any way, the patient still dies from a massive heart attack caused by a painful chemical charge. There's no way to beat the system!" 

Vince could feel his own chest tighten, hot daggers of pain slicing through his brain as the nightmare came to life for him. "Oh god. Stephanie." 

Russo smiled like a teacher whose star pupil had just found the secret of life. Or better yet, death. "You'll make them listen Vince, or little Stephie's heart gets broken. You don't want to break your baby's heart, do you?" 

"You're sick." McMahon whispered, as if it were a revelation. Maybe it was. He'd known Russo was a cheap shot artist, morally repugnant slime, even a little evil. But never this, not in his wildest dreams...."It's experimental. My daughter could die anyway." 

"You're always focusing on the negative, Vincie!" Russo complained. "Look on the bright side! She doesn't know she's always a whisper away from death and I'd hate for her to be burdened by that kind of news! And the crew-well this kind of thing would just crush morale! It'll be our little secret, 'kay Big Mac?" 

His young, beautiful daughter...Vince McMahon did not cry often, he wept now. She was just starting out, yet so close to the cold embrace of death. It wasn't fair; it should've been him. 

Without saying a word, Russo had given him the impossible choice. 

An entire galaxy containing billions of lives or the life of his daughter?   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	58. Season 7 Episode 8 Family Matters

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 8 ****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 8: FAMILY MATTERS 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 072820.00. Kimberly is still moping about breaking her favourite toy, and the Y2J Unit had the gall to ask me if we could contact Irvine Inc. and order a new emotion chip!" Russo looked at his favourite hostage, "Can you believe that, Eric?" Russo asked, then shrugged, "As long as his work is up to par, why should I care if he FEELS anything? I've given up reprogramming him. I don't need to anymore… now that I have Vince by the short-hairs," He turned back to his log, "Speaking of which - Dr. Piro's little experiment on Stephanie was successful. She is back on her feet, and blissfully unaware of how close to death she is!" Russo paused. 

Russo frowned, "On to the bad news. Vampy informed me that Dr. Taker has been spending a lot of time in his office lately. Vamp is under the impression Taker may be looking for something that would be less then helpful to our occupation here. I have asked Vamp to keep a close eye on his WrestleFleet counterpart. End log!" 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Major Gunns leaned in close to Corporal Cajun and General Rection as she eyed Chyna warily, "I don't like the way that Amazon looks at us," she started, "I have a feeling she may be a security risk! Do you think she knows about Russo's plans?" 

"I don't know... how could she?" The General asked, then furrowed his brow, "Perhaps Loco would know. Do you think we should bring him into this conversation?" 

"NO!" Major Gunns replied, "He would be useless to us!" 

"Oui. He seems somewhat protective of Eddie and his girl..." Corporal Cajun replied. 

"What do you suppose we do then?" the General asked, "We need to find a way to get rid of them BOTH!" 

"Hey guys!" A cheery voice called out. They turned to see Lt. Loco making his way towards them. He grabbed an empty chair and sat down, "What are you all talking about?" he asked. 

"Nothing!" the General, Gunns, and Cajun said quickly. 

Loco looked at them, and furrowed his brow. They smiled at him, and he relaxed and smiled back. For a moment, he thought his friends had been plotting something... but that was just silly! 

Lt. Loco motioned to Chyna. She came up to him, "Yes?" 

"Could I have a Smackdown special?" he asked. 

"Sure, Chavo--" 

"It's LT. LOCO!" Loco interrupted. 

Chyna frowned, "I'll get you your drink, CHAVO..." she said, and headed back to the bar. 

"Hmpf! Such disrespect," Major Gunns said, "Someone oughta teach her a lesson!" 

"Do what you want to her... but just don't touch Eddie, ok?" Loco replied, then headed to the bar to ask about his drink, which Chyna seemed to be taking her dear sweet time getting. 

The other three looked at each other, and nodded. They knew they couldn't just get rid of Chyna. They would HAVE to drag Eddie into it. 

They were pretty sure Russo wouldn't mind. 

***

SICKBAY 

Commander Stephanie winced as Dr. Taker tended to her. She had been hit at close range with a muscle disruptor and now the muscles in her back had knotted painfully. Stephanie was lying flat on her stomach, glaring at Lt. Rock, "Thanks a lot, Crocky!" she snapped angrily. 

"Be glad the Rock didn't kill your 2 credit slut candy ass!" Rock replied. 

"What were you thinking trying to steal a sharpshooter from one of the Nytrons when you don't even know how to use one?!" Stephanie asked. 

"The Rock was trying to find a way to get his damn ship back!" he replied. 

"Worked like a charm, Crocky..." Stephanie sighed, then winced again, "Nice aim, dumbass..." 

"Be lucky the Rock didn't take his sharpshooter, turn it sideways, and stick it up your candy ass, Skankanie!" 

Stephanie glared daggers at him, "DON'T call me that!" she hissed angrily, "EVER!" 

"So it's wrong when The Rock calls you that, but just peachy when that jabroni Jericho does?" 

Stephanie looked away quickly, "Jericho doesn't call me that anymore," she replied, voice quiet. 

The Rock frowned. Commander Stephanie had been moodier then usual ever since that candy ass robot's emotion chip got fried. 

"Taker, get that jaborni Triple H to take his wife to her bunk. The Rock has to get back on the bridge." 

Dr. Taker nodded, and Lt. Rock left Sickbay. Rock was lucky Russo needed him on the bridge for communications to fool WrestleFleet... or else the Lt. would have been thrown in the brig, doped up on hyposprays with Captain McMahon for trying to steal a sharpshooter from one of Russo's hitmen. 

Dr. Taker tapped his comm badge, "Sickbay to Bridge. Is Ensign Helmsley available to collect his wife yet?" 

"Ensign Helmsley's bridge shift ended 20 minutes ago, Taker-dude!" Ensign Edge replied, "He is, like, TOTALLY not here!" 

Dr. Taker frowned. He had paged Ensign Helmsley 15 minutes ago about his wife. The man claimed he was too busy on the bridge, "Computer," he began, "Locate Ensign Helmsley!" 

"Ensign Helmsley is in Cargo Bay 2," the computer replied. 

"Is he alone?" Taker asked. 

"Ensign Helmsley is with Trish Stratus," 

"WHAT?!" Stephanie shrieked, then fumed, "That bastard! No WONDER he hasn't been paying attention to me lately. He was getting his jollies from that stupid WENCH!" 

Dr. Taker turned to his assistant, currently shining up some hyposprays, "Angle, help the Commander back to shuttle bay 4," he ordered as Stephanie quickly wiped away her tears. 

"Yes sir!" Ensign Angle replied, and assisted Stephanie off the diagnostics table. She winced with every movement. 

"You ok, Kurt?" Stephanie asked, nodding towards the sling his arm was in. He had had that sling on for a while now. If she didn't know better, she would think he just wanted an excuse NOT to return to the Nytron-run bridge. 

"I'm fine, Stephanie. Thank you for asking!" Angle replied, "But I'm more concerned about YOU..." he said. 

Stephanie smiled. Kurt seemed to care about her more then her own husband --- or that stupid unemotional Y2J Unit as of late, "I'll be sore for a bit, but I'll be ok!" 

"Good, good," Angle said, and put an arm around Stephanie to support her as they walked out of Sickbay. 

Taker sighed as he watched them go. Stephanie was indeed a sad creature -- the one she married ignored her, and the one she truly wanted was lacking emotions. 

The dark doctor wouldn't be surprised to find Stephanie turn to the brown-nosing Ensign Angle. After all, he seemed to be the only one left! 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Major Gunns went up to Chyna. Lt. Loco had gone to the holodeck for a bit. She sat at the bar and watched the waitress as she piled the trays up. 

"Can I help you?" Chyna asked. 

"I have a message from Lt. Loco..." Major Gunns said. 

Chyna turned her full attention to the blonde Major, interested now, "What's the message?" she asked. 

Major Gunns smiled, "Loco wants to meet you and Eddie in Cargo Bay 6 at 20:00h. He wants to talk!" 

"Why didn't Chavo tell me this himself?" Chyna asked. 

Gunns looked innocent, "Well, he was thinking of changing his mind, so as his friends, we decided to make the decision FOR him. It's family, right?" Gunns replied. 

Chyna didn't trust her... but... what if she WAS telling the truth? Chyna couldn't risk NOT bringing Eddie to the meeting place. Family meant everything to him! 

After a moment of silence, Chyna spoke, "Fine. We'll meet him there then..." 

Gunns nodded, "I'll tell him." With that, she rejoined her friends at their table. 

"Well?" The General asked as she sat down. 

"It's a go!" Gunns replied, "Now, we just have to convince Loco to meet them there!" 

Why?" Cajun asked. 

Gunns rolled her eyes. Wasn't it obvious? "Because, if they see Loco there, they'll lower their guard! She was already suspicious! We need her and Eddie at ease!" she smiled coldly, "THEN we can attack!" 

***

CORRIDORS 

"What the hell is this?" Triple H snapped angrily as he came upon Stephanie and Angle. The olympic Ensign had his good arm around her waist, and her own arm was around his broad shoulders. 

"Hunter!" Stephanie gasped, then frowned, "What were you doing in the cargo bay with Trash?" 

"Trash? You mean TRISH? She asked me to show her a few moves in case the Nytrons in the Smackdown tried anything on her!" 

"Yeah, I'm sure you were showing her a few moves!" Stephanie snapped. 

Angle looked at Triple H, "Dr. Taker paged you..." 

"The Communicators don't work that well in the cargo bays! You know that!" Triple H replied. 

"You're lovely wife was in need of medical attention!" Angle explained. 

"She doesn't need any attention from YOU, Angle!" Triple H snapped, "I'll take it from here!" 

Angle nodded, "Be careful. Her back---" 

"I know how to take care of my wife!" Triple H shouted. 

"Of course..." Angle replied, backing off. He smiled and let go of Stephanie, then headed back to Sickbay. 

"Come on!" Ensign Helmsley snapped as he put an arm around his wife and dragged her down the corridor. 

"Ow! Hunter!" Stephanie cried, "Be careful!" 

Triple H said nothing and continued. Stephanie looked behind her, but Ensign Angle was long gone. 

***

SICKBAY 

Ensign Angle returned to Sickbay to see Dr. V.M. Piro rummaging around in Dr. Taker's office. "Excuse me, sir!" Angle snapped, "What are you doing to Dr. Taker's personal computer and files?!" 

Piro spun around to look at the interruption, "None of your damn business!" he replied. 

"I am Dr. Taker's assistant. It IS my business, sir..." Angle answered. "I don't think he would appreciate you going through his things..." he shivered, "And just think of what he'd do to ME!" Angle took a deep breath, "I demand you leave Dr. Taker's office immediately! Or I may have to whip your...." he paused, "Your... big butt!" 

Dr. Piro looked at him, and smirked, revealing teeth sharper then they should have been, "Nothing of interest in here anyway..." he said, and walked out... or more like GLIDED out. 

Angle watched him go, and finally let out a shaky breath. Why did both doctors send shivers down his spine? 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Triple H dragged Stephanie to her section. "Here. Stay!" he sat her down on the lower bunk. 

"Ensign Helmsley?" a voice spoke behind him. Triple H spun around to see the Y2J Unit heading towards him. Lt. Commander Jericho walked up to the bunk and studied Stephanie, "You seem to be in pain, Commander...." he started, "Do you need assistance?" 

"Stay the hell away from her, bot!" Helmsley snapped. 

Jericho turned around to face him, "That would be impossible, Trip---" he stopped, "Triple H...." he corrected himself, "We share a bunk..." 

"Be sure that's ALL you share with her!" Helmsley replied, then unprovoked, swung back and punched the Y2J Unit, knocking him to the ground, "Keep your damn synthetic lips to yourself!" 

"HUNTER!" Stephanie gasped. 

Lt. Commander Jericho jumped back to his feet gracefully, "I assure you, Ensign," he replied, "I have no intentions of doing otherwise!" 

Stephanie looked at the Y2J Unit. He was glaring at Hunter, jaw clenched. Was he ANGRY?? Impossible! 

Triple H turned his back on the android, and walked out of the shuttle bay quickly. 

***

CORRIDORS 

"Loco!" Major Gunns called out as she saw her friend walking down the hall. 

"Gunns! You should try this cool holodeck program I just finished!" Lt. Loco started happily. "You pretend you're on this ship captained by some bald English guy named Jean-Luc and you have to blow up these pointy-eared aliens and their birds of prey!" he furrowed his brow, "The situation seemed kind of familiar to me for some reason though..." 

"Who were you playing with?" Gunns asked. 

"Ensign Crash!" Loco replied. 

Gunns frowned, "One of the WrestleFleet officers?!" she snapped angrily. 

Lt. Loco was taken aback, "Hey! He's cool! Just because we took over their ship doesn't mean we have to HATE them you know!" 

Major Gunns rolled her eyes, "I think you're missing the whole point of taking over a ship!" she muttered, "We have their ship, we punish those who defy us, we threaten them with bodily harm if they don't obey our commands, and we work them like dogs! We DO NOT become buddies with them and play Holodeck games!" 

"Oh..." Lt. Loco said, somewhat disappointed with this revelation. 

"Anyway..." Gunns said, "Chyna mentioned to me that she wanted you to meet her and Eddie in Cargo Bay 6 at 20:00h." 

"Really?" Loco asked, "I wonder why?" 

"Well, go there and you'll found out!" she replied. 

"Will you guys come with me?" 

Gunns smiled, "Of course we will..." she said, but something in her voice made him uneasy. 

No matter. He'd meet Eddie and Chyna, and if they tried anything, his friends would be there. 

Loco felt so grateful to have such good friends! 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

"Are you all right, Commander?" The Y2J Unit asked as he stood beside Stephanie's bunk. 

Stephanie looked up at him, "Huh?" 

"You seem to be favouring your back," he said... 

And that was it. No snide comment about Ensigns being disappointed. Stephanie found herself missing those smart-ass remarks. She frowned, "Lt. Rock doesn't know how to use a sharpshooter properly," she said, then sighed, "I need to take a shower..." 

"Need help?" Jericho asked. 

"WHAT?!" She said quickly, her heart skipping a beat. Did he actually sound SMUG? Stephanie closed her eyes and shook her head. No. Of course not. He couldn't. Not now, anyway. She looked up at him, and turned away, trying to erase the image of the Y2J Unit during an embarrassing shower confrontation they had had a short while ago, "I'll be fine," she said. The Y2J Unit held a hand out to her. She looked at it, "What?" she asked. 

"You need help standing," he replied. 

Stephanie looked up at him, and took a deep breath. She reluctantly grabbed his hand, and jumped at the odd tingle that went up her arm. She made a mental note to check his static filter. He may claim it was working at 110%, but how else could she explain the prickles of energy that went through her every time she touched this emotionless calculator? 

Jericho pulled Stephanie to her feet, but the sudden jerking of the ship sent both of them crashing to the ground. Stephanie let out a scream of pain, but her landing was soft. She quickly tapped her comm badge, "Engineering! REPORT!" 

"Russo insisted we go to Warp 1, Commander, " Ensign Lita replied. 

"It's WrestleFleet protocol to send a ship-wide warning before going into warp, Ensign!" 

"It was Nytron girl Chameleon who executed the order! She doesn't follow WrestleFleet protocol!" Lita replied. 

Stephanie let out a frustrated shout and closed the communication. 

"Commander?" Jericho spoke. 

Stephanie gasped as she finally realized why her landing had been so soft. 

"Woah, Chris, man!" Ensign Christian said as he came upon the scene, "She's, like, so TOTALLY reeks of skankiocity!" 

Stephanie quickly pushed herself off the Lt. Commander, face flushed red as she lay flat on the cold ground. Christian walked away laughing, "Stupid snotty little..." she muttered 

Lt. Commander Jericho sat up and looked at her. Was he SMIRKING? Damn him! 

Stephanie tried to get up, but screamed as pain burned through her back. She looked at Lt. Commander Jericho, and blinked, "What the... STOP IT!" she said. 

"Stop what?" he asked. 

"Stop looking at me that way!" she replied. He looked downright _concerned _for her! God... if he kept this up... she would start wondering if he was capable of REAL feelings! 

"Which way?" he asked, his look of concern quickly turning to confusion. 

"Oh never mind!" she snapped, "Just help me up!" 

He nodded and leaned over her, his long hair brushing her face. Stephanie was surprised it smelled so nice... then remembered he took showers -- UGH! 

"Put your arms around my neck and I'll lift you to your feet," 

Stephanie did so, and bit down on the pain as Jericho pulled her into a standing position. Oh, Lt. Rock would pay dearly for trying to steal a weapon he had never used before! 

The Y2J Unit looked at Stephanie for a moment, her arms still around him. He briefly wondered what the strange energy surge in his empty chest cavity was, and decided to run a diagnostic later. He quickly turned away and let go of her. "Kitty..." he called out. 

The Catarian, who had been playing with her kitten, turned her ears towards him, "Yeah, what?" 

"Would you be able to assist Commander Stephanie to her shower?" 

Kitty sighed, "Fine," she said, and gently pushed her pet off her lap. She jumped down from her bunk and went to Stephanie. 

"I'll take her, Kitty..." a voice said. Jericho turned to see Triple H had returned. Apparently what little conscious he had had been bothering him. 

Stephanie smiled, "HUNTER!" 

He went up to Stephanie, glaring at the Y2J Unit. 

"Well, if you've got her, then I'm going to take an early shift in the Smackdown so I can spend some time with Jerry later tonight," Kitty said, and bounded out. 

"Let's go, Steph," Triple H put his arms around her and walked out of the shuttle bay. 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Well?" Russo asked Dr. Piro as the sallow-faced man stood before him, "Find anything," 

"Not a damn thing! That stupid WrestleFleet Ensign, Kurt Angle, stopped me!" Vamp replied. 

"Damnit!" Russo muttered, then sighed, "Well, I've ordered the ship to Warp 1 to speed up my plan. You don't have a lot of time! I know Dr. Taker is looking for some plan of McMahon's. See that he doesn't get it!" 

"Yes sir!" Dr. Piro said. 

"Piro, how is our latest experiment?" 

Dr. Piro smiled coldly, "Stephanie McMahon is fine. Unaware of anything..." 

"Good. VERY good!" Russo replied, "You may leave now..." 

Piro saluted, then spun on his heel and walked out. 

Russo sighed, "Damn you, McMahon!" he muttered, "Damn you and your doctor!" he smiled coldly, "MY doctor will take care of Taker... and then, you will see the TRUE power of RUSSO! NO ONE will mess up MY master plans! No one!" There was a whimper from the closet behind him, "Oh SHUT UP, Eric!" Russo snapped, "Or else I'll come in there and pretend your head is a pinata!" 

The whimpering quickly stopped. 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Lt. Commander Jericho was now alone in the Shuttle bay, everyone either on shift, or in the Smackdown - a place he hadn't visited in the last week. Not since the ball. 

The Y2J Unit was startled by the small white kitten Kitty had left to go on her waitress shift. The cat looked up at him, and mewed. "What?" he asked it, but logically knew it wouldn't respond. Instead, the cat nudged its cold nose against his hand. He furrowed his brow. Was the cat showing him affection? 

The cat suddenly jumped up on his lap, and rubbed its head under the Y2J Unit's chin. He accessed his data banks on cats, and found they were especially affectionate when they sensed someone was ill or sad. 

The Y2J Unit knew he was not ill, and at this moment he was incapable of feeling sad. He was incapable of feeling ANYTHING for that matter, thanks to Kimberly. 

So then why did this kitten suddenly curl up in his lap and begin purring away? 

And why did he find himself suddenly smiling at its comforting presence? 

***

CARGO BAY 6 

Chyna and Eddie leaned against the walls of the cargo bay, watching the doors. 

Soon, Lt. Loco walked in. Behind him were General Rection, Major Gunns, and Corporal Cajun. 

Chyna and Eddie quickly straightened up, ready for the worst. 

"Calm down," Lt. Loco said, "They're just here for moral support!" 

"What did you want to talk about, Chavo?" Eddie asked. 

Loco furrowed his brow, "ME? Gunns said YOU wanted to talk..." 

"Maybe I can explain," Gunns said, and aimed her phaser at Chyna and Eddie, "We think you two are a security risk," she said, and glared at Chyna, "ESPECIALLY her!" 

Loco turned to face Gunns, "What are you doing?" he asked, "Eddie is family! I asked you not to hurt him!" 

The General raised his own weapon, "This has nothing to do with you, Loco. It has to do with the Nytron movement! Come here!" he demanded, "We don't want you in the line of fire!" 

"NO!" Loco said, "I won't let you guys hurt Eddie!" 

"MOVE Loco!" Corporal Cajun said. 

Eddie took a step forward, and Loco could hear the sound of a phaser powering up. It took a split second for him to realize Gunns was about to fire on his family. 

Eddie saw a blur of army fatigues as the phaser discharged, and heard the scream of Chavo as the younger Guerrero shoved him out of the way. 

Chyna pulled out her own phaser - the one Kimberly had dropped way back when she had taken Jericho and Stephanie hostage in the holodeck - and shot Gunns' weapon out of her hand. The Nytron cried in pain. 

"CHAVO!" Eddie screamed. Chyna quickly spun around to see her Latino Heat leaning over Lt. Loco's unmoving form, "You ARE loco!" he said, tears falling down his cheeks, "Why did you jump in front of the phaser!" 

Loco looked up at Eddie, "Because, Eddie..." he whispered painfully, "You're family..." 

"LOCO!" Gunns shouted as she quickly ran to her friend and knelt beside him, holding her injured hand. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried, cheeks wet with her own tears. 

Chyna held in her tears as she trained her phaser on the General and Cajun, stopping them in their tracks. Damn them for hurting Chavo! Damn them! 

Chyna saw Gunns' phaser lying a few feet away, and quickly grabbed it. She held both on the Nytrons. Her hands shook, and the tears burned as they fell down her cheeks, "Take him," she hissed angrily, "Take him NOW! And you'd better pray your Nytron doctor can save him, or I swear I'll come after all of you!" she clenched her jaw, "One - by - one!" 

The General and Cajun ran to Lt. Loco, shoving Eddie into Chyna. Gunns tapped her comm badge, "Gunns to Sickbay! Get Dr. Piro to cargo bay 6. IMMEDIATELY!" 

Chyna pocketed her phaser and took Eddie's arm. He pulled away, "No! CHAVO!" he shouted. 

Chyna grabbed him from behind, "They'll take care of him," she said. "They're his friends! We have to get out of here before the other Nytrons show up and succeed where Gunns failed! PLEASE Eddie?" Chyna pleaded. 

Reluctantly, Eddie let Chyna lead him out of Cargo Bay 6. 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Lt. Commander Jericho watched from the top bunk where he lay as Stephanie kissed her husband goodnight after returning from the shower. He noticed Hunter was bone-dry. He obviously hadn't joined her. 

The Y2J Unit quickly looked away and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know why, even without his emotion chip, Helmsley and Stephanie's relationship bothered him so -- other then the fact Triple H had tried to kill her previously and, the Y2J Unit figured, was still planning to do so. 

The cat curled on Jericho's stomach mewed slightly. He pet it's head, and wondered why it was still there. 

"Aww... that's so cute!" Stephanie said as she painfully made her way to the bunk. Triple H didn't even have the courtesy to assist her. He was long gone. "I didn't know you were an animal lover, Chris!" 

"I am currently incapable of loving anything, Commander..." Jericho replied. 

Kitty came through the shuttle bay doors, and her cat quickly jumped off the Y2J Unit and made it's way to her. 

Jericho sat up and brushed white cat fur off his uniform, then gracefully jumped down from his bunk to assist Stephanie into hers, "Is your back any better?" he asked. 

"Hunter gave me a massage... well... sort of..." she said, then frowned, "He insisted on massaging my neck. Tightly! It kind of hurt..." she shrugged, "But he said it would help. Ah well." 

Lt. Commander Jericho studied her for a moment, then spoke, "Lie on your stomach..." he said. 

Commander Stephanie looked at him, "What?" 

"I'll be able to help you. As you know, a sharpshooter is a muscle disrupter. I will be able to losen the muscles in your back, thereby easing the pain," 

Stephanie would have called him a pervert for wanting to give her a massage, but realized he would need an emotion chip to be perverted. 

Stephanie sighed and carefully lay on her stomach, pulling her shirt up slightly to reveal her back, and nothing more. 

Stephanie gasped as a strange tingle went through her the moment the Y2J Unit placed his hands against her skin. She felt the pain ease almost immediately as he worked on the injured muscles. 

This was better then HUNTER'S massage... but then again, Hunter HAD focused on her neck more. Oh well, "Hey," Stephanie started, surprised, "You're good with your hands!" she quickly bit her tongue, wanting to take back that comment... but the Y2J Unit remained blissfully quiet. Stephanie kept forgetting about his lack of emotion chip.

"Ooooh, Chris! Can I be next?" a voice spoke. Jericho looked behind him to see Terri waiting, smiling slyly. 

"Me after her!" Kitty said as she stood beside Terri. 

"And I've got this cramp right in the small of my back..." Lita added. 

Lt. Commander Jericho looked at the three women waiting in line. Apparently the Y2J Unit had just become a walking/talking shiatsu. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Piro's bony hands worked quickly as he patched up the wound in the unconscious Lt. Loco's chest. He turned to Gunns, the General, and Cajun. 

"He's not to remember anything," The General said. "It would be a disaster!" 

Dr. Piro nodded. Erase a memory here, insert a command there... add an explosive device to a WrestleFleet Officer's heart somewhere else. It was old hat to the Nytron doctor. He did so enjoy messing with the human body. 

He looked at Lt. Loco as the young man lay on the diagnostics table, "Don't worry, little one..." he said, smiling sadistically, "This won't hurt a bit..."   


   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	59. Season 7 Episode 9 The Pain of Memory

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 9 ****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 9: THE PAIN OF MEMORY 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 072920.00. Due to a little unexpected behaviour from Lt. Loco, Dr. Piro has had to take drastic measures. We've erased his memory of the _incident_ in Cargo Bay 6, and the knowledge of my ultimate plan. Dr. Piro said that Loco's little attack of conscience won't bother us again..." 

Russo turned to Bishoff, "I hate it when my Nytrons flirt with ideas of rebellion. It annoys me so..." he smiled, "So, Eric... what game do you want to play today? Hockey? Darts? Or bowling?" 

Bishoff paled. Russo smiled, then laughed... his laugh echoing throughout the ready room 

***

BRIDGE 

"Catpain Roody poo, there's a message coming in from WrestleFleet for McMahon!" Lt. Rock said. 

"Answer it, Rock!" Russo replied, not appreciating the nickname, "Tell them McMahon is unavailable at the moment!" Russo motioned for Hall and Nash to train their weapons on the communications officer, just in case he told WrestleFleet MORE then he was supposed to. 

Rock frowned at them, then called up the communication to his station, "This is Lt. Rock of the WWF Titanprize. McMahon's candy ass is unavailable right now!" 

"Rocky?" a voice spoke over the comm, "It's Chief of Chiefs, Linda McMahon, calling on behalf of WrestleFleet High Command. They were going over EO Richards report regarding his last visit to the Titanprize during the Viacaman talks, and they didn't like what they read..." 

"The Viacomans candy asses were here MONTHS ago!" Rock replied. 

"Well, yes... sometimes it takes a while for things to come to WrestleFleet's attention," Linda replied, "Regardless, they feel that EO Richard's presence is still much needed aboard the ship. Please prepare to rendezvous with him tomorrow at 15:30h, co-ordinates 66.13.25, and welcome him on board!" 

Lt. Rock looked at Russo, and Russo signaled the communications officer to mute the com. 

Russo turned to Commander Jarrett, "Well?" he asked. 

"We can welcome EO Slapnuts aboard, and fake his WrestleFleet communications like we do with McMahon!" 

Russo thought about that, and nodded, "WrestleFleet would get suspicious if we refuse. Very well..." he nodded to Rock. 

Rock unmuted the comm, and spoke, "Just... bring him!" he replied, and cut the communications. 

Russo sighed. Just what he needed. ANOTHER WrestleFleet officer aboard the Titanprize. 

***

ENGINEERING (03:00h) 

Commander Stephanie studied the schematics on the monitor before her. She nodded to herself as she followed the outline of complex wires. Stephanie studied the tools on the table in front of her -- microchips, programming codes, she had everything she needed ... except sleep. This late at night, however, none of the Nytrons were in Engineering. If they found out what she was planning... 

Stephanie shook her head. Well, they just WOULDN'T find out, would they? She had spent many nights in here lately, working on her little 'project' with her heart skipping a beat at every sound, every shadow, and praying the Nytrons wouldn't catch her. 

She wouldn't rest! Not until she finished her task... no matter what! 

***

LT. LOCO'S QUARTERS 

Loco bolted upright in bed, his chest screaming in pain. Why did it hurt so much? It burned, in fact! He had spoken to Dr. Piro about it, but the doc claimed it was psychological. According to Piro's medical records, Loco had never had a chest wound. 

Loco had seeked out Nytron Counselor Daffney, but her assistant, Counselor Crowbar, had said she was too busy pining for her ex-fiancee David to be of any use. Loco decided to speak to Crowbar instead. The counselor claimed the pain in Loco's chest was caused by a sub-conscious memory that had either been blocked out, or erased. 

Lt. Loco thought Counselor Crowbar was… well... loco! How could a memory be erased? Impossible! 

Loco crawled out of bed and went to the mirror. He studied the painful section on his chest, but saw nothing. 

_A flash of phaser fire. Eddie screams. Pain! Great pain!_

Loco let out a shout and reeled back. What was that?

The pain and image disappeared as soon as it had come. 

Lt. Loco shook his head. He needed sleep. He quickly headed back to his bed and lay down. 

Yes, sleep would make everything go away... 

***

SICKBAY - the next day 

Dr. Taker studied the monitor in front of him. He knew his Nytron counterpart had been snooping in his office, Ensign Angle had told him as much -- but of course, the Olympic Ensign had played it up as if he had been a hero and scared ol' Vampy away. 

Dr. Taker looked out his office window and watched as Ensign Angle was busy kissing up to the Nytron doctor, who seemed less then patient with the man. 

Either way, at least it kept Piro occupied long enough for Dr. Taker to look over the communications McMahon had written before the occupation. 

Something caught Taker's eye -- a high security communication McMahon had been unable to send before the ship was boarded. 

Taker checked out his window again -- Piro was still trying to get Angle away from him. 

The dark doctor turned back to his monitor, and hacked into the communication. On his screen, McMahon stared out at him, looking quite professional in his Armani WrestleFleet uniform. 

Taker played the message: 

"This is Captain Vincent K. McMahon of the WWF Titanprize to Captain P. Heyman of the ECW Extremeship. If you are receiving this communication, then it means the WWF Titanprize has been boarded by Nytron rebels and a member of my crew, most likely Dr. U. Taker, has found a way to get this message to you as I am probably either incarcerated, or dead. Please inform WrestleFleet of the situation and take action. I ask that you save my family and crew, as I will gladly go down with my ship. I do not need to inform you that speed and discretion is of the utmost importance in this matter. Thank you!" 

Dr. Taker sat back in his chair. McMahon knew his chief medical officer would find the message and send it. 

Unfortunately, McMahon DIDN'T know that Russo would cut off all ship communications save for those on the bridge. 

Of course, Dr. Taker could find a way around such an annoying obstacle. He always did. 

***

TRANSPORTER ROOM 

Lt. Commander Debra McMichael energized the transporter, and soon EO Richards appeared on the platform with his bodyguard, Mr. Buchanan. He looked at Commander Shane McMahon as the Titanprize heir studied him carefully. 

"Where is your father? Why isn't _he_ here to greet me?!" EO Steven Richards demanded. 

Shane smiled and pulled his phaser out, aiming it at the EO officer and his bodyguard, "Pops is currently unavailable!". 

Mr. Buchanan tried to make a move, but Richards held him back, "What is the meaning of this?" Richards asked. 

"The meaning..." a voice said as the transporter room doors opened, "Is that you are currently on a Nytron-run ship!" 

"RUSSO!" Richards' eyes went wide, "What the..." 

"The Titanprize is MINE now, Richards," Russo replied, holding his own phaser on the Etiquette Officer. 

Richards tapped his comm badge, "EO Richards to the Censor-ship! Come in Censor-ship!" 

"They can't hear you. All communications, save for internal and bridge, have been blocked!" Russo smiled, "Sorry Stevie!" 

"It's STEVEN!" Richards snapped. 

Russo rolled his eyes, "Whatever!" he said, "Now feel free to roam the ship... but don't expect to find any means of escape..." Russo laughed, "I truly love being a tyrant!" and with that, he left. 

Richards turned to Shane, "Es tu, Shane?" he asked. 

"Hey, who am I to turn down power?" Shane said. 

Richards made his way to the doors. He took a quick look at Debra, and frowned. "Zip that up!" he snapped angrily. She had her tunic zipper part-way down revealing the lacy outline of women's lingerie. 

Occupation or no occupation, Richards would still teach this ship about proper WrestleFleet conduct! 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Chyna and Ensign Eddie Guerrero watched Lt. Loco as he chatted with Major Gunns and Corporal Cajun, "After what they did, I can't believe he still talks to them!" Eddie fumed, hitting his hand on the bar. 

"I don't think he remembers, Eddie..." Chyna said. 

"HOW can he not remember a phaser to the chest?!" he asked angrily. 

"The mind works in funny ways. It blocks out painful memories, such as getting shot by a phaser your friends meant for a family member!" Chyna replied, not hiding the bitterness in her voice. 

Lt. Loco looked towards Chyna and Eddie, and waved happily. They waved in return. Loco looked back at his friends, "They've been staring at me all day. I don't know why..." 

They probably don't like you joining up with rebels," Gunns replied. 

"Well that's--" Loco stopped, his face suddenly going blank. 

"Loco?" Gunns asked, "Hey ... Loco?!" 

_"Chavo!" Eddie cries. "Why did you jump in front of that phaser?" Tears are falling down his cheeks._

__

"Because... you're family!" Loco replies. The pain burns. Why does his chest hurt so much? 

"Loco? Hello?" Major Gunns called out. 

Loco blinked a few times... and furrowed his brow. "Sorry..." he said. "I've been having weird dreams lately... just kinda tired..." He stood up, "I think I'm going to go back to my quarters now. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow..." 

With that, Lt. Loco left the Smackdown 

***

ENGINEERING (03:30) 

Stephanie gasped as she heard footsteps coming towards Engineering. She tried to clear off her station, but the doors swooshed opened before she could. 

"Commander?" 

Stephanie spun around to see Lt. Commander Jericho staring at her. "Uh... hi!" She said as she stood in front of the station, hiding the screen and tools from him. 

He walked up to her, "Do you need assistance?" 

"No no!" She said quickly, "I don't need anything, Lt. Commander..." 

He leaned forward as he tried to look over her shoulder. She leaned back, still blocking his view. "May I ask what you're doing, Steph?" he asked. 

_Steph?_ Ever since his emotion chip had been fried, he had been calling her _Commander_. Truth be told, she HATED it -- unless, of course, she was trying to pull rank. Under the occupation, though, it seemed pointless. 

"I'm working on something top secret!" she said quickly, _Please, go away!_ She thought. _I can't do this with you here!_

"Be careful," Lt. Commander Jericho said, "If the Nytrons catch you--" 

"I'll be fine!" Stephanie interrupted, "But why are YOU here?" 

Lt. Commander Jericho took a step back, "I came here to run a few Engineering diagnostics," he said, and headed to another station. 

"No no, you don't need to do that!" Stephanie said. She quickly shut off her monitor, lest he see the schematics she was studying and try to stop her. He would say it wasn't worth the risk. 

Stephanie went up to the Y2J Unit and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him towards the doors, "I did lots of diagnostics earlier today. No sense in doing them again. You might as well go back to the shuttle bay. You need your sleep!" 

The Y2J Unit looked at her and furrowed his brow, "I don't require sleep, Commander..." 

"Uh… well... you do sleep sometimes! I've seen it!" Stephanie said.

"True, my eyes close and I appear to sleep, but I am not actually---"

"Whatever. Just go back!" she interrupted. 

"But--" 

"Go go!" Stephanie insisted. 

Jericho nodded, "Yes commander... if it's an order..." 

Well, she didn't want to pull rank, but what the hell? "Yes," she replied, "it's an order!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho nodded, and left Engineering like a good little WrestleFleet officer. Stephanie took a deep breath, and turned back to her station. She flicked the screen back on, and studied the schematics once again. 

The Chief Engineer picked up her tools and continued. She silently cursed Matt Hardy. She was doing this on the fly! HE was the one who knew IN DETAIL what needed to be done! Damn him and his secrets! Why did he have to put such high security on his research? She was lucky she got what she did! 

Stephanie sighed. 

Who knew making an emotion chip would be so stressful? 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS - the next day 

"Pimps up, hoooooooooos down! Two for one special for Nytrons tonight!" a voice echoed through the hall. 

EO Richards spun around to see Ensign Godfather advertising his ladies to the men gathered around him. Within a few minutes, the ladies were gone, and Godfather was counting his credits. 

Richards and Mr. Buchanan went up to the man, frowning, "This behaviour is UNACCEPTABLE!" Richards snapped. 

"Aww man... you back again?!" Godfather asked. 

Richards allowed a smirk, "Yes. I am," his face then grew serious, "And you and I have to talk!" 

"Talk about WHAT, man? All I know to talk about is my ladies! You want one or what?" Godfather asked. 

EO Richards snapped his fingers, and Mr. Buchanan quickly grabbed Godfather from behind, wrenching one tattoed arm behind the man's back. "We have some business to settle," Richards said, then turned to his bodyguard, "Bring him, Mr. Buchanan. We're going to have a nice little discussion..." 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Lt. Loco sat with his friends, nursing the drink Chyna had just brought to him. He was so tired! Those stupid dreams kept haunting him! What was wrong? Why did he have such horrible visions?! And why were Eddie and Chyna still STARING at him like that? 

__

"CHAVO!" Eddie screams. "You ARE loco!" Tears are falling down his cheeks, "Why did you jump in front of the phaser!" 

__

"Because, Eddie...You're family..." 

__

"LOCO!" Gunns shouts as she quickly runs to him, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!" she cries. 

__

"Take him," Chyna hisses angrily, "Take him NOW! And you'd better pray your Nytron doctor can save him, or I swear I'll come after all of you! One - by - one!" 

__

Loco grabs his chest in pain, feeling sticky wetness. What was happening to him? 

__

"Gunns to Sickbay! Get Dr. Piro to cargo bay 6. IMMEDIATELY!" 

__

"Loco, you're daydreaming again..." Gunns smiled when she noticed her friend's far-off look. 

__

Loco looked at her, eyes wide. He jumped to his feet, tipping his chair over as he grabbed his chest. 

__

"Loco, what's wrong?!" Cajun asked. 

__

Suddenly, everything came back to him in a flood of images. 

Loco looked at Gunns, eyes wide, "YOU!" he gasped, "YOU did it!" he shook his head, backing away. "YOU tried to kill EDDIE!" he screamed. "YOU fired the phaser!" 

__

"He's not to remember anything," The General says. "It would be a disaster!" 

__

"Don't worry, little one..." the pale, skeletal Dr. Piro speaks, "This won't hurt a bit..." 

Loco grabbed his head, "NOOOOO!" he glared at General Rection, "You tried to make me forget!" 

Corporal Cajun jumped to his feet, "Loco, calm down... please..." 

Loco shoved his friend down, "Stay away from me!" he shouted, then looked at all the Nytrons in the Smackdown, "ALL of you stay away!" With that, he ran out of the bar. 

Eddie quickly went after him. 

***

ECW EXTREMESHIP - BRIDGE 

"Oh my god! Priority Communication coming through on Captain Heyman's private line!" Styles said as he studied the monitor in front of him. 

"I'll take it in my ready room, Styles... and... calm the hell down!" Heyman replied, and headed into his office. 

***

ECW EXTREMESHIP - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Heyman called the communication up on his screen, his jaw dropped as a pre-tapped message from Captain Vince McMahon greeted him. 

At the end of the message, an update on the situation was given by Dr. U. Taker. 

Heyman furrowed his brow He didn't doubt the validity of the communication, but Taker said all communications had been blocked by Russo save for the bridge... so how the hell had Taker gotten this message to him? 

Heyman shook his head. This was the doctor that stumped even the great minds at WrestleFleet. 

The Captain tapped his comm badge, "Styles, send a message to WrestleFleet - the WWF Titanprize has been boarded by Nytron rebels. EMERGENCY actions are in order. We will await their reply!" Heyman turned back to the monitor, "Hang on, McMahon! We're going to get those Nytron bastards... or die trying!" 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - CORRIDORS 

"Chavo! Chavo, wait!" Eddie called out. He grabbed Loco's arm before the younger Guerrero could get too far. "What happened?" 

Loco looked at him, eyes wide, "I remembered! In the cargo bay! I remembered what happened! And they tried to erase my memory Eddie! They tried to...." he was breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. 

"Chavo, do you see now? Do you see what kind of life you've chosen? Lies! Deceit!" 

"But... Gunns didn't MEAN to shoot me... she didn't mean it!" 

"And Russo WOULD mean it!" Eddie said, "Russo would kill each and every Nytron if it served his purpose! Do you really want to be a part of that? Do you want to follow a man who would do that?" 

Loco shook his head, "But ... I have no where else to turn too. WrestleFleet would never accept me back---" 

"Yes they would!" Eddie said, "I am a WrestleFleet officer! And as a representative of WrestleFleet, I will accept you back! Please... Chavo! Come back!" 

Loco looked up at Eddie, and nodded, "Ok, Eddie..." he said, "I'll... I'll try. I'll try to leave the Nytrons behind," he smiled, "I'll make you proud, Eddie!" Chavo furrowed his brow, "Just one question -- Think I can get a WrestleFleet uniform in the colour of Army fatigues?"   


   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	60. Season 7 Episode 10 Revenge of the Blon...

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 10

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 10: REVENGE OF THE BLONDES 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"High Commander's Log, Stardate 073100.00. I am on a ship full of idiots!" Russo spat, making sure the arc of saliva landed in Bishoff's lap. "How can I blow up the Milky Way with so many idiots underfoot?" 

Eric didn't have the answers, and even if he did, it would've hard to get em' out with a dirty sweatsock stuffed in his mouth. 

"Oh yeah, Dr. Taker's a clever bastard!" Russo considered the dart he held in his hands. It would like mighty stylish stuck between Bishoff's teary little eyes. "Putting that All-American Boy Wonder in Vamp's hip pocket - I tell you Eric, there is no deadlier weapon than having an incompetent moron follow you around like a heat-seeking missile!" 

Russo laughed. "I should know - I had your nose stuck to my behind before I got tired of your crap!" 

Bishoff's eyes hardened momentarily. Vince had it one hundred percent backwards.... 

"And if I get one more report, one more whiny, snivelling, ass-kissing complaint from those Cocky Kanatians, I swear to god I will do something they will regret for the rest of their miserable, self-absorbed lives!" 

Russo glowered down at the pile of padds that Edge and Christian had stacked on his desk about a mile high. New mirrors, bigger mirrors, demands for cuticle conditioners, Aerialian shampoos, Resian hair follicle strengthener...these guys were bigger prima donnas than his Nytron girls! 

"As god is my witness, Bishoff, I will mess up their hair!" 

Eric gasped in horror. Why didn't he just kill them? 

***

SHUTTLEBAY-4 

"Wrong bunk, jack-ass." Needless to say, Stephanie wasn't in the mood as she climbed the ladder to the top of her and Lt Commander Jericho's sleepytime hideaway. How simply delightful that Hunter had taken the time to show Trishy the bridge in his off-time! Why, she'd just have to let her husband know how much that warmed her little heart! 

"I thought you preferred to being on top." Chris said, raising an eyebrow. 

"What?" Stephanie quickly ducked her head down to see if he was smirking. No, of course not. Even the witty innuendo had lost its spark with him. "By the way...." She crawled under the flawlessly made sheets, covering her faded Wrestlefleet Academy t-shirt and wrinkled boxers. There was a fleeting twinge of missing something as she buried her limp brown hair in the stiff, unforgiving pillow. Jericho was made of titanium and computer chips but the bed he'd slept in still had a very male scent to it... "I'm never getting out of bed again." 

Jericho felt a smile spread across his face, wondering why he felt the urge to bite his tongue. "Why is that, Steph? What happened to the top secret mystery project you were all over like it was a fresh young ensign?" 

"Excuse me?" 

"Nothing. What seems to be the problem, Commander? Not feeling well?" 

"It's not fair!" Stephanie whined. "Ever since Daddy went away all I've done is take these wicked bumps! Every time I turn around, there's Shane waiting to wipe me off the face of the Universe! Maybe if I just stay here, trouble won't find me." 

"Alas, your service record indicates there is a high probability that some form of trouble will locate you despite your best efforts to avoid it." 

"You know what, Chrissie?" Stephanie scowled. "Just shut up!" 

"Are you ordering me to shut up?" 

If she didn't know better, Steph would think he was purposely trying to provoke her! Maybe some little sliver of nastiness had gotten lodged in his positronic net before his emotion chip had been burnt to a crisp. 

"My apologies, Lt Commander Jericho." She spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm a little on edge. I think - I think Dr. Piro did something to me." 

"Piro?" Jericho tensed. His memory banks were flooded with things he'd didn't want to remember, like a promise he'd made to his Commander. 

_I will never let anything happen to you, Princess._

"What exactly did Dr. Piro do to you, Stephanie?" 

"It's all a blur." She shivered. She had memories too, but unlike a machine she couldn't control which ones flashed before her eyes. "You can't tell anyone, but I found Jeff and Matt in stasis. I was trying to free the geeky one when Shane attacked me with a hypospray. I don't know how much time passed...." Icy sweat clung to her pale skin. Her heart had accelerated, but she barely noticed "I came too, and Vamp was hovering over me. He said...."It will only hurt forever, princess." 

"Dr. Taker-" 

"You know what Chris?" Stephanie curled up into a little ball, holding herself tight. "Maybe it was all a dream. And maybe I don't even wanna know." 

Jericho was silent, trying to trace where the anxiety knotting his stomach originated. Bad nerves didn't happen to androids. Worry was irrelevant. 

"Steph?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Which Hardy do you consider the geeky one?" 

She laughed, though it probably hadn't been a joke. Not from Jericho. "Good night, Chris." 

***

SICKBAY 

"Revenge rules!" Edge and Christian jumped into the air and high-fived each other, their valley girl speak puffed out in icy clouds. 

"Where did you sissies learn how to open a stasis chamber?" Matt was doubled over in pain, every muscle screaming in protest at the premature awakening forced on him. The headfirst spear from Edge probably didn't help the situation either. 

"You morons." Jeff hadn't even realized Christian was capable of a powerbomb - the teen idol usually faked his way out of Commander Kane's fighting classes with one contrived illness or another. At any rate, his twisty Aerialian spine was paying the price. "Captain Russo is going to kill us all now!" 

Christian gasped. "How dare you! Why it was the merciful High Commander who treated us to Resian dental bleach when my poor brother found a blemish on his pearly whites!" 

"Shame on you." Edge shook his head sadly. "The sheer heinosity of that single treasonous uncool statement is equivocal to the singularity of - oh god!" He buried his face in his hands. 

"Turn that frown upside down, bro!" Christian put an arm around his quivering shoulders. "That is what we in the business call a "blown spot"! 

"But it still hurts!" Edge sobbed. "We're supposed to know what that stuff means!" 

"Revenge huh?" Matt was picking glass out of his uniform. 

"Er....." Jeff smiled pleasantly, despite the agony spreading through the small of his back. "I guess I should apologize for that ass-kicking. Of course, it's not really my fault. The whole prank revolved around the idea that when we died, it would sort of stick." 

Matt shook his head. "Not even death slows you down, does it?" 

"We should keep moving." Jeff was dangling from the ceiling, having slid the hatch to the Jeffries tube aside. "I suppose when they find the empty stasis chambers, they could suspect we'd been eaten. Hard to say how long that theory would hold water though." 

"I doubt Russo cares that we're loose on the ship." Matt said, crawling into the cramped maze of corridors while Christian and Edge debated the benefits of cold air on clogged Kanatian pores. "He's got that whole blowing up the Milky Way thing to keep him occupied." 

"I'd much rather believe the whole universe revolved around me and my dashing heroics." Jeff told him, stopping in mid-escape. "Hold on. I think this could be an entertaining development." 

"Well I'll be damned." Bradshaw had stepped through the open morgue door, a cigar dangling from his lips. "Two prime candidates for me and Farooq's personal bitches!" 

Matt decided to not close the hatch just yet. 

"Er...Matt and Jeff have disappeared." Edge said with a frown. "And the whole..."personal bitches" thing doesn't sound like something Christian and I might be interested in." 

"You replace my beers with white whine spritzers?" 

"Uhhh well Trish did ask us to deliver some brews to you while we hunkering down in the quaint Titanprize watering hole." Christian explained. "You know, we couldn't quite get the hang of how to..."hunker." 

"And I totally broke a cap trying to perfect that redneck ritual of opening a beer bottle with my teeth." Edge whined. 

"You're gonna be paying for a new pair of boots too, you nancy boys." 

Edge and Christian exchanged glances. "We are?" 

"You'll have to replace the ones Dr. Taker removes from your intestinal track." Bradshaw threw his cigar on the floor and crushed it with a good solid stomp. "Now you got a choice-I can send my foot in through your backdoor or I can cram it down your throat. What's it gonna be?" 

Christian gulped. Edge swallowed. 

Sucktitude was just around the corner. 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Loco?" Russo laughed. It sounded more like a mean bark to Jarrett, who had just played his bosses favorite tune across the back of Bishoff with his wooden guitar. Eric really needed to learn not to throw up in fear all over the Cap's expensive carpeting.... 

"I'm supposed to cry a river over that pissant little puke?" Russo asked, amused. "Tell me when someone worth a damn decides to turn traitor on me!" 

"What if it inspires others to turn?" Sometimes Vince just got so drunk on his own power that he failed to see the big picture. 

"A little wussie like that?" Russo chuckled. "You're too serious JJ! No one cares about Chavo! Let the punk enjoy his family reunion! And then let him enjoy watching the other half of his stinkin' family get blown to bits when Earth goes bye bye!" 

The Chosen One gritted his teeth. All it took was one backstabber to ignite a mutiny...."Maybe this will get your attention then, High Commander. The Hardyz have mysteriously disappeared from the morgue." 

Russo stopped spinning around in his chair for a minute. "The Hardyz? They're dead." 

"For corpses, they've got a pretty strong bio-signal. Matt and Jeff are playing hide and seek in the Jeffries tubes." Jarrett retorted. "Only thing Dr. Piro found in the morgue was Ensigns Edge and Christian with boots stuck in their - well never mind that. We can flush out the Hardyz and torture them if you want." 

"Don't waste time on two worthless ensigns!" Russo snapped. "We have a galaxy to destroy. What's wrong with your priorities, slapnutz?" 

"You ever read their service record? They're always pulling heroics out of their ass!" Jarrett spat. "You've got to kill them." 

"Do not!" Russo said defiantly. His eyes flashed triumphantly. "Cause you see, bubblebrain, everyone knows Matt and Jeff worship their slut Commander and would never endanger her life by defying McMahon's direct order NOT to save the Titanprize! Lord knows what little tricks Stephie turned to inspire that kind of loyalty..." 

"Ahhh yes." Jarrett smiled faintly. He sometimes forgot what an evil genius his boss was. "That ticking time bomb you had Dr. Piro plant in Stephanie's chest. Only one problem - the Hardyz don't know about it so it's a worthless bargaining chip." 

"Vinnie Mac will order the entire crew to stand down when the time comes." Russo assured him. "Or his daughter will die. I don't see that Matt and Jeff have ever disobeyed their Captain. Now if there's nothing else, Eric and I are going to go bowling - you like bowling don't you, Bishoff?" 

The silver-haired captive had barely woken up from the Chosen One's beating. He moaned. 

"No. Nothing else, slapnutz. Sir." Jarrett had debated whether or not to bring up a certain sensitive subject, but considering how Russo felt about his so-called "adopted son", there was no point in provoking a temper tantrum.... 

"I'm gonna roll a perfect game today, Eric." Russo was carefully polishing his prized turquoise bowling ball, admiring the splashes of crimson that Bisoff had left there last time. Why did the chickens always seem to bleed the most? 

The Hardyz were still alive? 

Russo thrust his fingers into the bowling ball. They almost drilled clean through the other side. 

_I sent you to retrieve their bodies, Shane O'._

Bishoff shrieked with terror, wishing it wasn't muffled by a dirty sock. He knew that look.....Russo had no intention of playing for fun today. A little pain, a little torment...that was clearly not going to diminish the bloodthirsty gleam in the madman's eyes. 

_Is this how a son would pay his father back, Shane?_

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"I'll never complain about your company again, Commander." Lita couldn't look away. It was like a gruesome shuttle wreck that hypnotized you with its mind-blowing carnage. 

"Considering my competition, I'm not feeling too flattered." Shane told her. . 

"Make-up rules!" Christian and Edge high-fived each other, cringing as their sprained fingers collided. 

"Oh yes." Trish smiled at them. "This Kanatian concealer will take away those nasty little bruises and make you look good as new!" 

"Radical!" Edge admired his reflection in the handheld mirror he kept securely holstered to his ensigns uniform. "You know, besides me and Christian, you've got the best blonde hair of any dude on the ship!" 

"What?" Trish screamed. Dude? "Do I look male to you?" 

Christian was adjusting his teal-framed sunglasses, trying to strike the right chord between glamorous chic and casual cool. Lita thought he looked like a human-sized bug. "Although with that high-pitched voice you do sound a bit like Ensign Hardy." 

"In case you didn't notice, there's a BIG difference between me and Ensign Hardy!" Trish leaned waaaayyyy over the bar, her tiny top in Christian's face. 

"Yeah, your hair isn't eight thousand different colors." Edge shook his head. "Let's get a manicure brother. This barkeep is totally wack!" 

"If you weren't a guy I'd say you had PMS!" Christian skipped off, looking miffed. 

"Commander McMahon?" 

"Dammit!" Shane nearly jumped out of his own skin. Sometimes the Chosen One appeared as swiftly and silently as a ghost. "What do you want?" 

"Captain Russo would like to see you in Holodeck-9." Jarrett said coldly. "To go over the plans for the Titanprize when we reach the Milky Way." 

"Why the Holodeck?" Lita demanded. "Strange place for a tactical meeting if you ask me." 

"Fortunately I didn't ask you sweetheart." The Chosen One moved like a ghost but had the smile of a ghoul. "I think Russo would like to perform simulations of the final explosion to make sure nothing goes wrong. He hates when things get messed up-weapons don't work, people get out of line, ensigns escape their stasis chambers...." 

Shane paled. "I don't think Lita and I have time-" 

"Make time." 

The phaser being jabbed into his spine told Commander McMahon he suddenly had all the time in the world.... 

***

ENGINEERING 

Okay, so she'd lied to Chris. It wouldn't have been the first time. 

Stephanie couldn't sleep, couldn't stay in that bed while he just felt... nothing. 

"Commander?" 

She whipped her head around, looking for the mysterious whisperer. There was no warm body to match to the voice, only the horrible thought that she might be going crazy again. 

Seeing things, hearing things. "Who's there?" 

"Me. Matt." 

"Oh." She sighed with relief. "Where's the other one?" 

"Taking a nap in the Jeffries tubes." Being in stasis must've been a real treat compared to whatever the heck Stephanie was going through-her long dark hair was unkempt and she was working in her pajamas, the glow of the warp core doing nothing to pretty up her washed out complexion. "Lt Commander Jericho's emotion chip huh?" 

Matt had seen the data scrolling across her monitor. Stephanie just nodded. 

"What happened?" 

"What happened to your eye?" Stephanie shot back. She'd waited soooo long to ask him what he'd discovered while studying Jericho's feelings and now......it made her too nervous. She was genuinely afraid to learn the truth. 

"Oh these two Galaxy Beat rejects whooped me and Jeff." Ensign Hardy said bluntly. "These things ain't easy to build you know." 

"Then you've arrived in the nick of time." Stephanie handed him a lazer scalpel. "Though I could use the password to your top secret research." 

"Sorry." Matt shook his head. "I promised Chris." 

Stephanie scowled. She was his superior officer! Heck, she was Jericho's superior officer as well! Matt's loyalties were pretty darn misplaced right now! 

"Wait a minute!" Her face lit up and her fingers began dancing over the computer. "L-I-T-A!" 

"Hey!" Matt was blushing furiously as he wrenched her wrist away and blanked out the screen. "Hmmm...let me just try something here. J-E-R-I-C-H-" 

"Alright!" Stephanie snapped, smacking him on the hand. "You just keep your big mouth shut and I'll do the same!" 

"Does Jericho know what you're doing?" 

"No." Stephanie shook her head. "Isn't it dangerous for you to be out here?" 

"We're on a ship full of Nytron." Matt shrugged. "It's dangerous for everyone." 

Stephanie couldn't argue with that. She quietly watched the young Aerialian work, relaxing for the first time in weeks. After all, she was pretty sure that Matt Hardy was one of the rare people aboard who wasn't interested in murdering her.... 

"You know..." Matt said slowly. "We could rig this thing so Chris wouldn't have certain... feelings. So that he wouldn't be as emotional, if you get what I'm saying." 

Stephanie tried to look him in the eye, found that she couldn't. "It doesn't matter to me what he feels! And it wouldn't be fair to take away his choices. " 

"True." 

"Ummm Matt." Stephanie lowered her voice. "Would you do me a little favor? Do you have a tri-corder?" 

"Uh-huh." He unholstered the device and handed it to her. "Stole it from a storage bay. Couldn't find any weapons that weren't locked down for some reason." 

Stephanie smiled faintly. "I can't imagine why. Look....this is gonna sound sort of weird, but....I need you to look under my shirt." 

Matt's eye darted back and forth, looking either for Edge and Christian or the punchline to this little joke. "I know you probably missed me and all but-" 

"I'm not trying to get to third base with you, Matt." Stephanie sighed impatiently. "I think Dr. Piro put something in me, experimented with me somehow. He left this scar..." 

"Oh geez Commander!" He looked away quickly. 

"I'm not flashing you, idiot!" Stephanie was tempted to hit him. Damn naive little Hardyz! "Don't tell me you've never seen what's under a woman's shirt before." 

"Of course I have." Matt retorted. "I'm not Jeff! Hmm that's interesting." 

Stephanie had been marked, a cruel red V carved into her delicate flesh. When Dr. Piro sliced someone open and left his signature, there was no doubting that a nightmare was soon to follow.... 

"What is it?" 

"I don't know." Matt tried to keep his expression neutral. Her voice had an edge of hysteria to it. "It's not medical that's for damn sure. All I can tell is that you've got something like... the tri-corder isn't calibrated to read an energy source like this." 

"Geez Ensign-most guys use their hands for that." 

"Damn." Of course! How typical! Whenever Jeff came to Stephanie's rescue it was always in some spectacular blaze of glory, and when Matt did it? He got caught with his nose up his commander's shirt! 

"Trish?" Stephanie frowned. "What the hell are you doing in Engineering? This is off limits to non-official personnel!" 

"My, my, my." Trish smiled sweetly at Matt. "I've got a better pair if you're interested." 

"He's an engineer." Stephanie said dryly. "He's seen silicon before." 

"What the hell is going on?" Hunter emerged from the shadows, his blonde hair far more sweaty than Stephanie would've liked. "Isn't that idiot supposed to be dead?" 

"He's alive enough to grope your wife!" Trish sang out merrily. 

"Just why are you walking around the ship with a mere waitress so late at night?" Stephanie asked snidely, stepping in front of Matt and most importantly, the work on Jericho's emotion chip. 

"I was escorting her back to her quarters." Hunter said defensively. "She's being stalked by that fat bastard Ensign Nash. You want me to stand by while she gets violated by Nytron scum?" 

Stephanie felt her eyes go wet. She'd been the subject of god knew what kind of experiment at the hands of that mad scientist Dr. Piro and where had her darling husband been? Yet he was so freaking worried about Trish getting assaulted by some Nytron goofball? 

"It's not like you need him Stephie." Trish cooed, sliding her arm through Hunter's. "You've got ol' Hot Hands Hardy as your guardian angel. Silly boy, I didn't know you made enough credits to afford her rates!" 

Stephanie gasped. "He was helping me!" 

"Dr. Piro has been tampering with your wife-" 

"Sure Matt." Trish winked at him. "Hunter knows all about playing doctor!" 

"Slut!" Matt had to admit he was pretty impressed by Stephanie's kick to Trish's stocky little shins polished off by a sweet snapmare takedown. The technical beauty of the battle sort of went downhill when she begin scratching at the blonde vixen's eyes. 

"Alright! Now this is what I call stimulating!" Triple H nudged the young ensign and grinned. 

"Stimulating?" Matt's mouth fell open. "What the hell is wrong with you? Come off it Commander." He dragged Stephanie away from the catfight, grimacing as she triumphantly waved a fistful of golden locks in the air. "We're working remember?" 

"How could you stop that?" Hunter glowered at Ensign Hardy. "We'll talk about this later Steph! Especially the part where you give hands-on training to the patron saint of virgins." 

"Can't call Matt that anymore!" Stephanie's eyes spit fire as her husband and poor little Trishy slimed their way out of Engineering. "He'll probably kick your ass later-sorry." 

"Oh well." Matt sighed and returned his focus to the emotion chip in front him. "What's one more ass-kicking that I didn't ask for?" 

***

HOLODECK-9 

"I've always been curious...." Dr. Piro was in his element, gaunt features looking almost skeletal in the sickly yellow light of the holodeck, an eerie glow shining from the cavernous depths of sunken eyes. "How much pain can an Aerialian stand before she passes out?" 

"Wouldn't it be more fun to torture Vinnie Mac's son?" Shane was being cooked alive in his own sweat. Lita was strapped to a stainless steel autopsy table, an IV crudely thrust into her arm, blackened blood pooling in a bruise around the needle's point of entry. 

She hadn't screamed yet. But if the knives and live wires on the cold metal tray were any indication, it wouldn't be long before she begged for death. Shane knew from the way his stomach was churning that he didn't have the grapefruits to watch this. 

Jarrett's phaser pointed at his head said he'd keep his eyes wide open or die. 

"I mean, I'm the one who betrayed Russo." Shane's heart thumped wildly as Piro pushed a hypospray deep into Lita's neck, rousing her from sleep. She groaned. "I made him look like a complete jack-ass! He loved me like a son and I was gonna stick a knife in his back!" 

"I've manufactured an intriguing new Nytron drug." Piro was filling another hypospray, almost falling into a trance as he followed the flow of liquid. "No matter how much pain the mind endures, the cells that instruct the brain to shut down won't allow escape. Lita will feel as she's never felt before..." 

"No...." His knees were wobbling, threatening to give..... 

"No?" Piro laughed softly. "I hope you don't have delicate ears Commander. The screaming can get quite out of hand." 

For once maybe being a wuss will come in handy! Shane hit the floor knees-first and went into a full blown fit of violent dry heaves 

"Damn you slapnuts!" Jarrett knelt over him. Perfect! A good old-fashioned low blow beat a phaser anyday! 

"Amateur!" Piro spat on the floor. Did all doctors do that? Shane wondered as he tackled the startled Vamp to the ground. 

Commander McMahon knew immediately that he'd underestimated the phantom doctor-Vamp may have looked like death warmed over, but he was wiry, strong, and lightning-quick, his fist landing a sharp blow to Shane's kidneys and knocking all his wind free. 

"The phaser!" Lita croaked out. 

Shane snatched the phaser off the floor and fired it into Piro's chest before the doctor was able to drive a scalpel deep into McMahon's heart. Gasping for breath, Shane crawled over to the bed and untied Lita. 

"Free at last, Red." 

"I'm impressed." Lita told him. "Are you alright Shane?" 

"Sure." Why did his legs feel so heavy? Granted, Vamp had struck a pretty mean blow to his gut and cut off his air supply off for a few seconds but-"Whoa." The room tilted 180 degrees, violently. And why did it feel so cold? 

"Oh my god Shane." Lita looked down at the floor. 

There was a river of crimson at his feet, gushing across the holodeck.... 

***

"Well, it won't be hard for Double J to find me!" Shane said with a grim smile as he leaned against the wall in the corridor, trying to absorb what little oxygen his lungs would take. Sickbay might as well have been light years away at the rate they were moving. 

"Come on." Lita ignored the sticky trail of liquid that mapped out their location in radiant red. Shane's body was pumping out a steady stream of arterial blood, meaning that time was not a luxury he could afford. "I can't believe you're taking a break from getting a cheap feel!" 

"Ha ha." Shane laughed weakly. "Since I'm gonna go to the big Captain's Chair in the sky, how about a little kiss good-bye?" 

"Are you insane?" Lita cried out. "You'll die if we don't hurry!" 

"I'll hurry when you kiss me." 

Lita scowled. "Typical McMahon-always trying to manipulate right up until the end!" 

"I think I see a white light..." 

"I hate you." He was dying. No one would know if she didn't say anything. Deep breath, eyes closed, lips against Shane's.... 

"Gosh Lita. I don't mind if you mess around after I'm dead, but with the guy who killed me? I'm not sure, but I think that's just plain bad manners!" 

"Jeff!" Lita almost forgot to keep Shane propped up. She returned her hand to the wound to keep more blood from spilling out. "He's been stabbed. I need help getting him to Sickbay." 

"He tried to ice us with a sabotaged shuttle." Matt said coldly. 

"I'm just so disillusioned." Jeff shook his head. "First I hear this one is trying to feel Steph up with a tri-corder in Engineering and now my girlfriend is tasting weasel. I'm telling you, it doesn't pay to fake your own death anymore." 

"You touched my sister?" Shane tried to lunge at Matt, but Lita kept him firmly restrained. The intoxicating kiss had worn off, the deep slash in his side burning like it was on fire. "I'll crush you like a bug!" 

"God! I was trying to help Stephanie!" Matt just shook his head. It never mattered what he said in his own defense. He was going to forever be known as the ensign who got some from his skanky Commander. "We'll get Dr. Taker and bring him here okay? Shane shouldn't be moved in that condition." 

"Please." Jeff turned his back on them. "Feel free to resume liplock." 

"Jeff!" Lita sighed, gazed imploringly at Matt. "Talk to him?" 

Matt looked at Lita. He looked at Shane. Then he had the gall to walk away. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Don't even." Stephanie held a hand up to ward off any apologies that might have been forthcoming from Hunter's lips. 

"Come on Steph!" Triple H nudged a bouqet of white roses towards her, his smile as innocent as he could get it. "It's not like I really wanted to take Trish back to her quarters. Tori asked me, as a favor. I would've done it for any of the waitresses. It was gentlemanly." 

"Oh and you're so famous for being a gentleman." Stephanie said scornfully, ignoring the peace offering as she sipped her strawberry malt. "I'm not in the mood for this crap Hunter. I'm worried about Shane." 

Shane was in serious condition, having drained half his blood all over the Titanprize before Dr. Taker had dragged his "no-good, spoiled little rich boy punk ass" into Sickbay. 

"Yeah right." Hunter sneered. "Just a couple days ago you wanted to toss your cookies at the sight of him. I think it's just that you know your reaction was totally uncalled for!" 

"Yeah I guess." Stephanie oozed sarcasm. "Silly of me to get so excited after catching you all sweaty and breathless while escorting a blonde bombshell around the ship after dark. I'm soooo paranoid!" 

Hunter was strangling the flower stems with an angry fist. "Where do you get off? I find you holding hands with that jerk Jericho one night and then letting Matt Hardy have a peek at the promised land not long after that and you're all over me? I was just being noble and seeing a lady safely home." 

"I thought you saw _Trish_ home." Stephanie said sweetly. The last thing she needed was some marital discord to complicate her life even further! Russo had cracked down on the Titanprize crew after the Hardyz unfortunate early release at the hands of Edge and Christian and Shane's startling betrayal. Sadly, more people were more stunned that big brother had sold Russo up the river than about his "treason" against Wrestlefleet. 

"Oh-bad timing." Matt spun on his heel, ready to run. The weight of a sensor bracelet reminded him he wouldn't exactly make a speedy escape. Russo had snapped one on his ankle with the warning that its removal or stepping out of bounds would be equal to instant death. Jeff had almost caused them to both eat plasma when he'd asked for a sensor bracelet that changed colors with his hair. "I'll just come back later." 

"Oh no." Hunter held up his hands apologetically. "Hey, you and my lovely bride got a date, I don't wanna cut in. Enjoy." 

"Oh grow up!" Stephanie exclaimed, throwing the flowers at his retreating back. "Why did I marry him?" 

_Because you didn't happen to meet Jericho first?_ Matt thought. "I guess you love him." 

"I guess." Funny, it didn't feel like love burning in her veins as she watched him cozy up to the bar and order a beer from Trish. When was the last time he'd smiled at her that way? "So, you got it?" 

Matt nodded. "Since there's no way to get back into Engineering at night....well I had to let Jeff help me finish it." 

"Jeff?" Stephanie groaned, staring with dread at the tiny sliver of metal in Matt's palm. "Do you realize-" 

"I know my brother." Matt assured her. "Believe me, I didn't even blink when he was touching it." 

"If Jericho does anything weird, I'll kick Jeff's ass." Stephanie told him, pocketing the emotion chip in one fluid motion. 

"Get in line, Commander." Matt still got the occasional twinge in his poorly healed rib, which Edge had so generously broken for him. Maybe he should've let Dr. Taker tend to it, but the dead man had other far more pressing issues...."Of course, maybe we should specially tweak that chip to punish Jericho for influencing Jeff so much." 

Stephanie laughed, though her heart wasn't in it. "Should I even give it to Chris? He doesn't seem to want it." 

"Up to you." Matt frowned as the glitter of gold temporarily blinded him. 

"Greetings!" Kurt Angle smiled brightly. "Your Olympic Ensign was wondering Commander McMahon-Helmsley....since your groom appears to be occupied with the attentions of a buxom and charming bartender and if you're not too busy sullying the innocence of Matthew Hardy-" 

"You're from Earth, Ensign Angle." Stephanie sighed. "Speak English." 

"I am." Kurt shook off the confusion. "May I have the honor of a dance?" 

"What the hell?" Stephanie shrugged. Hunter was slumming, Jericho was forced to work 24 hour shifts in Engineering since he didn't need sleep.... 

At least _someone_ on this ship had the desire and the time to give her!   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:xpac_christian@yahoo.com



	61. Season 7 Episode 11 Bad Week

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 11 ****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 11: BAD WEEK 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 080320.00. It seems our latest WrestleFleet officer, EO Richards, has been annoying my crew as of late. He's been angering Ensign Pump, claiming a WrestleFleet ship is no place for 'hoochies', and yelling at the Nytron girls for their lack of clothing," Russo paused his log, and turned to his constant companion, "Tell me, Eric. Do you see anything wrong with the Nytron girl uniforms?" he asked. 

Bishoff shook his head, trying to mutter something through his gag. 

"Didn't think so," he turned back to his log, "In other news, Lt. Loco... or should I say, WrestleFleet Ensign Chavo Jr, is attempting to persuade other Nytrons to join him. I doubt he'll be very successful. NO one turns on Russo without punishment. No one!" he smiled coldly, "End log," 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"May I have your attention please?" a voice spoke up, trying to be heard over the crowd. No one noticed, "MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" the voice shouted. 

"Will the resident jackass please stand up..." someone replied, "Oh wait... you already ARE standing, Richards!" 

EO Richards was standing at the front of the bar, accompanied by his bodyguard, Mr. Buchanan. "Very funny, Pump!" he snapped, then shook his head, "All you people in here drinking your beer, flirting with your waitresses... don't you know you are ruining the very moral fiber of WrestleFleet? Of the known _Universe_ for that matter?" he asked. 

The Smackdown patrons muttered in reply, then turned back to what they were doing. "LISTEN TO HIM!" another voice shouted. 

A collective gasp came up from the bar. Standing beside EO Richards was none other then Ensign Godfather... dressed in a white shirt, tie, and black trousers. 

"What the hell is all this, Godfather?" Lt. Bradshaw asked as he put down his beer and eyed Godfather suspiciously. 

"I am now known as Ensign _Good_father," he said, "And I have seen the light! I have seen what EO Richards has been trying to do! Don't you understand?" he asked, "WrestleFleet once stood proud as the very backbone of society. Now look at what has happened!" Goodfather said, "We've suddenly got bars aboard our ships, more violence then ever before! INTERNAL violence... as can be seen through these Nytrons rebels, and we even have scantily-clad women parading around as if it's their right!" 

"Hey, Godfa... oh, sorry GOODfather..." Lt. Farooq began, "If I do recall, _you _were the one providing us with the scantily-clad women!" 

"I know. And I'm sorry. Steven has shown me the error of my ways..." he said, and hung his head, "Forgive me! I didn't know what I was doing at the time..." 

Farooq and Bradshaw looked at each other, then puffed on their cigars. A few of Godfather's rejected ladies came to sit beside them and chat. 

EO Richards came up to them, "This is WRONG!" Richards said, and grabbed the cigars out of Farooq and Bradshaw's hands. He then signaled for the Goodfather. The former pimp shooed the ladies away, "Occupation or no occupation, I WILL clean up this ship!" Richards said. 

Lieutenants Farooq and Bradshaw jumped to their feet, "All right, that does it! You touched our cubans!" Farooq snapped. 

"As Etiquette Officer, I have a right to do what I deem acceptable!" Richards said. 

"As security lieutenants, let us tell you what WE have a right to do!" Bradshaw began, "We have a _right _to drink lots of beer! We have a _right _to consort with wild, half-naked women..." he looked at Farooq. Farooq nodded, knowing what Bradshaw was thinking. Bradshaw turned back to EO Richards, "And it seems we have a _right_ to kick your asses all over this damn ship, boys!" 

EO Richards, the Goodfather, and Mr. Buchanan quickly ran from the Smackdown. 

Bradshaw and Farooq pursued. 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Here we have the warp core, Chavo," Ensign Guerrero said as he showed the younger Guerrero the large glowing plasma pillar in the middle of the room. 

Chavo watched, eyes wide. He was looking quite sharp in his brand-new yellow WrestleFleet Engineering uniform. 

"Ensign Guerrero, while many have accepted Chavo back into WrestleFleet, I must insist that he keep his distance from MY warp engines!" Commander McMahon snapped. 

"Commander..." a voice spoke up behind her. 

Stephanie spun around to see Lt. Commander Jericho, "WHAT?!" 

He blinked, then spoke, "Chavo has pledged loyalty to WrestleFleet. I think it is safe for him to---" 

"THINK?" Stephanie snapped, "That's ALL you ever do, Chris. THINK!" she replied, then threw her hands up, "Never mind! Do what you want. If our ship explodes, we'll know who's fault it is!" With that, she headed to her station. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Man, I can't believe Chavo turned WrestleFleet!" Nytron Shane Helms whined to his friends. "Like Nytrons are suddenly no good!" 

"Yo, Sugar, I hear that! He probably thinks the WrestleFleet uniform makes him look cool!" Nytron Evan Karagias replied. "Whaddya think, Shann?" 

"I think it's not nice to turn on Russo, dude! It's really not..." Nytron Shannon Moore replied, then smiled, "Maybe we should get him back for doing that! Just imagine how grateful Russo would be? He'd probably set up some concert space for us!" 

"Oh! We could sing and dance ... and CHARGE!" Evan replied. 

"So what are we waiting for? Let's find little Chavo!" Sugar replied. 

The three headed off to find their victim. 

***

SHUTTLEBAY 4 - much later 

Stephanie stared out the shuttlebay window at the familiar stars. Things had been interesting the past week in Shuttle Bay four. Terri and Kitty had gotten into a cat fight over a bottle of hair dye, Ensigns Edge and Christian had fought over a smudge on Christian's mirror. And who could forget Lt. Rock threatening to stick the bunk bed up Lt. Commander Austin's candy ass if he didn't stop snoring? 

The tension was getting to everyone. Well... ALMOST everyone. 

Stephanie sighed. The Y2J Unit was as unemotional as ever. He had even taken to studying her as she slept! She remembered waking up a few days ago to see Lt. Commander Jericho watching her - a look on his face that she never recalled seeing from Hunter... but Commander Stephanie knew that look was nothing more then android curiosity. 

Stephanie reached into her pocket and felt the coolness of a silicon chip. Maybe she wouldn't bother giving it to him. She had enough problems right now without him calling her names again, or teasing her with that sly little grin that she found so incredibly--- 

"Commander..?" a voice spoke. 

Stephanie spun around, and took a deep breath, "Yes, Lt. Commander Jericho?" she asked. 

"Was I out of line in Engineering today?" he asked ever so calmly. 

"What do you mean?" she asked. 

"About Ensign Chavo. I understand your hesitancy to accept him back... and perhaps if I had my emotion chip, then I would feel hesitant as well..." he stopped and looked down, "I would feel _something _at least..." 

Stephanie looked at him. Did he sound sad? Sad about not having his emotion chip?! But... how could he be SAD? It was impossible. 

She looked back out the window, and he came up behind her. "That expanse over there..." he pointed to a purplish-pink cloud off to the right, "Is the Jakked nebula," he said. "What we see is how it looked over 10, 000 years ago. The light is just reaching us now. It's beautiful, isn't it?" 

"Beautiful?" Stephanie asked, "Even without your chip, you can appreciate beauty?" 

There was a moment of silence, then he spoke again, sounding somewhat confused, "It seems so. I suppose it is part of my programming," he replied, "For example, I can appreciate that your current hairstyle is rather… _cute_," 

Stephanie unconsciously put a hand to the long braid dangling over her shoulder. She turned to him, "You think so?" she asked. 

He raised a hand and touched her hair, "Yes. I do..." he replied. 

Stephanie felt a strange tingling and quickly jerked her head away from his hand. She frowned at him, "Do a diagnostics check on yourself, Lt. Commander. I think your static filters are running at less then acceptable levels." 

The Y2J Unit brought his hand back to his side, and his eyes were blank for a moment as he ran his diagnostic. Finally he spoke, "Diagnostics complete. Static filters are running at 110%." 

Stephanie noticed how close they were standing to each other... and the strange tingling didn't go away. "Check again!" she demanded. 

He did so, "Still running at 110%," he replied. 

"What about your body temperature?!" she asked. She could feel the heat coming off him, and it was making her incredibly warm. 

"My body temperature is within normal parameters," he said, then looked down at her, "Is there something wrong, Commander?" he asked. "Do you have reason to believe my systems are malfunctioning?" 

"_Back to robot mode, huh, Chris?"_ Stephanie thought. For a moment there, she could have sworn she was talking to something more then a walking/talking calculator... but the blank look on his face now, and the flatness of his voice reminded her otherwise. 

Stephanie pushed herself away from the window and climbed to the top of her bunk. 

"On the top again, Commander?" Jericho asked. 

Stephanie turned on her side, ignoring the Y2J Unit. She'd been cooped up in this shuttle bay with him for far too long. Now she was starting to hear things in his voice that weren't there - like a smart-ass tone in that last comment... 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS - the next day 

Ensign Chavo walked down the hall carefully, ignoring the dirty looks from the Nytrons he once rebelled beside. He turned a corner, and walked right into a group calling themselves 3-Count. If only he could remember their names. What were they now? Sugar, Evan, and Shannon? Yes. That was it. 

"So... you think you can turn on Russo and get off scott free?" Sugar asked, holding a large lead microphone in his hand. 

Shannon tightened his grip on a dancing circle, "Yeah, man... we don't like traitors!" 

"Whaddya think we should do with him?" Evan asked, smiling smugly, arms crossed in 'cool-teen-idol' fashion. 

"I think we oughta punish him... on Russo's behalf!" Sugar replied. 

The three looked at Chavo, and charged. Chavo spun around and ran away. He turned a corner, and smacked right into Lt. Bradshaw, "Woah woah, little Chavo... what's goin' on?" he asked. 

"They're after me!" Chavo said hysterically. 

"Who?" Lt. Farooq asked as he came up beside Bradshaw. 

"Nytrons!" Chavo replied. 

Farooq pat Chavo on the shoulder, "Tell ya what... Bradshaw and me will take care of whoever it is. We love to stick our boots up Nytron ass..." 

Chavo thanked them and ran down the hall. 

3 Count came around the corner, and stopped dead in their tracks, paling as they saw who awaited them. 

"Damn! They're pretty boys!" Farooq said. 

"Man, I _hate_ pretty boys, Farooq!" Bradshaw replied. 

"Me too, Bradshaw," Farooq replied, "Whaddya say we rearrange their pretty boy faces?" 

3 Count tried to protest, but their mouths were quickly filled by Farooq and Bradshaw's fists. 

***

APA SECURITY OFFICE - later 

"You know, that's the most fun I've had since this damn occupation began..." Bradshaw replied as he and Farooq went up to the door to their office. He paused, "What the hell is this?" he asked. 

On the APA door was a sticker of a red circle bisected by a diagonal line. Farooq shrugged, "Damned if _I_ know," he ripped the sticker off and opened the door, but paused half-way in, "Where the hell are our cards?" he asked. 

"WHAT?!" Bradshaw said as he looked at the empty table that greeted him. "Man, no problem. We have lots of cards in the filing cabinet!" Bradshaw went up to the large metal cabinet and looked under 'C'. "What the HELL?!" he snapped. The only thing in the 'C' section was a book with the same bisected red circle, and the words '_We have the right to censor'._

__

Farooq frantically opened the "B" drawer, and was greeted with a piece of paper with the hated circle, "Our BEER!" he shouted. 

"Oh... now that's just going too far! No one... and I mean NO ONE touches our damn beer!" Bradshaw replied. 

"What say you and me go looking for some white-collar, stick-up-their-ass pansy Etiquette Officers and have ourselves another ass-whuppin'?" 

Bradshaw nodded, and the two quickly headed out of the office. 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Stephanie stared at the bunk above her. She sighed. He hadn't said a word in two hours! What was he doing? Just staring at the ceiling? Stephanie kicked the mattress that drooped down, "Hey you! You still alive up there?" 

"Yes Commander..." came the unemotional reply. 

"Well... move... or something!" 

"I have no need to move, Commander," The Y2J Unit replied. 

Stephanie _knew_ there was a reason she preferred the top bunk. It saved her from having to talk to the Y2J Unit. 

Stephanie crawled out of her bed, and climbed up the ladder, "Move your legs!" she snapped. Jericho quickly sat up and tucked his legs under. Stephanie made herself comfortable on the end of his mattress. He looked at her, waiting, "Listen," she began, "You have less personality then Ensign Blackman without your damn chip..." she paused, "Well... ok… maybe a BIT more personality then him, but that's not saying much..." 

"True," he admitted. 

Stephanie rolled her eyes. Why was he so agreeable? _Because he doesn't argue with superior officers,_ she reminded herself. _Just like a good little WrestleFleet Lt. Commander._ "Ok. If you had a choice to get your emotion chip back, would you accept it?" 

"I do not think that's possible," he replied. "Irvine Inc. had the patent on it, and spent years constructing it. With Russo's Reign, I'm unable to contact them about the loss---" 

"Oh shut up!" Stephanie snapped, "You don't have to get so technical..." she muttered, and looked away. Should she give it to him? Maybe things would just be easier if... 

"Commander?" he spoke. She still seemed to be staring off into space, ignoring him. He grabbed her chin gently and turned her face towards him, leaning forward "Commander..." he repeated, "You seem conflicted..." 

Stephanie quickly jerked back. Why did he have to lean in so close to her? "I'm fine!" she snapped, "Just thinking about things..." 

"May I ask if anything is bothering you?" he asked. 

Did he actually sound concerned? No. That would have been impossible. Stephanie shook her head, "If I wanted to talk to someone, I'd talk to Counselor Snow!" she snapped. "I think I'll just go to sleep!" 

"Very well..." he moved over, allowing her space to lie down. 

Stephanie looked at him, incensed, "NOT up here, you IDIOT!" she replied. She waited for some snide comment. Maybe something about how she had slept with everyone else on board... but received NOTHING. She sighed. If she DID curl up beside him, it would mean _nothing _anyway. Stephanie looked down at her own bunk. Someone had taken over, "WHAT!" she snapped as she climbed down the ladder, "Shoo... shoo!!" she said. Kitty's kitten, and Chyna's puppy had made themselves comfortable on the empty bed, "Go on... get!" 

"They don't seem to want to move..." Lt. Commander Jericho replied. Stephanie gasped. She hadn't even heard him come down beside her. 

Stephanie looked at him, "Don't sneak up on me like that!" then shook her head, "Kitty!" she called out. No answer. "Chyna?" 

"I think they're asleep, Commander..." Jericho replied. 

Stephanie sighed, and reached down to grab the puppy. He growled at her, baring his teeth. Stephanie pulled her hand back, then reached for the kitten. The kitten hissed at her, "Damnit! Where the hell am I supposed to sleep now?" 

"You may use my bunk. I don't need it." Jericho replied. 

"What are you going to do. Stand here all night?" she asked. 

"Standing all night doesn't bother me," he replied. 

"Nothing bothers you, does it, Chris..." Stephanie muttered, then climbed up the ladder. She sighed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, then looked down to see if Jericho was off standing in a corner. 

Instead, she saw a sight that surprised her -- curled on the bed beside the kitten and the puppy, Jericho had made himself comfortable. 

Stephanie studied them. With the three cuddled together like that, she'd almost think the Y2J Unit was human. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - the next day 

Sugar, Shannon, and Evan eyed Chavo a few feet away, their jaws still aching from Bradshaw and Farooq's beat down. It seemed they weren't alone. Apparently, stories around the ship claimed that those WrestleFleet EOs Mr. Buchanan and Goodfather had to have Bradshaw and Farooq's boots surgically removed from their rears. 

Evan smiled as he saw Chyna bring a drink to Chavo. Before the amazon waitress had picked the drink off the bar, Evan had been able to slip a laxative into it. This way, while Chavo least expected it, 3 Count would be able to corner him in the washroom and get rid of him. Chyna put Evan's own drink in front of him. He sipped it and waited. 

After a few minutes, Evan frowned. Chavo seemed just fine! Why wasn't it working? And why did he suddenly have a stomach ache? Suddenly, his eyes went wide, "Oh man! This SUCKS!" he shouted. 

"What sucks?" Sugar asked. 

"Chyna gave me CHAVO'S drink!" Evan replied, then quickly got up from the table, and ran out of the Smackdown like a bat out of hell. 

***

GARDEN DECK 

EO Richards frowned as he heard male/female giggling from a few feet away, behind a wall of hedges. 

"Oh you truly are the Franchise, sweetie!" a woman said. 

"I know I am, Torrie... I know..." a man replied. 

EO Richards made his presence known as he walked around the hedge, "What is going on? You two are involved in unacceptable behaviour!" he snapped, "You're in PUBLIC for heaven sake! " he shouted. 

"Ain't no one else here!" the Nytron Shane Douglas replied, " 'cept you! Wanna join?" 

"Oh… I... I can't believe this!" Richards sputtered, "How DISGUSTING!" 

"Chill man... we're just making out. Don't tell me you never kissed a woman before, Richards!" Douglas replied. 

"I... I would _never_... in PUBLIC!" 

Torrie stood up and flaunted her revealing outfit, "Lemme guess... you think making out is a bad thing, right?" 

"In public, it's..." he paused as Torrie put her arms around his neck and smiled. "Now... now stop this..." he spoke nervously. "Even for a Nytron, this is... is..." 

Torrie leaned forward, "Don't you like me, Stevie?" she pouted. 

"It's STEVEN!" he snapped, "And... well... I have nothing against you… but.. your behaviour is inappropriate!" 

"HEY! STEVEN!" Bradshaw and Farooq shouted as they entered the garden deck. 

EO Richards spun around at the sound of the voices, "This isn't what you think!" he said quickly, "She was behaving inappropriately! I didn't ask for her to----" 

"Oh shut the hell up, little man!" Farooq snapped, "We came in here for one reason and one reason only..." he turned to Bradshaw, smiling. 

Bradshaw nodded, "That reason being... I stuck my boot up Goodfather's ass. Farooq stuck his boot up Bull's ass... but I don't believe either of us have stuck our boots up YOUR ass yet! So to be fair, you get a double 'boot up your ass' special -- MY left boot, FAROOQ'S right boot." 

Richard's paled, "Oh dear…." 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

3 Count hid behind a corner, and waited, "That little Chavo is going to get it THIS time!" Sugar said as he held his lead microphone ready. "HERE HE COMES!" he shouted, and swung back. He felt the microphone hit something, and turned to see Shannon lying unconscious on the ground. "Oh man...!" 

"You dork!" Evan said. 

"Hey... he was standing too close!" Sugar complained. 

"_He was standing too close..._" Evan mocked, "Maybe you just weren't looking!" he snapped. 

"You wanna start something with me, Karagias? You think you're all that? Think you can go against Sugar?" 

"Yeah! Yeah I can!" Evan replied. 

Sugar swung the microphone at him, and Evan ducked, then tackled his friend to the ground. The two rolled around the corridors, trading punches. 

Chavo walked by and saw the commotion, then shrugged and walked on. Oh well. It didn't concern him anyhow. 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Damnit. Those nitwits!" Russo muttered as he looked at the report of the latest happenings aboard the Titanprize. 3 Count had been sent to Sickbay after a trist amongst themselves. In other news, EO Richards had TWO boots removed from his rear. Funny... Russo didn't think the human buttox was capable of making room for two full-sized boots. 

He shrugged, and put the report down. He looked at Bishoff, "You know, soon these little problems won't matter anymore. Once my plan is set into motion, then everyone will bow to me -- Nytron and WrestleFleet alike!" 

He smiled coldly. Only a few more days until they were in Earth's orbit... then EVERYONE would witness the power of Russo! 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	62. Season 7 Finale Episode 12 The End of t...

Wrestle Trek: Season 7, Episode 12 ****

WRESTLE TREK: 

The Nytron Generation

SEASON SEVEN 

****

EPISODE 12: THE END OF THE BEGINNING 

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE/NYTRON CREW: 

Captain Vince Russo (aka High Commander)   
First Officer, Commander Jeff Jarrett (aka The Chosen One)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of WrestleFleet Security, Commander Kane   
Chiefs of Nytron Security, Commanders Hall, and Nash   
Chief WrestleFleet Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Chief Nytron Medical Officer, Dr. V. M. Piro   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, 080620.00. Shane McMahon is healed from the 'unfortunate' injuries suffered a few weeks ago. The little punk has now joined daddy in the brig! We are currently making our way towards Earth. We should arrive by tomorrow, and then my plan will be set into motion!" Russo laughed coldly, "Who needs the milky-way galaxy anyway?" 

"Don't you have any family there, Russo?!" Bishoff asked. It was a rare occasion that his gag was off. 

Russo raised an eyebrow and looked at him, "Eric, did I say you could speak?" he asked. "I thought I'd be nice and remove your gag today, but if you speak again, I may just have to punish you once more..." 

"I don't give a damn what you do to me anymore, Russo..." Bishoff replied. His voice was not much more then a whisper. He sounded tired, as if he truly _didn't_ give a damn whether Russo shot him right here, right now. It startled Russo a bit. Eric was no fun if he didn't CARE what was happening to him! 

Bishoff made eye-contact with Russo, and Russo leaned back in his chair and looked away. Those eyes... they were as haunted as his voice. Bloodshot and almost calmly insane! 

Bishoff had grown pale and thin due to Russo's poor treatment. The skin under the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles was raw and covered with dried blood. He was a mess. 

Russo sighed, "Eric, to answer your question -- no. I DON'T have family there. I don't have family anywhere," 

"So you think it's only fair that no one else have family either." Bishoff replied. It wasn't a question. 

Russo glared at the man before him, "Since when do you tell me how my mind works? Are you Counselor Crowbar? No! Shut the hell up, Eric!" 

"Kill me, Russo. I would rather die then watch you murder my family! EVERYONE'S families!" Bishoff replied, raising his voice. 

Russo jumped to his feet. This was the most Eric had said in all the time Russo had him tied up as his own personal play thing, "That's it! The gag goes back on!" Russo replied. He went over to Bishoff. 

Before Russo could put the gag back on, Bishoff suddenly reached out and kicked him in the gut with his bound feet. Russo doubled over, and Bishoff clasped his bound hands and struck Russo across the face. Eric then peeled the ropes away from the skin on his wrists, and slipped out of the knots around his legs. 

Bishoff stood up with noticeable difficulty, having not stood for a long, long time. He looked down at the fallen Russo, "Malnutrition makes one a bit thinner, Russo. Thin enough to slip out of ropes bound around one's wrists and ankles! Perhaps you should remember that next time!" 

When Russo was finally able to raise his aching head to glare at Bishoff. The man was gone. 

Damn those Houdinians! They always seemed to disappear at the least appropriate times! 

***

BRIDGE 

"He's GONE?" Commander Jarrett whispered to a bruised Russo as the two sat on the bridge. "Shouldn't we find him?" 

"On this ship?" Russo replied, "It's heaven for a Houdinian. It would be impossible to find him!" 

"What about that WrestleFleet houdinian... Crash? Perhaps he can---" 

"NO!" Russo replied. A few heads turned to him on the bridge. He was trying to keep the conversation quiet. Damn. He glared at the bridge crew, "BACK TO WORK!" he snapped. They quickly did as they were told. Russo lowered his voice so only Jarrett could hear, "I don't want anyone to know Bishoff was ever even here!" he said. "Besides, we out number him and can destroy him easily if he shows his face again!" 

Jarrett nodded, but said nothing. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker was sitting in his office when he felt the presence of someone. Someone lurking in the jefferies tubes above his desk. 

He stood up, and looked at the ceiling, "Come out, Bishoff..." 

A man dropped down through an open tile, and landed ungracefully on the ground, "How did you know?" 

"I know many things... such as how you were locked in Russo's closet for the length of his occupation here..." 

Bishoff shakily got to his feet. His legs still weren't used to holding his own weight after being forced to sit for so long, "It was you! I remember! A while ago, I knew there was someone lurking in Russo's ready room... going through his things." 

Dr. Taker nodded, then frowned, "Tell me why I shouldn't kill your stank ass right here? You may have been Russo's prisoner, but you're still a Nytron!" 

"Please!" Bishoff begged, "I have information! He plans to blow it up! Blow it all up! And if anyone resists... he plans to kill McMahon's little girl!" 

"What does Stephanie have to do with anything?" 

Bishoff was getting awfully dizzy! For a man who hadn't eaten a decent meal in months, he had over-exerted himself merely escaping. "There's something in Stephanie's chest. Vamp put it there... he... he..." Bishoff passed out. 

Dr. Taker looked out the window of his office. Sickbay was empty. If he wanted any information, he would have to talk to the bastard lying on the ground in front of him. Taker quickly grabbed medication and hyposprays and tended to his latest patient. 

Now... how to keep him hidden from the prying eyes of that fool Dr. Piro? 

***

THE BRIG 

Shane stared at the ceiling, his father lying in a stupor in the cot beside him. Russo had kept him pretty doped up... but he did hear his father muttering something about Stephanie in his sleep. Something about her heart? No doubt foolish rantings from a man too drugged up to put together a full sentence. 

Shane turned on his side and stared at the wall. They were one day from Earth... and one day from complete destruction of everything he held dear. His planet, his family... his brand-new porsche! Damn Russo! The Nytrons didn't even know the full extent of Russo's madness! _Those idiots follow him blindly, not realizing that he plans to destroy EVERYTHING, _Shane thought. 

"STEPHANIE!" McMahon shouted in his sleep. 

Shane jumped out of his cot and went to his father's side, "Pops? Hey... POPS?! What's wrong?!" 

McMahon slowly opened his eyes, "Shane... son... they're going to kill her! They're going to kill your baby sister!" 

"What are you going on about, Pops?" Shane asked. 

McMahon sat up, "Dr. Piro put an implant in her chest!" he said, "He's going to kill her! We've got to save her! Save my baby!" 

"Pops, I don't know what that stuff is Piro's been doping you up with, but..." 

"Nothing.." Vince replied. 

"What?" Shane asked. 

McMahon took a deep breath, "Every once in a while, he comes in here, and gives me a hypospray ... but my body has gotten so used to it that it wears off within an hour. I pretend to be out of it for the rest of the day so I can think!" 

Shane looked at his father's eyes. They were definitely alert. He was all there... and that's what scared Shane... because it meant his father's wild mutterings weren't wild at all! 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker had listened to Bishoff's story, and the information regarding Commander Stephanie McMahon. Bishoff, feeling better thanks to Taker's care, had disappeared once again. 

So Vampy liked to fancy himself an evil bastard? He didn't know what evil WAS! 

The dark doctor smiled. Perhaps it was time to let Dr. Piro know the _true_ meaning of fear. 

***

DR. PIRO'S QUARTERS 

The skeletal doctor tossed and turned in a fitful sleep. Images invaded his mind. His victims reached out from the grave to pull him down into the darkness. Children screamed. Women cried. Men laughed. 

One PARTICULAR man laughed. He stood before Piro, dressed in a black hat, and black cloak. He held a gloved hand out to the doctor, urging him to come forward. Piro was drawn towards the man's evil aura. Would he learn anything about the darkness that he so coveted? 

When Piro was close enough, the man reached out... and rammed his fingers through Piro's chest. He began to squeeze. Piro screamed in agony. The man just laughed, his smile cold enough to freeze hell. 

"Does it hurt?" the dark man asked. "Does it hurt, Vampy?" 

Piro feel to his knees as pain burned through his body. Every nerve was on fire. He screamed, unable to answer through the blinding agony. It felt as if the dark man was ripping his very heart out! "Get rid of it," the man said, "Delete the passcodes that will destroy the McMahon girl! Or YOU will feel the pain when her heart bursts. YOU will feel it, Piro! And I guarantee, it will hurt more... MUCH more... then THIS!" 

Piro's vision grew blurry and his mind fogged, yet he was aware enough to see the dark man hold something out to him. 

Something dripping red. 

Soon, the pain stopped - and Piro bolted upright in bed, cold sweat dripping down his neck. 

He suddenly had an urge to delete the passcodes to the device embedded in Stephanie McMahon's chest. 

***

BRIDGE - the next day 

"Captain Jabroni..." Lt. Rock started, "We are in orbit around Planet Earth. What does your candy ass want to do here anyway?" he asked. 

Russo simply smiled, "I wish to start some fireworks, Lt. Rock..." Russo replied. 

"Hold on... the Rock is getting a communication in from a ship. It's the ECW Extremeship!" Without being ordered too, Lt. Rock put it on the screen before him. 

"Lt. Rock. We have been informed that your ship is currently occupied by Nytron rebels!" Captain Heyman began. 

Russo jumped to his feet. What the hell? How did HEYMAN know? Communications were only available on the bridge! 

Russo fumed and allowed Heyman to see him on screen, "Do you think YOUR ship can stop us, Heyman?!" Russo asked, then laughed. "Not on your life! NOTHING can stop my ultimate plan! NOTHING!" 

"Except maybe 30 cloaked WrestleFleet ships surrounding the Titanprize..." Ensign Edge said as he looked at the monitor in front of him, "Wrestlefleet RULES!" he high-fived his brother beside him. 

"WHAT?!" Russo gasped. He glared at Heyman on the screen in front of him, "How did you know? HOW?!" 

The WrestleFleet ships uncloaked themselves and Heyman smiled, "Let's just say McMahon has a very resourceful doctor!" 

***

SHUTTLE BAY 4 

Commander Stephanie stared out the port, and couldn't help but smile. WrestleFleet ships surrounded them! FINALLY it was over! 

"Commander..." a voice spoke behind her. 

Stephanie spun around happily and threw her arms around the speaker, "They came to save us!" she said, tears of joy streaming down her face, "Finally we're free!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho held his breath, and wondered what these strange energy surges going through his body were. They were a direct result of Commander McMahon-Helmsley's close contact. 

He looked down at her, keeping his hands stiffly at his sides, fighting the urge to return the embrace. "Commander..." his voice was almost a whisper. 

Stephanie quickly stepped away from him when she realized that... well… she was hugging JERICHO, "Excuse me, Lt. Commander," She began, and smoothed out the top of her uniform, "A momentary lapse in composure..." 

"Pardon me for disturbing this touching moment... but Captain Russo requests your presence on the bridge!" Stephanie and Jericho spun around at the sound of the voice. Kimberly stood there, holding a phaser on both of them. She went up to Stephie, "You're not out of the woods yet, honey!" she hissed, then turned to Jericho, "And it's a shame that things had to turn out as they did between you and I..." she ran a hand through his hair, smiling slyly, "Because one night with me would have made your circuits sizzle, babe!" 

"My circuits are incapable of '_sizzling_'," he said. "Unless my structure is under extreme heat at--" 

"Shut up!" Kimberly snapped. "YOU stay here. The skank comes with me!" she said, and lead Stephanie out of the shuttle bay. 

***

THE BRIDGE 

"Ahhh.... the guest of honour!" Russo said as Stephanie made her way on the bridge with Kimberly happily holding a phaser to her back. 

Captain McMahon and Commander Shane were already there, being held at phaserpoint by the Nytron rebels. Off to the side, Dr. Piro held a phaser on a frighteningly calm Dr. Taker. Vamp was looking paler then usual as he eyed the WrestleFleet doctor nervously. 

"STEPHIE!" McMahon cried. "You're ok!" 

"Well... ok is probably not the word for it..." Stephanie muttered as she fixed Kimberly with an icy glare. 

"She won't be ok for long, McMahon," Russo started, "You know what I'm talking about. What did I tell you a short while ago about your dear sweet daughter?" 

"You wouldn't!" McMahon gasped, "You COULDN'T!" 

"Oh I would... and I could!" Russo laughed. He looked at the viewscreen. Captain Heyman stood on the bridge of his ship, beside him the Chief of Chiefs, Linda McMahon, "Now sweet Linda, you either tell WrestleFleet to stand down, or your family dies. I guarantee Stephanie's death will be exceptionally painful!" he thought for a moment and looked at Stephanie, "I wonder what it's like to feel as if your heart is bursting from the inside out?" he asked. "Do tell me..." 

Stephanie looked at him and furrowed her brow, "What?" 

"OH! Silly me. I didn't tell you! That odd V on your chest... there IS a reason for it..." he said. 

Stephanie gasped, and glared at Dr. Piro, "What did you do to me?!"

Dr. Piro turned away, but wilted under Dr. Taker's glare, "Tell her, Vampy. Go ahead..." the dark man said. 

Piro turned back to Stephanie, "I inserted a device in your heart," he started, "With the proper passcodes, it will cause your heart to burst from the inside. Very painful..." he allowed a cold smile, then his smile faded as he felt Dr. Taker breathing down his neck. 

"I'm sorry, Stephie..." McMahon whispered, "I'm so sorry! I knew, but I couldn't tell you! I just couldn't!" 

Stephanie turned wet eyes to Russo, "You'd torture me to death?" 

"Well... yes!" Russo shrugged, "It's fun to watch people suffer sometimes. Especially McMahons!" he turned back to the screen, "Call your WrestleFleet dogs off, Linda! NOW!" he demanded. 

Stephanie put a hand to her chest, "But I don't want to die. Not like that!" she said. "Shoot me with a phaser... just... please... don't make me suffer!" 

Russo pulled a small padd out of his pocket, and held it in his hand. "All I need to do is punch in a passcode, little girl..." he smiled, "Unless mommy calls off the ships and lets me continue with my plan!" 

"Your plan!" McMahon spat angrily, "WrestleFleet knows all about your plan! I'd rather you kill all of us then destroy an entire planet!" he hissed. 

"Well... hey... I can do both!" Russo replied with a smile, then began typing something into the device in his hands, "There we go..." he said, "Now I just have to type in the last number, and we're all set! I hope you enjoy watching your dear sweet daughter suffer, Vince. I know _I_ will!" Russo turned back to the screen, "Well, Linda...?" Russo said. 

On the Titanprize screen, Linda turned away. Her family, or the planet. Why did it come down to that? Both meant so much to her... 

"Don't do it, Linda!" McMahon said, "It's an entire PLANET! If he destroys it, our lives mean NOTHING! We die anyway!" 

Linda turned back to her husband. The look in their eyes said everything that needed to be said. She nodded, "Be prepared to be incarcerated, Russo..." she said. 

Within seconds, the Titanprize security crew were beamed to the bridge, armed with brand-new WrestleFleet phasers. They quickly trained them on the Nytrons. Russo punched something else into the padd in his hands, unseen by the others. 

He held up the padd. He could kill two birds with one stone! One number would not only set off the bomb, but also destroy precious Stephanie. HE had no family anymore, and he'd be damned if any other human would be allowed one either! 

"Take me in! It doesn't matter! In three seconds, NOTHING will matter anymore! First Stephanie, then in two minutes, the bomb will follow!" he laughed coldly as he pressed the button, "Better kiss your life good-bye, sweetie!" 

Stephanie closed her eyes... and waited... 

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Russo gasped as he looked at the padd in his hands. 

Stephanie slowly opened her eyes. She wasn't in pain! She wasn't suffering. In fact, she felt pretty damn good. She felt ALIVE! 

Russo was fuming, "You're supposed to be screaming in agony! Writhing in pain! DEAD, damnit! DEAD!" 

Stephanie laughed. She couldn't help it! She was ALIVE. Dr. Piro's silly little device didn't work after all! 

Titanprize security quickly grabbed Russo, who was still ranting about the device not working. He looked to Dr. Piro, "What happened?" he shouted, "What the hell happened?!" 

Dr. Piro felt a cold hand on his shoulder, "Why don't you tell him, Vampy...?" Dr. Taker said, "Tell him how you invalidated the passcodes." 

"You WHAT?!" Russo started, "WrestleFleet TRAITOR!" 

"NO! I am NOT WrestleFleet! I could NEVER be WrestleFleet!" Dr. Piro hissed. "I'm Nytron through and through!" Russo was fuming. No excuse would be good enough for him. He couldn't tell the High Commander he had invalidated the passcodes because of a bad dream... a dream that had seemed all too real! 

"Take him to the brig!" McMahon snapped, then turned to the armed Nytrons, "Drop your weapons… NOW! Or I give the order to kill Russo!" 

The Nytrons quickly complied 

Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq began to drag Russo from the bridge... when suddenly the ship started to shake. "Maybe I couldn't kill Stephie the way I wanted, but soon, everyone on planet Earth will be dead!" Russo shouted. 

A sound like thunder almost deafened everyone on the Titanprize. The air began to prickle with static, the monitors flashed, the lights flickered.... and the picture of Linda and Heyman on the Titantron fizzled into snow, only to be replaced by a view of the stars in front of the Titanprize. The beautiful image began to split and crack. Light exploded outwards, nearly blinding everyone on the bridge. 

"WOAH! Dude!!" Ensign Edge gasped, "What the heck is THAT?" 

"Readings are off the scale!" replied Ensign Christian, "This totally reeks of suckitude!" 

"A wormhole..." Lt. Benoit said. He had been so silent, everyone had forgotten his presence at the bridge's science station. He looked towards Russo, and smiled, "I told you, Russo. It's a shame you didn't listen to me..." 

Suddenly, the Titanprize jerked forward, tossing everyone to the ground. The ship was being sucked towards the large funnel of light on the screen. "FULL SPEED! BACK US OUT OF HERE!" McMahon shouted. 

"I'm trying, man!" Edge said, "It's not working! The gravitational pull is too strong! Our engines are overloading!" 

"Hey... you used technobabble, Edge!" Christian said, then smiled, "Technobabble RULES!" 

Another violent jerking threw everyone backwards against the bulkheads. The ship was shaking uncontrollably, making Ensign Edge's bright-white teeth rattle. 

A wave of electricity hit the ship... then everything went black. 

***

WCW EXTREMESHIP 

"What the..." Heyman gasped. The light was gone... and the stars were once again calm and serene. 

"Message coming in from WrestleFleet Headquarters!" Styles said, "Oh my god… what do we tell them about the Titanprize? What?!" 

"Just put HQ on-screen, Styles!" Heyman commanded. 

Admiral Mae Young appeared on the F'n Screen. Most of the crewmen screamed at the extreme close-up of the admiral's face, then quickly composed themselves, "Well.. where'sa Titanprize. I thought you guyssss were s'pposed to get it back.." she asked, and took another chug from the wine bottle in her hands. "Ans'r me, damnit!" 

"Uh... um..." Ensign Van Damn checked his readouts, then looked at Captain Heyman, and Chief of Chiefs Linda McMahon, almost helplessly. He turned back to Admiral Mae Young, "I'm sorry, man... but... the WWF Titanprize seems to have... disappeared..." 

END OF SEASON 7 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	63. Season 8 Premiere Episode 1 The Ship Th...

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 1

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

****

SEASON EIGHT 

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EPISODE 1: THE SHIP THAT TIME FORGOT 

By: [X_C ][2] and [][3]Elektra

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Chief of Engineers Log, Stardate 080200.00. This is Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. It seems he Titanprize is adrift in an unknown quadrant of space. Planet Earth is several centuries from our current location. My ship must travel billions of light years to arrive at the border of any known Federation galaxy, if any exist at the time of our return. I will not be alive to see that day, nor will any crew member presently aboard the Titanprize." 

Stephanie felt like a wilted flower, starved of light. She could barely hold her head up, the tears that splashed on Daddy's marble desk miraculous in their existence, as she felt she had no more left to give. 

_I miss my Mommy!_ The little girl inside her was screaming. 

_All that's left now is to speak to the future, Stephie._ Her father's voice has been tired but unwavering with its resolve. _I've failed the crew. I allowed myself to be captured. I allowed this._

"A wormhole was opened in the heart of the Milky Way after Nytron criminal Vincent Russo detonated an unstable quantum explosive inside the inactive black hole that resides there. Russo is now rotting in the brig. Long-range scans and sensors indicate that the wormhole has disappeared forever." 

This was the only home they had left. A cold, hollow titanium bird winging its way aimlessly through mysterious stars and nebulae, no longer tethered to its nest. 

Dr. Piro shouldn't have bothered poisoning her heart. 

It would've broken on its own eventually. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Terri sighed. She was lonely, crabby, tired, and most importantly, bored out of her pretty little head. She missed the fizz of synthehol bottle being popped open, the drunken laughter of Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq as they gave their boots a workout on Ensigns Edge and Christian's sorry behinds. 

"You sure do know how to rain on a good parade, Vinnie Mac." she murmured to herself. 

His speech to the troops wouldn't have been mistaken for a pep rally, that was for sure. The Captain would do everything in his power to get the Titanprize home yet they shouldn't cling to false hopes. The crew still manned a ship of exploration and had a duty to tend to the danger and discovery that waited for them out there. 

Wherever _out there_ was. 

Future generations aboard the Titanprize would share the research with Wrestlefleet, not these men and women. Hard to get whipped into a frenzy over scientific advancements with that hanging over your head... 

***

"Make-up making out rules!" Jeff high-fived Matt, not about to let a little detail like being lost in space crush his spirit. Hey, if death wasn't able to slow him down.... 

"Number one - stop quoting the surfer boy sissies." Lita was pulling on the back of his blue and purple hair. Hard. "Number two - keep bragging and the only things your lips will touch tonight is the business end of my phaser." 

Jeff winked at his older brother. "Foreplay." 

Lita smacked him. "Is everything a joke to you?" 

"I'd like it to be." He rubbed the new bruise on his arm. "But you and Matt keep slapping me around." 

Matt smiled weakly. What turned his stomach more? His kid brother flirting with his ex-girlfriend or the sight of his commander sipping Olympian cocktails with the American Zero Kurt Angle? "Poor Steph. That toad is more boring than watching Ensign Blackman watch paint dry." 

"Jealous." Jeff nudged his girlfriend. "He's seen what's up her shirt and now he can't get enough." 

"Oh yeah - I'm so hot for Steph." Matt said acidly. "Because I so want the crap kicked out of me by Hunter." 

"He wouldn't even care if you took her on the bar in front of the whole ship." Lita didn't mince words. "You know I've actually fallen asleep during one of Kurt's self-worshipping epics. He didn't even notice." 

"Maybe Steph's asleep too." Jeff lowered his voice. "Secretly, she's genetically related to Aerialian vampire bats who are able to hibernate with their eyes open and Kurt doesn't realize she's actually dreaming about Jericho on a beach somewhere." 

"Secretly." Matt leaned across the table and whispered. "You're an idiot." 

"I don't get the joke." 

"There isn't one." Matt said with a smirk. 

"Alright kids." Lita patted them both on the head. "I'm going to say hello to Commander McMahon now, see how his wounds are healing. Try not to kill each other in the next five minutes." 

"Try not to give him a tonsil probe while you're over there." 

"Shane saved my life." Lita's eyes threw daggers. "Deal with it." 

"Deal with it?" Jeff mocked her snide tone as she blew off in a flash of fire-red hair. "Hah! It's not like she ever caught Stephanie smooching on me after I heroically snatched her from the jaws of death!" 

"Ummmm...." Matt sighed. "An entire planet almost got destroyed cause you and the Commander couldn't keep your hands off each other long enough to save it." 

"Right." Jeff bit down on his lip. "Say Matt, you ever hear of something called "selective amnesia?" 

"Take a look at this." Matt threw a padd at his brother. 

Jeff's eyes clouded over. "Does Dr. Taker know you have this information?" 

"No." Matt replied calmly. "And I'd thank you to come down with a case of selective amnesia if he asks." 

"Well this isn't so bad." Jeff shrugged. "I mean, this is actually good. The passcodes to that little gizmo in Stephanie's chest aren't valid anymore. So she's cool." 

"She's not cool." Matt said scornfully, snatching the padd back. "You can't take that thing out of her without killing her." 

"Don't bite my head off, Matt." Jeff frowned. And to think at one time they called _him_ the moody one? "Can't she just co-exist with it?" 

"Yes. She's got fifteen years to live." 

"Fifteen?" The younger Hardy blinked. "Is it _that_ unstable?" 

"I had to pretend my tri-corder couldn't scan it." Matt's tone was as bleak as the empty space around them. "But it's got structural anamolies at the sub-atomic level. They'll worsen over time and eventually the device will suffer a major malfunction. She'll die." 

"We could show this to Jericho-" 

"No." Matt shook his head. "I promised he would never learn the first thing about this." 

"I see." Jeff thought for a minute. "You know, you promised Chris you wouldn't tell Stephanie about his feelings for her. Now you're keeping secrets from him for Stephanie." He poked an accusatory finger at Matt's chest. "I'm starting to think it's your fault they're not together." 

"Someone has to tell Steph." Matt stared hard at his brother. 

"Oooohhhh no." Jeff shook his rainbow head vigorously. "No way am I doing that. Dammit Matt, I'm her guardian angel. She'll expect me to save her." 

"She likes you more." Matt protested. 

"I have a better idea." Lita was walking in their direction. 

Matt smiled and high-fived his brother. "Having a girlfriend to do your dirty work rules!" 

At a table nearby, Edge and Christian pouted. 

"They are sooo gonna pay for mocking us." Edge declared. 

Christian nodded. "Totally." 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Well, well, well my blushing bride from hell." Hunter was rifling through Stephanie's dresser drawers, looking for anything that belonged to him. The open pack on the bed stated his intentions very clearly. 

Killing Steph... it just wasn't working out. Now that the Titanprize was in uncharted territory surrounded by bizarre species and phenomena, Hunter would thrive. He was a rebel, adept at fighting and surviving under conditions scarier than this. It was time to be a good soldier, rebuild his disgraced career in the middle of nowhere and rise from the ashes. 

Mucking around in a worthless marriage was too distracting. Ignoring Stephanie, leaving his side of the bed cold, out and out treating her like so much garbage... 

She just couldn't read the writing on the wall, could she? 

"What the hell is this, honey?" He removed a gleaming sliver of metal from her nightstand, watched curiously as it caught the light. 

It was awfully handy being married to the Chief of Engineers, Hunter thought with a grim smile as he slid the delicate, complex wafer of silicon into the diagnostics tray of Steph's modified tri-corder. Silly girl was always leaving things lying around, thinking he didn't notice...equipment, charming little birthday gifts from her android lover.... 

He punched in a request for specifications. 

"You slut." Jericho's emotion chip? "You want him to have feelings, Steph? You want that - that toy robot to feel something for you?" 

She'd left a lazer scalpel in plain sight too. "I got news for you, sweetheart. Jericho will never feel anything again!" 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - the next day 

Captain McMahon stood on the podium and looked out at his crew. The bar had been filled with folding chairs for this very special meeting, and his crewmembers had been ordered to attend. "Due to our current situation, and the influx of waitresses in the Smackdown," he looked at the Nytron girls now wearing aprons and waiting tables, "My first point of business is to grant Chyna the rank of Ensign, due to her brave actions in freeing my daughter from the holodeck, and the gut instincts we should have listened to regarding Kimberly. She will make a great addition to the security team!" 

Chyna stepped forward, smiling in her WrestleFleet security uniform as McMahon pinned an Ensign star to her collar. The crew applauded. 

"Next order of business," McMahon continued, "... is a new position we've opened up. Since our journey will be long and tedious, I have assigned a morale commissioner!" 

Crewman Foley, who hadn't been seen for a while, stepped forward, "I just want to say I'm going to LOVE being your morale commissioner here aboard the WWF Titanprize!" 

The crew cheered at the mention of the ship's name. Foley smiled and gave them a thumbs up. He then stepped back again. 

"And last but not least, we're cutting down on replicator use due to energy constraints, and we are going to start making home cooked meals!" McMahon explained, "I'd like to introduce you to the man who volunteered to make your meals, good ol' JR!" 

JR stepped forward, and the crew applauded. He bowed and spoke, "Let me just tell you... once you've tasted good ol' JR's Bar-B-Que sauce, you'll never want any other kind!" 

McMahon grew serious, "Now as you know, Russo and Kimberly are currently in the brig. But I ask that you accept the other Nytrons as part of the crew, and allow them to fully prove their abilities to you!" he looked at the back of the bar where the Nytrons sat in their civilian WrestleFleet uniforms, "We will need their help if we want to get home safely!" he said, then smiled, "Ok! Everyone's dismissed. Back to work!" 

The crew got up, and returned to duty. 

***

McMAHON-HELMSLEY QUARTERS - later 

"What are you doing?" Stephanie's eyes were wide with panic as she watched her husband throw clothes into his pack. She felt like someone was cutting off her air, the terror of being abandoned strangling her as nicely as a pair of hands around her throat. 

"You're not blind." Hunter's blonde head was stuck inside their closet as he scraped it dry. "And you're not stupid." 

"But...but why?" She was frozen. Maybe Steph was only watching a movie of the man she loved turning his back on everything. Yet the pain in her chest felt so real...."Hunter, Matt and I weren't doing anything, I swear it. What you saw in Engineering was completely innocent!" 

"Oh yeah." Hunter rolled his eyes. "The thing with Matt was innocent, the thing with Jeff wasn't your fault, the thing with Jericho doesn't even exist! I am so sick of you being so devoted to my face and then whoring around behind my back! I am the Game, not a damn fool!" 

"You think I'm a whore?" No. That was it. She slapped him so hard he actually staggered backwards into the bedpost. "Ever check the pedigree of that flea-bitten dog you squire around the ship, tiger?" 

"Trish?" Hunter sneered at her. "She just looks skanky. You bring skanky to life." 

"God Hunter!" Stephanie's heart was racing a mile a minute. The crueler he was, the more she wanted him to stay. What was wrong with her? "I'm not letting you leave until you look me in the eye and tell me you believe I never cheated on you!" 

Hunter went rigid. "Get your damn hand off my arm." 

"I only acted like a tramp so you'd notice me!" Stephanie didn't care how pathetic she sounded anymore. "Nothing ever happened!" 

"Liar!" Hunter was consumed with fury; a thousand of his bride's betrayals ignited in his heart by her oh so innocent denial. He flung her away, mouth twisting into an evil smile as her head snapped back against a bookshelf. "You won't stand in my way, Steph." 

"Where the hell do you think you're gonna stay?" Stephanie managed a woozy smirk. She could taste blood. "All the ensigns have had to double up since Daddy turned some quarters into extra jail space." 

"I'll be staying with Ensign Angle." Hunter said gruffly, zipping up his suitcase. He ignored the twinge of guilt he felt watching Steph rub the back of her neck, knowing he could've broken it. 

"Angle?" Stephanie laughed out loud. "Oh you'll be happy hon. Kurt Cute has some fine quarters." 

"Give me a break." Hunter shrugged the pack over one broad shoulder and signaled the door to open. This was it. "Angle's got too much integrity to let the ship's slut steal his innocence, and last I heard, he was still proclaiming himself King of the Virgins like it was some damn badge of honor. That to me says you haven't gotten your claws into him yet." 

"That's because Kurt treats me like a lady." Stephanie said proudly. 

"Well I hope you and your Olympic twit have a great life together." Hunter shot back. "It's true, it's true!" 

Stephanie gasped. "How dare you!" 

"I'm not even out the door and you've got a hot date all lined up." Hunter shook his head in disbelief as his wife's newest plaything Matt Hardy strolled purposefully down the corridor. "Big evening planned, Ensign?" 

"Oh man." Matt groaned. "Look, just come on out here and kick my ass and get it over with. I'm tired of waiting." 

The Games snickered. Finally, an officer who knew enough to be intimidated. "She's all yours, kid. Don't blame me when she tears your life up." 

"What did you tell him?" Matt demanded. 

"Forget Hunter." Stephanie glared at her husband's back til it disappeared around a corner. "You want something Matt, cause I am really not in the mood." 

Ensign Hardy stared at the cut on her lip and the bracelet of black and blue decorating her wrist. He really needed to mind to his own business, but...."We need to talk. In the Holodeck. Now." 

***

HOLODECK-9 

"This is hopeless." 

"Oh excuse the heck out of me, Hardly!" Stephanie snapped, trying to preserve what little dignity she had left as she brushed invisible dust from her warm-up pants and tugged her unkempt ponytail tight. If she landed on her ass one more time....."You don't have to be so rough with me!" 

"Oh well why don't you just come over here and I'll give you a little hug?" Matt taunted her. It wasn't like he wanted to get nasty with her, but Stephanie had damn well been coddled enough. "That'll teach you how to defend yourself!" 

Stephanie swallowed her tears, not wanting to be humiliated. "Daddy would throw you in the brig if he knew you were teaching me how to fight. He wouldn't even allow me to join Kane's classes." 

"You're a Wrestlefleet Officer." Matt shook his head in disgust. "How could he not let you learn hand to hand combat?" 

Stephanie shrugged. "You know how Vince McMahon is. Arrogant enough to think he could protect his little girl 24 hours a day. Hey!" She brightened. "Teach me one of those cool Aerialian moves you and Jeff always do." 

Matt sighed. She could barely handle a simple dropkick. "Alright. Just one though and then we get back to basics. This is one I perfected on my brother when we were growing up on Aerialia. You lock your opponents head underneath your arm like this, and then you twist their neck around like I'm gonna do to you." 

"Ow! What if you break my neck?" 

"Steph." Matt counted to ten under his breath. "Your enemy is gonna eat you alive if you spend all your time screaming like a little girl." 

"Sorry. But still, this whole neck-twisting thing doesn't seem too safe." 

"If your neck breaks, then I guess you die." Matt was almost ready to cry. He was starting to understand Jericho's whole attitude towards the spoiled princess. "This'll sting." 

"How much-OW!" Stephanie was writhing on the floor, trying to massage the sharp jolting pain that danced down her neck. "You did that to your own flesh and blood?" 

"Heck yes." Matt grinned as she staggered to her feet, still shaking off the move. "You don't think Jeff's being a pain in my backside is a recent development do you?" 

"Maybe he's the way he is cause you kept doing that to him." Stephanie muttered, leaning against the wall for a minute to catch her breath. "Can I twist your neck around now?" 

"In a minute." Matt toyed with his water bottle, weighing the odds of Steph actually snapping his spine with that move. Her coordination left something to be desired. "Actually Commander... I need to talk to you about something." 

"Okay." She was better at talking than fighting anyway. 

"Lita was gonna tell you this..." Matt's voice trailed off for a moment. "But I'm the one who lied to you about my tri-corder readings in Engineering the night Jeff and I escaped from stasis. That thing in your chest-" 

"My new cardiac accessory?" Stephanie smiled darkly. "Come on Matt. I'm not a fool. There's a little computer hardwired to my heart for pete's sake. I know that can't be good for me." 

"Dr. Taker can't remove it." 

"I know." Stephanie looked down at her feet. "I thought about telling Hunter, thinking maybe he'd feel bad and want to take care of me. You know, he'd stay and turn what little time I had left into the whirlwind romance I'd always dreamed of. Pretty pathetic huh?" 

"I'll tell him we slept together before I let you go back to that creep." 

Stephanie laughed. "I get a big kick out of you and Jeff. You're both so noble, but not in a stupid way like Ensign Angle." 

Matt wasn't smiling. 

She took a deep breath. "How long?" 

"Fifteen years at the most." 

"I see." Stephanie closed her eyes. Her life suddenly seemed so small compared to the time it would take to get home. A mere blink of an eye, a whisper at most. Meaningless. She'd be a faded memory before the Titanprize made it halfway to earth. "So...can I twist your neck around now?" 

"I'm sorry Commander." 

Matt gathered her into his arms, holding her while she pretended not to cry. Even while her tears soaked through the fabric of his uniform, it was still difficult to accept that Steph could be so weepy or fragile. 

"I'll live." Stephanie was so ashamed of the way she clung to him like a scared child. She was a McMahon dammit - death should've been scared of _her_! "For fifteen years anyway." 

"You two lovebirds are sooo sweet!" Trish was beaming at them. "The way you can't enough of each other is just darling!" 

"Why me?" Matt sighed. "Does this look like Makeout Point, Trish? I'm teaching Stephanie how to fight." 

"What a coincidence." Trish smiled. "Hunter's meeting me here so we can go over some holds." The sweetness and light disappeared "Five minutes cupcake and then this holodeck is mine! I sooo want to get my money's worth." 

"I'm not your cupcake." Matt retorted. He couldn't wait for the day Stephanie tried out some of her new moves on this blonde witch. Somehow he suspected Hunter wasn't teaching Trishy anything too technical. 

"Tell Hunter we said hello." Stephanie's voice was iced sugar as she brushed past the catty little waitress. 

Life was suddenly too short to waste on trash like her..... 

***

ENGINEERING 

"It has been 4 days, 23 hours, 6 minutes, and 37 seconds since I last saw Commander McMahon-Helmsley." Jericho frowned. "Has anything happened to her?" 

Jeff and Lita exchanged glances. Cute! 

"Uhhh...well....." Ensign Hardy thought for a moment. "Stephanie's been kinda busy. She and Matt are in love." 

"Jeff!" Lita hissed. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw Jericho flinch. No. Impossible. That would involve feeling something - love, jealousy, anything, and he wasn't capable of that right now. "Stephanie is finishing up with some sick leave, sir." 

"I see." Chris nodded. "Has her health been adversely affected by the trip through the wormhole?" 

"You could say that." Lita shot Jeff a very familiar "_You better shut-up or I'll never kiss you again_" look. 

"Ensign Lita. Ensign Hardy." Stephanie nodded in greeting. "You're excused from Engineering until further notice." 

"Am I in trouble?" Jeff asked. "And if so, how did you find out?" 

"You're not in trouble Jeff." Stephanie sighed. "I just want to be alone with Chris, okay?" 

"Alrighty." He winked at her as he escorted Lita into the turbolift. "Just don't break my brother's heart, girl." 

"Sometimes I'd like to break that one's legs." Commander McMahon-Helmsley muttered. "Are you busy?" 

Jericho was running high-level diagnostics on the warp core, his vibrant blue eyes reflecting the glowing sapphire plasma in a way that took that Stephanie's breath away. "I am trying to increase warp speed in a manner that would make our arrival in Federation space more timely. It's crucial to calibrate the energy flow exactly so that the stress on the engines does not lead to a fatal event and-" 

"I have something for you." Stephanie gently took his hand away from the computer. "If you want it." 

Jericho blinked. Something silver flashed against the delicate white skin of her hand. "A model of my emotion chip." 

"It _is_ your emotion chip, Chris." Stephanie assured him. "Not the original one of course, Kimmie destroyed that. Matt and I spent hours making this for you." 

"Was it such close proximity to Matt over such a long period of time that encouraged your romantic feelings towards him?" 

"Chris!" Stephanie laughed. "I am NOT in love with Matt Hardy!" 

"My apologies, Commander." Was Jericho actually smiling? "My assumptions were obviously based on false data." 

"Otherwise known as Jeff's big mouth." Stephanie agreed. "Pop your fingernail for me?" 

"With all due respect, Commander-" He hesitated. Logically, his next statement would hurt her. Illogically, he was reluctant to make it, despite the necessity of saying something here. "With all due respect, you and Matt Hardy could not possibly recreate in a few hours what the brilliant scientific minds at Irvine, Inc took years to build. Your emotion chip must be deeply flawed." 

Stephanie felt like she'd been slapped in the face. "Fine. You know...Hunter doesn't want me as a wife, you don't want my freaking emotion chip, Kurt doesn't want to listen to me talk...fine. I'm starting to think dating Matt is a good idea!" 

Chris resisted the sudden urge to ask about Stephanie's marriage. Androids simply didn't care about human relationships enough for him to want to know. 

"Commander, I simply meant that your emotion chip has very little chance of success." 

"I'm a brilliant engineer! Of course it'll work!" 

"There's no harm in trying it." Jericho figured rationally that humoring Princess would somehow soothe her anger . "Proceed." 

Oh it would be sooo wonderful when that horrible 'bot talk just went away! When Chris came back, smart mouth, nasty insults, and all! "Well...it's in. Do you feel anything?" 

Jericho waited. _It doesn't matter if I wait forever and a day. I'm never going to feel again._

"Chris?" 

He ran a lightning-quick self-diagnostic. The chip might have been sufficient, had it not been sabotaged with a sharp object. The Y2J Unit was no detective by any means, but he had a pretty good idea who the prime suspect was! "Commander...." He was going to tell her it didn't work... he was, but... 

Stephanie's brown eyes were luminous with hope. 

Telling her that the chip was a failure would upset her... and for some reason, he didn't want to do that. He opened his mouth to speak, and paused. It couldn't hurt to pretend for a little while. Maybe Stephanie wouldn't even notice... 

Jericho reached back into his memory banks, trying to come up with an appropriate reply/insult... and found it. "Well." He smirked, "You actually did something right and you weren't even lying on your back! Congratulations Slutephanie!" 

"Hah!" She was equally smug. "I told you I could!" 

"So Hunter dropped you like hot rock huh?" Chris was sneering at her. "How many times did he have to catch you under an ensign to make him snap?" 

Stephanie's eyes flashed. "You made your point, Chrissie!" 

"Oh I have a lot of points saved up, sweetie." Jericho assured her. "Now that you've been with both Hardyz, which one do you rate higher on agility? Matt or Jeff?" 

Stephanie's mouth fell open. "Hey guess what I just remembered? I HATE YOU!" 

"You should've just asked." He gave her his most insufferable smile. "I could've reminded you." 

"I'm going skiing in the Holodeck with Ensign Angle." Stephanie informed him coldly. She was tempted to tear that emotion chip out of him. "I recommend you go to hell!" 

_Angle?_ Jericho shook his head as she flitted off in a fit of rage. 

What would Stephanie say if she knew that while she was smoldering with fury, he was merely reciting insults from his memory banks? 

Her hate was so passionate... and his was completely fake. 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com
   [3]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	64. Season 8 Episode 2 Destiny, Pt 1

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 2

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

****

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 2: DESTINY   
**PART ONE**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 080300.00. Morale Officer Foley has his work cut out for him. I have a migraine." 

Captain McMahon felt like there was a jackhammer trapped inside his skull. The crew was supposed to make this whole tragedy easier, but instead they were tempting him to initiate the self-destruct sequence. 

"Counselor Snow tells me that friendship counseling for the Hardy brothers and Edge and Christian is a complete failure. I can't believe we're lost in space and those four nitwits are running around this ship engaged in a juvenile war of mischief-making! Worse yet, Officer Foley keeps egging them on!" 

"Speaking of wars, Lt Commander Jericho and my darling daughter Stephie have once again turned Engineering into a bloody battle zone! I know he needs that emotion chip, but we can't afford to lose anymore valuable equipment because of their inability to control their anger!" 

Vince cursed under his breath. He needed them to work well together to send the Titanprize home. To work well together, they needed to verbally and emotionally abuse each other. Unfortunately, this abuse often took the form of throwing expensive and scarce diagnostic tools at each other and busting complex Engineering computers that took hours to repair. 

"They have to stay focused. The key to taking the crew back to Federation space is within my grasp, has been all this time. I will use Russo's evil to do good, and Jericho and Stephanie will help me." 

"Hey you silly son of a bitch!" McMahon's comm badge chirped. "We got some damned starship in orbit around us-shields up, guns down! We're being hailed." 

"Thank you Austin." McMahon cut his Captain's Log short. So it began-their first adventure in the middle of nowhere, their baptism by fire. "I'm on my way." 

***

DR. TAKER'S QUARTERS 

A cold, dark place. Endless night. Behind one shadow was another and so on and so forth. Hiding places for invisible monsters and demons and tortured souls, a million of their voices swirling together into one point of ominous black light and sound. 

They were angry. Violently so. 

"The universe must be destroyed." 

Damn. Dr. Taker spat into the void that wasn't a void. He didn't need this tonight. 

"The universe must be destroyed. The timeline has been ruined." 

"Timeline?" Dr. Taker laughed. "Ain't no damn timeline been ruined! I cut people up. I don't mess with the past, present, or future." 

"They know." Dr. Piro was smiling, razor sharp teeth seeming to slash the darkness. "You invalidated the passcodes to Stephanie's device and allowed her to live. She was meant to die. You've broken the sacred rules." 

"Rules?" Vamp's presence chilled the dead man, who felt the beginnings of a cold sweat pooling at the back of his neck. "Boy, I should've ripped your punk ass heart out when I had the chance! Let's talk about rules! I looked into a father's eyes and saw a sacrifice I could not allow! I don't regret it." 

But these powers had no heart, no soul, just their chorus of haunting whispers. "You were allowed pass judgement on Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley once. You chose life for her. You are not permitted to judge her twice. The rules have been violated. The timeline has been ruined." 

"I got a few morals left." Dr. Taker said defiantly. "To hell with your timeline!" 

"We do not believe in morals. We believe in the fundamental rules of the time-space continuum. The timeline has been irreversibly damaged. The universe must be destroyed as punishment." 

"Couldn't you just leave well enough alone?" Stephanie emerged from the nothing that was, eyes bright with fury and helplessness. "Why did you save me? If my heart had been shattered by Dr. Piro, the pain would've been intense. But this...." She threw her arms up. "This is a living hell. Every waking moment, every dream I have, there's a clock ticking and swallowing up the fifteen years I have left! I can no longer give myself to the man I love because there's not enough time!" 

"The girl was meant to die. Russo was meant to kill her. The Titanprize should not be here." 

"Russo-" 

"Had Russo triggered the device in my heart, I would've been killed." Stephanie's face was streaked with tears. "Daddy would've lunged at him, precipitating a fatal battle ending with Russo's death due to a phaser blast to the chest." She smiled sadly. "Poetic justice. Justice you denied the crew by saving me." 

"The Titanprize should not be here." The powers seemed the most enraged by having the ship cross some sort of invisible boundary, some line in the sand. "You have sacrificed the many for the life of one. You must now face the consequences of your actions." 

No! Dr. Taker didn't remember flying out of bed, leaning against the cool glass of the window while this now forbidden space flowed by in stellar streaks of light. It had to be some damn trick of Dr. Piro's, some smoke and mirrors he'd used to twist the dead man's brain. Was he capable of such horrors? 

If it weren't some damn magic trick, the universe would convulse terribly in its death throes before it took of all of existence with it. 

_I'll be damned if it ends like that!_

_Heck, _he thought with a wicked grin. _I'm damed enough as it is anyways!_

***

ENSIGN EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

"Dude, put that mirror away!" Edge hissed, elbowing his kid brother in the ribs. "You're totally beautified for this heinous, totally awesome prank!" 

"One of my eyelashes is crooked." Christian said critically, shifting his weight to the other foot. Kneeling down in front of their door, peering out a pencil thin crack in anticipation was sooo totally uncomfortable "Hey what did Lt Bradshaw mean when he offered to sew one of his boots to our ass to shorten the trip?" 

"Well I believe Lt Bradshaw was merely trying to make his beatdown more efficient." Edge explained. "Or else he was being a dork." 

"Totally." Christian nodded. "Chair?" 

"Check." Edge smiled, momentarily blinding his brother with a flash of vivid white. The chair was blue, metal, and blood-stained, a relic from the Titanprize museum and a throwback to Officer Foley's fighting days. Thieving it from under its glass case had been totally cool. "Make-up kit?" 

"Check." Christian unzipped the small leather case and showed Edge the goods. "Hardyz at 3 o'clock!" 

"Sucktitude!" Edge cursed. "It's only Jeffrey!" 

"Matt is so obviously off trying to get to second base with Commander McMahon-Helmsley." Christian said with disgust. "If only he were more attractive, he wouldn't need a righteous skank as a companion." 

"All I need is my mirror!" Edge just shook his head, the idea of dating outside his own reflection completely foreign to him. "Hey kicking Jeff Hardy's ass rules!" He high-fived Christian before sneaking into the corridor and denting the young Aerialian's bright red head with a full force chair shot. There was a crack like a gunshot and Jeff's body hit the ground with a decisive thump. "Whoa." 

"Dude." Christian frowned. 

"Do you think he's.....like.....dead or something?" Edge asked. 

"Well he's not going to his funeral looking like that." Christian whipped out a pair of shears and began attacking Ensign Hardy's wildly colored locks. He paused, looking solemn. "Brother, I don't know if I can go through with this act of singular heinosity! Good hair is like a religion with me. To ruin a single hair on someone's head, even a total square like Jeff Hardy...it's like blasphemy!" 

"Have you been reading the dictionary again, Christian?" 

"Boys, boys, boys!" Morale Officer Mick Foley was shaking his head in mock regret "I don't suppose Jeff accidentally ran his own head into that steel chair did he?" 

"I cannot tell a lie, dude." Christian said earnestly. "I think Ensign Hardy was trying to kill himself. The pressure of having to carry off those fugly skin-tight mesh shirts and cargo pants must've finally broken him. I am so totally traumatized!" 

"Really?" Foley raised an eyebrow. "You mighta had me fooled had you picked a better cover story Blondie! If anything would've provoked Jeff to commit suicide, it's those shoes. Hey-you guys cut his hair?" 

"Uhhhh...." Christian hid the shears behind his back. "Must have fallen out." 

"Doesn't look half bad." Foley started to laugh. "Hey you know those little exhibition matches I book to cheer up the crew?" 

"I sense we're about to scrape the bowels of sucktitude here brother." Edge sighed. 

"Dude I'm way too totally scarred about Jeff's unfortunate suicide to fight tonight." Christian insisted. "And what's this?" He sniffed. "I'm coming down with a cold." 

"No-what you're coming down with is a case of "Please, please Mr. Foley sir don't book me in a match where I become Bradshaw and Farooq's personal bitches!" 

"Come on!" Edge protested. "Can't you see how totally chair-a-licious this was?" 

"What?" Foley shook his head to clear it. "Look, instead of standing around inventing stupid words that I personally don't want to ever hear again, you should be busting your asses in the gym getting ready for your Hardcore Tag Team match vs Farooq and Bradshaw tonight. Move it!" 

Edge and Christian slouched down the corridor. Pranks that backfired soooo did not rule! 

"You alright, sport?"Jeff was staggering to his feet, his eyes crossing as the light caught them. 

"Uhhhh, Lita?" 

"Hey if you think I look as hot as Lita, there must be serious brain damage." Foley was grinning as he propped the young Hardy up. "Just don't try and kiss me on the way to Sickbay okay?" 

***

THE BRIDGE 

"Report!" McMahon swept onto the bridge, wondering if the taint of Russo would ever go away. 

"It's a Wrestlefleet vessel homie." Ensign 2 Hottie reported from tactical. "Galaxy class." 

"Wrestlefleet?" Vince stared a hole though the viewscreen. Obviously, the boy had danced all his brains away in the Smackdown. The sleek, silver starship gleaming against sparkling black space was like a basic, stripped down version of the Titanprize. 

"Hey, I ain't no phony, homie!" Ensign 2 Hottie said defensively. "It's a Galaxy Class model developed two hundred years ago on Planet Earth. All weapons, shields, and technology are current. They are not discouraging our scans." 

"Oh." McMahon didn't like it. The chances of another Wrestlefleet ship being flung this far into space were so slim they didn't exist. "Does the vessel belong in our time?" 

He prayed the answer was yes. The last time a temporal distortion had opened up near the Titanprize, he'd almost lost his daughter. 

"Aye sir." Ensign Chavo piped up from the Engineering station. "I am reading a quantum signature that matches our string of space-time." 

"Good work Chavo." McMahon nodded at him. Integrating Nytron rebels into the crew had been a calculated risk. Most of his officers were more than vocal in their opposition to consorting with traitors, but no one had a bad word to say about Chavo. Taking a phaser shot for Latino Heat had proven his blood loyalty to this ship and it's crew. 

"You want me to answer this roody-poo hail, jabroni?" 

"Please, Lieutentant Rock." 

"The Rock Says...." He pushed a few buttons. "Just Bring It!" 

Vince cleared his throat. "I am Captain Vincent Ken-" 

"Captain Vincent Kennedy McMahon, honorable and decorated Wrestlefleet hero extraordinaire! I know, I know!" Electric blue eyes snapped with amusement underneath longish golden bangs. Edge and Christian would've been jealous of the other captain's shampoo commercial-quality hair. "It's always the same with you." He mimicked Vince's theatrical tone. "This is Vincent Kennedy McMahon of the WWF TitanPrize-blah blah blah. How about giving me something new to work with?" 

McMahon was boiling. He didn't like mind games that he hadn't orchestrated. "Have we met?" 

"Have we met?" The blue eyes cut him like lazers. "A thousand times, Captain McMahon! Only this time, you will listen to me!" 

***

ENGINEERING 

"I can't!" Stephanie threw down her lazer scalpel in defeat. "I won't help you do this, Lt Commander Jericho. I'm sorry." 

Chris sighed. It had been like this all day. "You will do it, sweetie. And better yet? You'll like it. We're under direct orders from Daddy dearest and protocol still stands, even in this godforsaken cosmic hellhole we've found ourselves in. Now suck it up sugar muffin and get cracking!" 

Stephanie glared across the lab table, dark eyes locking with frigid blue orbs. "How would you like a lazer scalpel between your eyes, slimebot?" 

"What's the matter princess?" Jericho asked, twisting a wire between his fingers so hard it snapped. Sometimes he forgot the extent of his own android strength. Yeah, that was it. "Am I keeping little Stephie from another hot date in the Holodeck with Matt Hardy?" 

"Oh boy!" Stephanie put her hands on her hips, the perfect picture of a petulant child on the verge of a tantrum. They had gotten loud and heads had turned, but who cared? Everyday in Engineering had turned into a spectator sport with her and Jericho as the combatants. "Does widdle Chrissie need his pathetic jealousy put to rest? If you must know, Matt is teaching me how to fight okay?" 

"Fight?" Chris roared with laughter. "Oh god Stephanie! What is Hardy teaching you? Advanced techniques in hair-pulling and eye-scratching?" 

"Yeah right you sexist pig!" Stephanie snapped. "Catfighting! Just cross me once and you'll find out!" 

"Oooh I'm shaking." Jericho rolled his eyes. "Get back to work alright. It's bad enough we've lost Ensign Hardy to a concussion; I don't need your prissy little attitude on top of that." 

"Prissy?" Stephanie challenged him. "It's prissy to NOT want to build a quantum explosive? After where the first one got us? Hello!" 

"Captain McMahon seems to think we can open another wormhole if we detonate a quantum explosive inside a black hole of appropriate mass." Chris shrugged. Logically, he could not agree. It was a far-fetched theory at best. 

"Daddy needs to speak to Counselor Snow then." Stephanie grumbled, reluctantly picking up her tri-corder. "Russo's little bomb creating the original wormhole was a million to one shot. The old man has finally gone senile if he thinks we can make the same exact accident happen twice." 

"He just wants to get us home, Steph." Jericho sighed and ran a hand through his long blonde hair. She seemed to find the gesture interesting. Curious. "We're better than Nytron scientists-maybe we can do it." 

"Right Chris." Oh well. Better to go out in a blaze of glory trying to reach earth than fall over dead from a heart attack in 15 years. It was more glamorous anyway. "Can't Benoit the mad scientist do it? He's good at blowing things up." 

"He's working on the energy converter for the explosive with Ensign Crash." Jericho assured her. He frowned. "And what did you mean by that?" 

"Nothing." Stephanie wouldn't meet his eyes. She hadn't told Chris about Benoit's failed attempt on her life and she never would. "Hand me a silicon wafer please." 

"Manners even?" Logic told him that her lack of eye contact and sudden change of subject were evasive. 

Stephanie was keeping secrets from him. 

***

THE BRIDGE 

"What's your name?" Rock asked coldly. "And it does matter what your name is, jabroni!" 

"Last time I believed you referred to me as a candy-ass." The blonde man smiled as golden alarms flashed on the Titanprize bridge. "Yellow alert? How flattering! However, I pose no threat to you. In fact, I can open a gateway to Federation space at will." 

"Really?" McMahon highly doubted it. Blondie seemed more intent on yanking them around like a bunch of puppets on a string. He didn't want his crew used as toys to amuse this intergalactic jack-ass. "Thanks but no thanks. We're working on our own solutions, and I was taught never to take gifts from strangers." 

"Oh yes." The other captain had formed a pyramid with his hands, looking incredibly thoughtful. "Your silly little quantum explosive. I truly do applaud your desperate efforts and worthless endeavours, but I am offering your people a free ride home." 

"It will work" Vince gritted his teeth. 

"It NEVER works!" The man pounded a fist on his console. "How many times do I have to tell you-" He took a deep breath, steadied himself. "My apologies, Captain McMahon. Let me explain. My name is Dr. Sarin. I have access to time travel technology and have repeatedly come back to this moment in history to help you return you to Earth." 

"You're lying!" Captain McMahon spat him. "Wrestlefleet doesn't even have that sort of technology." 

"Wrestlefleet doesn't apply out here does it?" Sarin demanded. "Don't be a fool! Your people crossed a temporal distortion into a parallel universe, did they not? Is there any reason someone in a quadrant of space you didn't even know existed before now can't have temporal technology?" 

"Now wait just a damn minute." Bradshaw removed the cigar from his mouth and stabbed it out on the Security console. "Why did your scrawny punk ass come to rescue us? What's in it for you?" 

Sarin's smile was bleak. "Because if I don't send the Titanprize home within seven days, you will all be responsible for the destruction of the Universe." 

***

ENGINEERING 

"I need a volunteer." 

"Geez Steph." Jericho shook his head. "Soliciting in the workplace? I mean, there's bottom-feeding and then there's scraping underneath the layer that is gutter trash." 

"Go eat a disruptor Chrissie." Stephanie shot back. "I need another Engineering officer to accompany me on an Away Mission. We'll be scouting a wormhole controlled by this Dr. Sarin character, a wormhole which should transport us back to Earth. Scanners show a high degree of stability and no visible traps. Any takers?" 

Stunned silence. A way home? That easy? 

"Jeff?" 

"Oh I don't think so Commander." Ensign Hardy said firmly. "Last time I got shot through a hole in space I came back without my sense of humor." 

"Take him!" Everyone spoke at the same time. 

Jeff pouted. 

"Why are we even trusting this Dr. Sarin." Matt asked with a frown. "He just appears out of nowhere claiming we destroyed the universe? I don't like it." 

"Got any better ideas?" Stephanie sighed. It wasn't the plan she would've chosen either, but it was better than being adrift in the cosmos for all eternity. "Snow consulted with H.E.A.D. and Dr. Sarin doesn't appear to be deceiving us. That's the best I can give right now." 

She turned towards the red-head standing next to the blue pulse of the warp core. "Lita?" 

"Uhhh here's the thing Commander." Lita forced a smile. She knew Jeff especially wasn't going to like her answer. "This is my last day in Engineering. Shane wants me on the bridge-he thinks I would be great at Tactical!" 

"What?" No, Jeff didn't like that answer one bit! It didn't do a damn thing to ease his miserable headache or make up for his goofy haircut. "Oh Shane definitely wants you in Tactical. He also wants you in the Captain's chair, on the bar in the Smackdown, tied down in a turbolift, and in his bed!" 

"Oh so I'm not good enough to be on the Bridge?" Lita's eyes flashed. "The only way I can get a promotion is because Shane wants to sleep with me? I think you're just afraid your girlfriend will make it to Lieutenant before you do!" 

"I _was_ a Lieutenant!" Jeff yelled back. "But thanks for rubbing salt in the wound!" 

"You know..." Lita was shaking. Controlling her temper always took so much physically. "I'd think you'd be a little more grateful to Shane. He almost bled to death saving me from Dr. Piro's torture chamber! If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be standing here so you could insult me, darling!" 

"Oh I could tell you things about Shane O'Mac that would curl your hair, sweetheart!" 

"Jeff...." Lita's fuse was about to blow sky-high. "I never question your blind loyalty or your....affection for Steph. How dare you even suggest that my relationship with Shane is any different!" 

"Steph is just a slut!" Jeff retorted. "Shane's the devil!" 

"I'm gonna chalk that one up to your concussion, Rainbow." Stephanie said coldly. "I guess you're with me Jericho." 

"Right now, Steph?" Chris complained. "I'm completely fascinated by this lover's quarrel." 

"Don't be." Matt advised him. "Jeff never gets mad about anything. He's just out for some make-up making out on the Garden Deck later." 

"Tattle-tale!" Jeff scowled at him. 

"Oh I got something you can kiss baby." Lita muttered, storming out of Engineering. 

"Rats." He sighed. "Foiled again." 

***

SHUTTLEBAY 6A-SHUTTLECRAFT PEDIGREE 

"Ohhh you're just sooo good pushing those buttons in!" Trish cooed, as she casually inched her slender, flawlessly curved frame closer to the pilot's chair. "Now Hunter...." She tugged modestly at her wisp of a skirt, but not to cover up-oh no. Just so his hooded eyes would wander a little...."How does this work?" 

"Trish...." Hunter didn't even blink. "That's not part of the ship." 

She giggled. "Sorry." 

"You're always sorry." He sighed. "Look, I guess I thought you were serious when you said you wanted to learn how to fly a shuttlecraft. This is a waste of my time." 

"I am serious!" Trish pouted. She didn't understand! He'd walked out on that uppity wife of his days ago! No man in his right mind would pine for the likes of Stephanie McMahon when they could indulge themselves in something a little blonder and sexier! "I'm just trying to cheer you up!" 

"Newsflash honey." Hunter said. "I wasn't cheerful to begin with." He'd taught Stephanie to fly the heck out of shuttle one hot summer day back on Earth. She'd been a quick learner, full of poised, intelligent questions, surprisingly fearless for a spoiled McMahon princess. And the way those big brown eyes had lit up like candles when he'd twirled the craft around in breathtaking 180 degree spirals that almost kissed the earth.... 

Those days were over now. He'd seen to that. 

"Someone's coming!" Trish cried out in alarm. "What do we do?" 

"What do we do?" Hunter just shook his head. "We're messing with an off-limits shuttle and you ask what we should do? We hide, you bimbo!" 

Trish gasped as he shoved her into the storage closet that was nestled deep in the heart of the vessel. Well, it was a nice warm cozy space....the possibilites could be endless..... 

"Dr. Taker, I promise that I will employ all three of my I's in order to ensure the success of this mission!" Angle said cheerfully. 

"Boy...." Hunter cringed as he heard spit make contact with the titanium floor. "Shut that stank ass mouth of yours before my fist does it for you! And believe me, you little punk, my five fingers are bound to meet up with my boot halfway down!" 

"Are you suggesting that you'd kick my ass, sir?" Kurt asked, troubled. "That lacks a certain integrity considering that you're a medical professional-" 

"It ain't no damn suggestion!" Taker growled. "You're only on this mission to carry my gear and provide a face to rearrange in case I get in the mood to beat the living hell out of someone." 

"Fair enough." 

"I can't believe you Chrissie." Stephanie was bitching and moaning as usual. Suddenly, Hunter didn't feel so nostalgic. "I try and believe you, but somehow you're able to suspend what little belief I have!" 

"Quite frankly my dear..." Jericho threw his equipment into the shuttle without so much as a hello to Dr. Taker or Ensign Angle. Dr. Taker wasn't one for social niceties and there was something about Kurt that his positronic net found disagreeable. Yeah, that was it. "I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't even really care!" 

"You had no right to ask Benoit-" She sighed angrily and took the co-pilot's seat. "You're so damn nosy!" 

"Don't fret sugar muffin." Jericho snarled back. "He said it was classified!" 

"As far as you are concerned, slimebot...." Stephanie fired up the thrusters. "My whole life is classified!" 

Hunter breathed a sigh of relief. If Jericho found out about Lt Benoit almost murdering Stephanie as part of an assassination plot against the Rock...well he was one clever little android. He's put two and two together and realize the Game had played a very instrumental role in the whole sordid affair. 

And he'd come after Hunter, there was no doubt about that. 

"This is Shuttlecraft Pedigree to the Bridge." Jericho said flatly. "We're ready to launch on your command." 

"Understood Lieutenant Commander." Vince McMahon's voice came over the comm. "Ensign Edge is preparing to open the bay. Ensign Chavo is transmitting the coordinates of the wormhole. Shuttlecraft Pedigree is cleared to fly upon receipt of the data." 

"Aye sir." Chris settled back to wait. 

"And Jericho?" 

Hunter and Trish exchanged nervous glances. It would be highly inappropriate for them to delay the mission by announcing their very unwanted presence in the storage compartment. Once they were on the other side of the wormhole, back on Planet Earth, Wrestlefleet probably wouldn't pay much mind to this little infraction..... 

"Yes Captain?" 

A pause. 

"Good luck." 

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	65. Season 8 Episode 3 Destiny, Pt 2

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 3

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 3: DESTINY   
**THE SECOND PHASE**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

FEDERATION SPACE-PLANET EARTH 

The cold slapped him in the face, bit through his synthetic skin. Titanium stiffened as polar winds tried to claw their way through insulated fabric. 

And he thought Kanata had been a frigid planet? 

Jericho took a minute to get his bearings in the stark blue and gray winterland that enveloped the crash site. Wooded area, a mixture of sharply scented pine and spruce mingling with skeletal trees that had seen better days. Snowflakes as big and puffy as cotton balls dampened his blonde hair, forming drifts and swirling white eddies where they landed. 

"Ow." His positronic net stopped spitting out data as an ice-encrusted branch cut his skin like a razor blade. 

He ignored the blood that was freezing to his skin. The shuttlecraft, a Smackdown-class tactical vessel, did look a little worse for wear, but he'd managed to survive the impact just fine. Then again, he was a nearly indestructible android - human beings were a lot more fragile. 

Oh god. 

"Stephanie!" The shock of the landing wore off. "Steph!" 

The hatch had fused shut, melting into the steel hull from the superheated air outside the wormhole. Jericho kicked it in. "Commander?" 

"Chris?" Stephanie was pulled to her feet, felt every nerve in her body snapped awake by arctic sleet hitting her skin like a rainshower of little needles. "It's so cold." 

"I know." He stood her against the shuttle. Stephanie's uniform was torn, ripped out at the knees, her pale cheek turning violet. Jericho touched the bruise lightly; he could feel her trembling from the terrible storm that had dropped the temperature to an unbearable low. "Are you-" 

"I'm fine." Stephanie's hand flew to her chest, her breath stolen by the wind. What if it had been dislodged? Damaged? That... _thing_ in her heart could take her at any moment. What if the extreme cold triggered it? 

"Is it your breathing?" He had a tri-corder in his hand. Jericho was so worried, so genuinely afraid. The look in her eyes...it was a place beyond frightened. How could he be feeling this much? 

"God Chris - no!" Stephanie's spine went rigid. "Please don't! I'm alright!" He could never find out. Never. 

"You're right." Jericho frowned as he completed the scan. "Your respiratory system is functioning normally. Guess it's a panic attack over the crash." 

"I don't have panic attacks!" Stephanie said angrily. Her fingers reflexively reached for the scar. Smooth skin, innocent, untouched flesh. It was _gone_. "The others...?" 

"Speak of the devil." Chris allowed himself a very smug smile as the good Dr. Taker dragged the Olympic Zero through the snow by his shiny gold medals. "He makes a nice snow angel." 

"You're all heart." Stephanie said sarcastically. "Is there a problem, Doc?" 

"Sir, I really must protest at this brutality." Angle complained as he was dumped unceremoniously in a huge pile of frigid slush. "I was merely trying to seek some assistance as we seem to be in an unfortunate plight." 

"Protest _this_." Dr. Taker wasn't beneath making rude hand gestures. "Your sissy little ass was running away!" 

"Are you trying to tell me I'm Number One, sir?" Kurt asked innocently. 

"Where are we?" Stephanie demanded. Despite the insulated uniform, she was freezing her cute little butt off. 

Jericho was studying his modified tri-corder while a Level 3 diagnostic was initiated and routed through his subsystems. "There's good news and bad news. On a positive note, we are on Planet Earth within the same universe we originated from." 

"And?" Dr. Taker spat. 

"The bad news..." Jericho's voice trailed off. _The bad news is that my original emotion chip has suddenly reappeared and I can't handle it._ "The bad news is that we've traveled 200 years into the past." 

All four phasers cleared their respective holsters in less than a second as whispers and the sound of rustling metal radiated from the shuttle. Well, except for Ensign Angle, who had to fumble with his weapon before he pointed it towards the noise. 

"Bit inexperienced handling your equipment, Sunshine?" Jericho asked with a smirk. 

"No sir." Angle saluted him smartly. 

_What a total dork,_ Stephanie thought. 

"Although perhaps I could brush up on my weapons training." 

"Who's there?" Taker demanded. "Get your stank little asses out here before the plasma starts to fly!" 

Stephanie's eyes were enormous. "Hunter?" 

"Sweetheart." He smiled faintly. 

Jericho sighed. "Well ain't this just cozy?" 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE-ENGINEERING 

"You're an idiot." 

"Gee thanks Matt." Jeff was squinting at the warp core, the combination of a black eye and flaring blue plasma making it downright painful. "And if I had a credit for everytime someone said that to me, I'd be richer than Captain McMahon." 

"And you're proud of that?" Matt asked. "You know, if you didn't spend so much time goofing around and provoking pretty boy Kanatians to hit you over the head with chairs, _you'd_ probably be in charge of Engineering while Jericho and Steph are away. But oh no." He shook his head. "We've got that creepy Benoit breathing down our necks!" 

"Actually, maybe I'd settle for enough credits to buy you a new sense of humor." 

"Fine Jeff. Be funny. You'll just never be a lieutenant again." 

"As long as Shane McMahon is alive, I'll never be a lieutenant again." Jeff shrugged. "So who cares?" 

"Maybe you should lay off Shane too." Matt couldn't believe the words were even coming out of his mouth. "Lita's gonna just up and walk away if you keep pushing it." 

"Ohhh I get it now." Jeff smirked. "Matty's just jealous cause little brother has a girlfriend and you've only got your computer to keep you warm at night." 

"That's it you little ingrate!" Matt spun around in his chair, no longer entertained by maximizing warp core efficiency. "All you can do is act like a stupid jerk after the sacrifices I've made for you? Dammit, I gave up Lita just so you could be happy and-" 

"You wish!" Big brother should've just slapped him across the face. "She _wanted_ to be with me!" 

"Well I dumped her." Matt said smugly. "So I guess you won by default." 

"Oh well aren't you just so damn noble!" Jeff shot back. "Matthew of Aerialia, Patron Saint of Not Getting Any!" 

"That's it." Matt stood up. 

"You're right that's it." Jeff turned his back on his brother. He'd rather be blinded by the glow of the warp core than look the rotten, nasty, hurtful brat in the eyes. "Do you think I gave up my stars willingly? Did you ever ask yourself why I didn't fight Shane the Pain when he stripped me of my rank? No, you didn't!" 

Matt didn't say anything. 

"I did it to protect your precious career." Jeff said coldly. "Shane would've destroyed you if I hadn't taken the demotion like a good little soldier. Enjoy the guilt trip, big brother." 

"Lieutenant Benoit, you're relieved from Engineering until further notice." 

"What the hell have you done now?" Matt glared at his kid brother. It must have been the prank to end all pranks, because Shane and Vince both had phasers trained on the young Aerialians with Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq brandishing baseball bats right behind them. 

"Uhhhh...." Jeff smiled, although his charming grin rarely if ever spared him from revenge. "Geez Shane, I think you're probably overreacting a little here. I mean, those things in your shower are essentially harmless unless they bite you." 

"Don't worry about that, Ensign Hardy." Shane was smiling too. "Lita and I weren't bothered at all." 

"Is there a problem here?" Matt asked quickly. His brother's face was turning dangerously, murderously red. 

"Of course not." Captain McMahon said smoothly. "In fact, I'm giving you a very significant project. If you succeed, I'll promote you both to Lieutenant." 

"Gee, that's awfully kind of you Cap." Jeff said uneasily. "Considering the ugly vibe I'm getting about the whole thing. You're going to shoot us if we refuse aren't you?" 

"No wonder Stephanie thinks you two are so brilliant." Vince beamed. "Very good, Ensign Hardy. As you've probably also cleverly deduced, my daughter and her away team have failed to come back through the wormhole. Dr. Sarin was lying." 

"With all due respect, Captain, Dr. Sarin stated that he had to open the wormhole so you didn't blow up the universe seven days from the time we met him." Matt pointed out. "That means we still have three days before we give up hope on Steph." 

"Your girlfriend is gone, Romeo." Good lord, even _Shane_ thought he was lovey-dovey with his Commander! "We're proceeding with the original plan." 

"Hello Shane!" Jeff waved at him. "Didn't you hear Dr. Sarin? It was your original plan that killed us all! You cannot build that quantum explosive!" 

"You're right Jeff. I can't!" Shane pointed his weapon at that completely loathesome rainbow head. "You and Matt can." 

"No." Matt said firmly. "I won't do it." 

"You don't have a choice!" Shane taunted him. "Do it or die!" 

"Commander McMahon-Helmsley said we should prevent it at all costs." Jeff knew he was betraying Stephanie by revealing her traitorous last order to them, but she'd been so passionate about it...."She believes its suicide to do what you're proposing." 

"Stephanie is not the captain of this ship. I am." 

Farooq and Bradshaw were already setting up a card table with a beer in one hand and a quality Cuban crunched between their teeth. "You know boys, it's awfully hard to work proper when you've got five pounds of boot leather in your-" 

"We know where, Bradshaw." Matt sighed. "We heard about Christian's surgery." 

"That was totally gross." Jeff frowned. "You guys are gonna lose a foot one of these days." 

"I'll keep an eye on them too, Pops." Shane was practically foaming at the mouth with excitement. All they had to do was breathe the wrong way and his itchy trigger finger would just squeeze.... 

"Hey you little bitch!" Farooq snapped at the young McMahon. "Get your punk ass over here and open my beer!" 

"Er yes sir Mr. Farooq." 

Matt and Jeff looked at each other. They could not allow this to happen. 

"Your girlfriend's gonna be really mad when she finds out you're working on this." Jeff said. "Stephanie's not a woman you want to cross too often." 

"Jeff?" 

"Yeah Matt?" 

"You're an idiot." 

***

FEDERATION SPACE-PLANET EARTH 

"I cannot believe you stowed away on my shuttle with your cheap blonde trollop!" Stephanie's eyes were blazing so hot that they could've kept them all warm in the frostbitten night. "What is wrong with you, Hunter?" 

"I already told you." The Game scowled. "It was an accident! I was teaching her how to fly - no forget that! Why is it okay for you to drag your little boyfriend along on an Away Mission but I can't even be friends with a beautiful woman?" 

"Jericho is NOT my boyfriend!" Stephanie was screaming at the top of her lungs. Like it mattered. They'd been left to fate in the middle of nowhere with a howling wind that swallowed their voices. 

"Jericho?" Hunter snorted. "That's just plain sick! I'm talking about Kurt Cute over there!" 

"Kurt?" Stephanie shook her head. "Ever hear of the word platonic, dearest? Ensign Angle has too much integrity to pursue a married woman! Which is more than I can say for that silicon doll over there!" 

"I can't believe this" Trish threw up her arms in disgust. Alas, they'd been able to find an insulated uniform for her to pour her voluptuous and, in Stephanie's opinion, nauseatingly fake body into. Oh well, it wasn't like watching someone die of hypothermia was that exciting. "He left you, Stephie! Get over it already!" 

"Oh I'll get over it!" Stephanie lunged. Jericho calmly hooked an arm around her waist while she wriggled and flailed helplessly. 

"I'm sensing a lack of team spirit here." Angle said with a frown. 

"You're about two seconds away from sensing a lack of teeth." Dr. Taker was glaring at him. Again. Stephanie marveled at the way the bitter, brutal cold had no affect on the dead man. She suspected that the blood in his veins surged at considerably less than room temperature to begin with. 

"As much as I'd love to partake in this charming marital spat-" Jericho said dryly. "I think you should all be informed that our wormhole has gone missing." 

"What?" Stephanie stopped struggling. "But - but how are we supposed to return to the Titanprize?" 

"My dear." That insufferably smug, melodic tone....plasma-blue eyes mocking them...Dr. Sarin was a bright splash of color against the bleak gray and brown trees, muscular body dressed up in an ultra-modern ski suit and a gleaming silver disruptor clenched in his gloved hand. "You will never return to your beloved Titanprize." 

Silence as he vaporized their shuttle with one punch on the trigger. 

Dr. Sarin smiled. "Welcome home boys and girls." 

***

PLANET EARTH - NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 

"I can't accept this." Stephanie was staring through the ice and snow crystals that drizzled from the midnight sky. Her boots crunched the matted white precipitation beneath her, a reminder of how she wasn't used to gazing up at stars with her feet firmly on the ground. "I don't care if it is Earth. It's primitive and it sucks." 

Jericho rolled his eyes. Princess had been like this all day, since Dr. Sarin had abandoned them all in the city park with a change of clothes and some cash. Oh yes, and he'd generously added a smirky "Good luck" before prancing off to god knows where. "Wonder where Trip and Trish went." 

"Who cares?" she snapped, stretching out her cold, tired legs. They felt stiff as toothpicks from warming that damn park bench so long. And why wouldn't those stupid happy-go-lucky, free-spirited idiots skating on the frozen pond stop their laughing and carrying on? There was nothing funny or joyous about this whole situation! "What are you snickering about, jerky?" 

"You're almost not ugly when you're mad." Chris told her. God he was such a good liar. One of the perks of making her angry was watching her sweet brown eyes ignite like a new star being born. 

_ Damn, I really need to shut this thing off._ Jericho took a deep breath. Just days ago he'd had to fabricate his sarcasm, his cruel, degrading insults towards Steph....she'd be heartbroken if she knew the emotion chip she and Matt had slaved over didn't function properly. _It's been so long since I felt anything, maybe I don't want to go back._

"Who is this Sarin character anyways?" Stephanie ignored his crack. "He's obviously some sort of hotshot scientist with access to time travel. He's got his own development company downtown, that Sarin, Inc. If he's this huge, important, influential inventor of temporal technology, why isn't he a famous figure in Wrestlefleet history? And where's the branch of Wrestlefleet Academy that's supposed to be located across from this park?" 

"Goodness, you just used one of Kurt's 3 I's." Come to think of it, where were the dead man and the All-American Moron? "Intelligence. I don't know Steph." 

"We're not in a parallel universe." She sighed, watching a snowflake dissolve against the toe of her shoe, forming a perfect sparkling diamond of water before it disappeared. Stephanie couldn't remember the last time she'd even seen snow or appreciated how pretty it was. "Yet everything is slightly wrong, you know? I don't see how being trapped here can prevent the universe from being destroyed!" 

"I think it's pretty obvious." Well maybe to him. He was, after all, a perfect, intelligent, gorgeous android. "One of us must cause the quantum explosive to detonate, wiping out all of existence." 

"But I didn't want Daddy to build it!" Stephanie protested. "I wouldn't have let him blow the whole damn universe apart! None of us would allow that!" 

"Let me search my memory banks, sweetie." Jericho didn't need her causing a scene. They were supposed to blend in, act natural, get on with their lives. He certainly didn't want to capture the attention of an ambitious scientist who might get funny ideas about cutting him into little pieces or something. 

Dr. Sarin hadn't been impressed at all. _I've got top secret projects in my lab that make you look like scrap, Mr. Jericho!_

"Oh god we were all so stupid!" Stephanie buried her face in her hands. "So eager to get back to Federation space, we just blindly fly into this psycho's wormhole! We didn't even check his references for pete's sake!" 

Chris didn't say anything as he went through the motions of an internal scan. She was right. They'd been incredibly stupid and naive. There was only one mention of the name Sarin in Wrestlefleet history, a whisper of a footnote really.... 

Good god. The gory details could never go past his positronic net. "He should've died a penniless, eccentric scientist who was notorious for his failure to "discover" inter-dimensional travel. He was a crank, a total nut." 

Stephanie mulled this over. "Then......as crazy as this sounds....if the past has been altered, then so has the future." 

"Dr. Sarin has changed the future." Jericho felt himself flinch. Like any good Wrestlefleet officer, he'd been programmed with the idea that you just didn't screw with the timeline or mess with the natural order of the universe. "He's lied to us about something." 

"Where's Dr. Taker?" 

"I don't think we want to know sweetie." 

***

"We should find a place to stay and-" Stephanie shot him a dirty look. "You're laughing that laugh again. What's your problem?" 

Jericho smiled. "Those earmuffs are adorable." 

Stephanie clapped her hands over the fuzzy pink muffs, her face flushing to match. "I didn't pick them out you know." 

"I guess Dr. Sarin noticed your big ears too. He got the extra-large size so you didn't get frostbite." 

"Suck plasma slimebot!" Stephanie was ready to stomp off. Wait....better yet....She giggled with mischievous delight as the snowball hit his nose with a satisfying SPLAT! 

"You brat!" But he was laughing too. "Revenge!" 

"Chris!" She gasped, suddenly realizing why you didn't pick snowball fights with robots that possessed superhuman strength. The ball of slush that left his hand nearly dislocated her delicate little shoulder. 

He stood over her. "You wuss." 

"Wuss?" She kicked his legs out from underneath him, savoring the pleasure of watching him land face-first in the snow. "Who's the wuss now, Chrissie?" 

"Nice drop toehold sweetie. I didn't even see that coming." 

"Matt taught me." Stephanie beamed with pride. "God, I miss him." 

"Hardy?" Jericho sat up and brushed the damp out of his long blonde hair. "So you guys were-" 

"No!" She shook her head. "God no. He's in love with Lita. It's just that he took me seriously you know, didn't hold back teaching me how to fight or treat me with kid gloves. We share something - never mind." Chrissie was not going to find out about her once-damaged heart. It didn't matter now. 

His eyes narrowed. Matt and Steph shared something? Something special and secret? How nice for them! 

"Hey." She wore an apology in her smile as she helped brush snow off his jacket. "I haven't had anything nourishing in hours. I say we forage for food and drink now." 

"Forage?" He grinned. "Geez Steph. It's Canada 200 years ago, not the era of the caveman." 

"Sorry." They were walking towards the wonderful, sweet scent of hot chocolate. "How quaint - they actually sell this stuff outside! I guess two centuries ago only the really wealthy had replicators. Hey." 

Stephanie was starting to accept her surroundings as reality....noticing the little details her eyes had stubbornly denied before. The playful laughter of couples on the pond, their skates whistling against the mirror-like ice, the lilting melody of old-fashioned Christmas carols, the majestic pines circling the park decked out in red ribbons and white lights....She felt like she was trapped in some sugary sweet holiday greeting card. 

"Hey Chris....I thought Canadians celebrated Boxing Day?" 

"Kanatians do." Jericho said. "And as you know, it was Canadian space explorers who first settled my home planet in the year-" 

"Cut the 'bot talk." 

"I got no idea why Canadians are celebrating Christmas, sweetie. Used to be a big deal in the galaxy until a century before you were born..." Jericho was carefully counting out some of the cash Sarin had seen fit to bless them with, glad his positronic net was capable of rapid calculations. He didn't need their cover blown cause he couldn't figure out the currency. "Guess it's all part of that altered past thing we're stuck in. Um, two hot chocolates please." 

"Little marshmellows for your girlfriend?" 

Stephanie's mouth fell open. Jericho just smirked. "Oh yeah. Sugar muffin loves those. And extra whipped cream to make it as sweet as her." 

"Stop calling me that!" she hissed, eyes ablaze as she punched him on the arm. 

"Having a spat, eh?" Cocoa Man was winking in a way that was about to earn him a black eye courtesy of Commander McMahon-Helmlsey's fist. "You just make sure and buy this one something nice for Christmas. Romantic gifts always win a girl over." 

"She's got _me_." Chris was actually winking back. Freaking men. "What more can a girl ask for?" 

"Oh I don't know." Stephanie smiled through clenched teeth. "The plague maybe?" 

"Ouch! Guess you're really in the doghouse!" 

"Thank-you!" Stephanie spilled half her whipped cream on the ice as she stood fuming at the edge of the skating rink. "God, you really enjoyed yourself over there didn't you Chrissie?" 

"Oh come on." Jericho tousled her hair. She flinched. "Made ya mad didn't I?" 

"Grow up." Stephanie hated him, she hated him sooo much. Pretending to be her boyfriend... it wasn't a game she wanted to play. 

"Whipped cream on your nose." Chris moved to brush it away. 

"Don't!" Her heated glare stopped him dead. 

"God you're such a wench." Jericho sighed. "Lighten up a little. It's the holiday season." She was still scowling. "You wanna skate?" 

"Don't know how." Stephanie said with a toss of her hair. It shimmered in the pale yellow light of the streetlamps, another one of those little gestures that stuck in his mind and took his breath away when he least expected it. "And besides...I'm very busy drinking my hot chocolate as you can see." 

Chris removed the mug from her hand. "If Matt Hardy can teach you how to do a drop toehold, I can sure as heck teach you how to skate." 

"I'd rather let Matt Hardy kick my ass than skate with you." 

"Greetings lovebirds." Jericho froze. So did Steph. They both knew what a cold phaser in the back felt like. "You are cordially invited to attend a ball honoring the latest scientific triumph of Dr. Sarin. I'll be your driver for the evening." 

"Sorry pal." Jericho caught the man's reflection in the ice - dressed in black from head to toe like a walking shadow. "We've made other plans." 

"I think this one would lose her pretty little head if you refused." Stephanie whimpered as she felt warm plasma against her neck. "I do hope you'll give the good doctor the pleasure of your company." 

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." 

***

UNKNOWN TIME, UNKNOWN LOCATION 

A cold, dark place. Endless night. Behind one shadow was another and so on and so forth. Hiding places for invisible monsters and demons and tortured souls, a million of their voices swirling together into one point of ominous black light and sound. 

They were afraid. Violently so. 

"The man was meant to die. He will destroy the timeline. He will destroy all time." 

Dr. Sarin smiled. The void grew colder. "The girl was meant to die. The future will be recreated in my image." 

"I must be spared." Stephanie was different now. Her eyes were hard and black and full of fire. "I will live. My life is your redemption. You will be forgiven for violating the timeline." 

"Wait just a damn minute!" Taker shook his head, wanting to clear the ghosts away. He remembered...."You lied to me! All of space-time will die because I allowed her to live. You told me that!" 

"We are not capable of lies. You have violated the timeline. You should be punished." 

"But I've got a second chance? Make up your damn minds!" 

"No!" Dr. Sarin cried. "The girl must die as she was meant to die the first time. It is destiny that I alter the future and change the past. Wrestlefleet must not exist. _You _must not exist!" 

"The man will destroy the Universe. He does not understand. We thought he could be changed. He has betrayed us and we will die." 

"You can't die!" Taker looked into the darkness and knew that darkness was immortal. 

"We have always existed. We have never existed. The future is being altered." 

"How?" 

"I am willing to die." Taker's head whipped around. Unbelievable. Ensign Hardy was stoic, unblinking. "You must never allow me to carry out Captain McMahon's orders." 

"That boy has nothing to do with this!" 

"That boy must not be sacrificed." Dr. Sarin's eyes were wild. He was slipping over edges that weren't there, falling away from reality. 

"Save Stephanie." Taker felt like young Jeffrey's stare deep inside him, the truth of it crawling over his soul. A soul that belonged to them. "Sacrifice me. There is no other way. The Captain does not understand what he's created." 

"The Captain is a fool!" Dr. Sarin addressed the boy. That wasn't right. The messengers never spoke to one another. The past and future were being altered and the Powers were losing control. "He can destroy all of existence until my time. Then I will recreate the future in my image!" 

"I cannot allow it." The ensign said. "Stephanie must be spared. She will kill me and the timeline will remain unchanged." 

"I-" Stephanie hesitated. No. The darkness became a thing, one of the demons. It started to suffocate, choke, deceive.....they were not supposed to question, to feel. It was wrong. "I won't kill you." 

You didn't refuse them. They were being defied, losing control. 

"You will." Jeff said quietly. "You must. You have." 

"The girl will be saved. We will be saved. You will be forgiven." 

"Do you remember me, Doctor?" Sarin had turned on him. "You will not stop me this time!" 

"I'll be damned!" Taker hadn't lost even a second of his own existence, not that this particularly memory was all that significant in the grand scheme of things. "You still messing with time, boy? You weren't good at it then, and you ain't much better at it now!" 

"I'll see you in hell!" 

He felt Dr. Sarin's hands around his throat, squeezing and twisting...... 

The cold shocked him awake, his body buried in an premature tomb of ice and snow. Somebody was digging the frigid layers of slush away.... 

"Are you alright, good doctor?" 

Taker shook the damp away from his new leather jacket. The son of a bitch was gonna suffer a little extra if it got ruined. "Not quite Angle." He kicked the Olympic twit in the behind. "Now I do." 

"That was perhaps a bit too much intensity, sir." Kurt was limping now. 

Taker didn't answer. So....Sarin had left him an irritating phaser burn in his back and the hope that he'd just freeze and rot out in the wooded fringe of the forest. Only one problem with that plan. 

Once something was dead, you didn't kill it again. 

***

PLANET EARTH - NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 

"Ensign Angel certainly puts a big old smile on your face doesn't he?" Jericho had watched them together with eyes narrowed like a snake's, the feeling that burned inside just as predatory and poisonous. He hadn't been with real emotions in so long...he just needed time....time to learn how to control them again. 

What a lie. He was just jealous as hell. 

Everything else had melted away, the balloons and streamers, the glittering marble floor of the ballroom, the soft lights that danced among the pretty and rich...it all had blurred away, leaving one picture, one moment. 

Stephanie in her filmy white dress, laughing like a dark-haired angel in Kurt's arms. The All-American Zero scores. 

"Shove off slimebot." Sparkling champagne tingled at the back of her throat, softening the dull ache behind her eyes, making muscles tense and tight as piano wire fluid again. She sighed. "Kurt's a friend. He's a gentleman. he's a good listener. What he is _not_ is my true love." 

"Right. Have a few more and maybe you'll believe that." Chris shot a look at the bartender that dared to him to just try and serve Steph another one. 

"You know what Chrissie?" Stephanie slammed her glass down on the bar, making a few of Sarin's well-dressed scientist buddies look their way. She didn't care. "This is ridiculous." 

"Hey!" Princess had yanked his neat blonde ponytail loose. 

"You look like an idiot with that thing." she muttered. "Did you get that little gem from Jeff, cause let me tell you Chrissie, he doesn't look that swift in it either." 

"I think he's cute." 

"I'll tell him that when we get back. You two would make the sweetest couple." 

"Steph..." He took his foot and twirled her barstool around so she had to face him. "I'm being a jerk alright? If you wanna date Kurt, fine. I mean, hey, it's quite obvious from the game of kissy face going on across the room that Trip has moved on." 

"Oh yeah." Stephanie exhaled sharply. "Trishy. So Hunter prefers scantily clad skanks. How nice for him." 

"Don't worry sweetie." Jericho smiled at her. "You'll always have the comfort of knowing he'll never find anyone as skanky as Stephanie McMahon. You'll always be the first skank in his life-" 

He expected a well-deserved slap across his gorgeous face. 

She laughed in that way that reached her eyes, made them shine. "Kurt, he just stands there and tells me how pretty I am, thinking it'll make me feel better. But you...you.....goodness you look just like a big blonde penguin." 

"You look like you should be out on the corner paying your pimp off." 

Stephanie grinned. "I need to tell you something Chris." 

"I thought we discussed that already." Jericho self-consciously straightened his red bow-tie. Did he really look that bad in a tux? "Even though I am an android, it's still physically impossible for me to perform that act on myself." 

"Listen to me." Stephanie closed her eyes, wishing the right words would magically appear. "I... don't hate you, Chris." 

Jericho forgot to breathe for a second. "Stephie....can I get that in writing?" 

"Have a good evening, Lt Commander." She threw enough money on the bar to cover both their drinks. Made her feel good, knowing he owed her a little something. 

"Don't you walk away from me." Chris said angrily, his fingers digging into her wrist until she whimpered. "Does it hurt Steph? Does it?" 

"No!" He could've broken her wrist for all she cared. He wasn't getting the satisfaction of a single tear. 

"Please." Chris flung her hand away. "Of course it does. It's exactly what you want, too. For some insane reason you've got this idea in your head that people will only pay attention to you if you act like a spoiled stupid brat! You think that if someone is abusing you it's better than nothing! I bet a part of you even gets off everytime Hunter tries to murder you because hey, at least if he's got his hands around your throat, he's _touching_ you!" 

"Psychoanalysis from a man with a silicon chip for a heart!" Stephanie laughed coldly. "Delightful." 

"I don't hate you, Stephanie." Jericho said quietly. "But I don't think you know how to deal with that." 

"Attention people!" Dr. Sarin was clapping his hands as he made graceful strides across the enormous stage. The effect of his startling blue eyes so radiant with triumph beneath the theatrical lighting hypnotized the crowd into silence. "Today is a great today in the history of Sarin, Inc. It is also a great day in the history of Planet Earth!" 

The crowd cheered. There was something disconcerting about the feverish glow in some eyes; they were certainly carried away for a bunch of supposedly rational, clinical scientists. 

"In eight hours, our glorious revolution will finally see its ultimate reward. Wrestlefleet, perhaps the most cowardly, narrow-minded, insidious force this universe has ever seen, will finally be wiped from existence. They will know the price of trying to stop scientific advancement seconds before they die!" 

Stephanie clutched Jericho's hand. 

"In eight hours, destiny will finally be realized. As it always has been, two ingenious little Ensigns aboard the Titanprize will successfully complete the quantum explosive." 

"No." Steph shook her head. "Matt and Jeff - they wouldn't! I asked them not to! They know it's wrong!" 

"Well I'll bet they've got Shane breathing down their necks with a phaser set to kill in his hot little hands." 

"Daddy and Shane....no Chris. No. They can't be that stupid." 

"Theoretically, it can work." Jericho told her. "But obviously it doesn't. Look Steph, we didn't come back through the wormhole. They think there's no other way. Vince is desperate to get his crew home." 

"In his pathetic desperation to return his crew to Federation Space, Vincent Kennedy McMahon detonates this bomb inside an unstable black hole." Dr. Sarin was gloating. Stephanie wanted to murder him. "It's a beautiful explosion, just beautiful! Our sworn enemy creates a fatal cosmic event so massive it rips space and time apart until this very point in history. Ours becomes the only timeline, we create the future, and those who controlled the continuum before cease to exist!" 

"Nobody controls time." Jericho shook his head. Something was wrong...."One of us must stop the explosion! That's why he lured us into the wormhole and then sealed it shut. Sarin's attempted this before and one of us always stands in his way." 

"And once the future is gone, we never have the chance to prevent this again." Stephanie whispered "He's perfected his scheme." 

"It is impossible to stop fate now." Dr. Sarin smiled down at his followers, at the people who'd no doubt helped him construct this horror. "My friends, prepare to embrace the end of their time and the beginning of ours!" 

"We should really find Dr. Taker!" Jericho had to shout to be heard over the mindless cries of loyalty. Brilliant scientists rejoicing in the fact they were about to send two hundred years of existence into oblivion....god he was going to be sick. "I think he knows more about this than he's - Steph? Stephanie?" 

She was gone. 

***

"You bastard!" Stephanie cut through the black-clad entourage of bodyguards and followers like a bolt of lightning. It took three muscular arms to restrain her and even then she fought like a wildcat. "Stop! You are gonna listen to every damn word I have to say!" 

"Ma'am-you need to back off!" 

"Wait." Dr. Sarin turned to face her. At the base of the marble staircase hovered an onyx-colored stretch limo powered by visible plasma thrusters. Stephanie recognized it because Daddy had one just like it in his antique car collection back in Greenwich. Daddy..... 

"Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley." His smile was charming as cancer. "I'm very sorry for what must happen to your family, your friends, but you must understand-" 

"Shove your apologies you egomaniacal, power-hungry slime!" Stephanie's face was red, the heat flushing her face intense enough to melt ice. "You're not sorry! How dare you! Do you know what it would do to my father if he knew about the people he was killing? You could stop this but you don't!" 

"Do you know how lucky you are, little girl?" Sarin's eyes glittered with rage. He was not often challenged, especially by impertinent children. "You and your friends will survive because of me!" He shook his head sadly. "You don't even realize do you? When you came through the wormhole, there was minor temporal flux, a shift of sorts. Aren't you even wondering where your... _heart problem_ went?" 

"No, I'm really not." 

The smile returned. "There's always a time-shift when you come through a wormhole of a temporal nature. Technically, your moment of crossover into this time period occurred before the heart device was implanted. Just boggles the mind doesn't it?" 

"No!" Stephanie snapped. "I am an Engineer! I do know how wormholes work!" 

"Then you'll understand that returning to the future would also return your very deadly heart condition. You've been given a new lease on life, Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley. Enjoy." 

"Stephanie! What in god's name are you doing?" Jericho pulled her from the web of security she'd become ensnared in. "Are you crazy?" 

"I'm not the crazy one." She seethed as Dr. Sarin winked at her and escaped into his cozy little luxury craft. 

"Driver." Sarin removed his leather gloves and reached for a bottle of fiery amber liquid from the wet bar. Confrontation did make him so thirsty. "Once you've dropped me off, make certain the girl is killed. Do make it painful if you have the time." Ice - he needed ice. "She has a smart mouth on her." 

"Where to, Doc?" Cold, gray eyes and a smile so morbid it sent a shiver of fear through his bones. The man laughed an evil laugh. 

Death had come for Sarin again.   


TO BE CONTINUED

  


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	66. Season 8 Episode 4 Destiny, Pt 3

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 4

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 4: DESTINY   
**CONCLUSION**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-ENGINEERING 

"It's too small!" 

"Hey Matt." Jeff was actually grinning as Commander McMahon fumbled around with a quantum explosive in the middle of Engineering. "I bet Shane hears that a lot." 

"Lita hasn't complained." That wiped the smile off Jeff's pretty little face. "Do you two really expect me to believe this is capable of opening a wormhole?" A translucent box that looked like it housed a radiant white firefly - it didn't exactly scream firepower. 

"You could believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny for all we care." Jeff said impatiently. "Look, you've got your shiny new toy. I think you can stop pointing that space-age squirt gun at our heads now." 

"How does it blow stuff up?" 

Matt sighed. "Guess Steph got all the brains in the family huh? Quantum particles are light and fast but extremely powerful. You only need a few to disrupt space and open a very unstable wormhole. The thing is, genius, no one uses em' cause they're too volatile to measure and they behave erratically, often leaking dangerous radiation as they break down. We had to guess how many to use" 

"Better hope you guessed right." Shane muttered. "How's it triggered?" 

"It's timed." Jeff replied. "Just like you asked." 

"It's a crying shame that Bradshaw and Farooq had to go...er...talk to Steven Richards about a bad check." Shane said with a smirk. 

"I didn't know people used checks anymore." Good lord. Why didn't Jeff just discuss the weather with Shane too? 

Commander McMahon shrugged. "Something about EO Richards writing checks that his ass couldn't cash . Oh yeah, and Farooq's boot had to preach a sermon to the Goodfather's backside, whatever that means. Why the heck am I even explaining this to you?" 

"Deep down inside, you wanna be our friend?" Jeff asked innocently. 

"I would like to express my gratitude." Shane found the look of wide-eyed shock on the younger Hardy's face very entertaining, but not quite as much as fun as the sound his body made hitting the floor after absorbing a phaser blast. "Thanks Jeff." And a blue beam for big brother too. "Thanks Matty." 

***

PLANET EARTH-NORTHWEST TERRITORY, CANADA 

"Guess who?" 

"Ummmm....Trishy?" 

"I loathe you." Stephanie's mittens were melting cold snow in his eyes. "Guess again." 

"Cheap perfume....PMS....a secret attraction to me...." Jericho grinned. "Princess?" 

"You're wrong about one thing." She gave him a hard shove. "This perfume wasn't cheap." 

"Watch it!" Chris didn't need to get pitched headfirst through six inches of solid ice today. "The dock's a little slippery and I bet you're not gonna dive into the lake and retrieve my frozen android body." 

"Hey - right again!" She smiled. "You're on a roll today. What are those guys doing? Playing hockey?" 

"You know what hockey is?" Jericho was mildly impressed. Maybe he'd live out here, make the best of being stuck in this wretchedly primitive time period. Wasn't a bad spot really, sort of reminded him of Kanata... the twilight moon reflecting silver-gray on the icy lake, log cabins with Christmas candles burning in their windows, the scent of snow and pine in the air, the intoxicated laughter of young men pushing a puck through a light dusting of sleet...well no pretty picture was perfect was it? "Besides the tonsil kind?" 

"Oh yeah." Stephanie nodded, cute little braids bobbing up and down. "A whole bunch of hockey jocks beat the living crap out of Kurt with their sticks a few hours ago. Broke his nose even." She snickered despite herself. "He took me to this bar to show me what a bad boy he was and got going on these tough guys about their beer drinking and uncivilized language." 

"Angel in a sports bar?" Jericho laughed too. "That's cute." 

Stephanie shrugged. "Kind of lame actually." 

"How'd you find me?" 

"I'm an empath Chris." She rolled her eyes. "It got boring watching Kurt bleed and beg for mercy so I went back to our hotel, saw the note and map on my door." 

"You can read a map? Were you a girl scout once little Stephie?" 

"Hello?" Stephanie just shook her head. "I'm an Engineer. If I can plot points on a stellar map I can follow your cheesy scribbling." 

"Everything about me is gorgeous." Jericho said defensively. "Even my penmanship." 

"I don't understand these people." Stephanie sighed, watching a pack of giggling college age kids poke marshmellows into a bonfire, some drinking beer while others played kissing games with significant others. "How can they enjoy their lives when there's some madman running around plotting to blow up the future?" 

"Maybe they don't realize." Chris shrugged. He wished humans could let go of things, accept things like he did. "Maybe this has been with them their whole lives. Dr. Psycho is pretty powerful, maybe more than we know." 

"I wonder if we'll notice anything when it happens?" Stephanie was gazing up at the sky, as if she could see the end of the world through the streams of snow falling into her eyes. 

"We'll find out in forty-two minutes." Jericho consulted his internal chronometer. "Hey, aren't you freezing?" 

"Who cares?" Stephanie was deceptively sweet and angelic in her little schoolgirl skirt and sweater, black tights disappearing into high-heeled black boots, long red coat setting off the chestnut glow of her hair. "I look good." 

"Your high self-esteem is remarkable. Others might call it a break from reality." 

"You haven't even tried to make me get inside and bundle up." Stephanie pouted. "And here I am practically turning blue, Chris." 

He laughed. "Steph....I could stand here and try to cram that chivalry garbage down your throat all night long and you'd still be too much of a brat to listen. You don't want someone to coddle you like that." 

"I was so worried you wouldn't be here." Stephanie whispered, laying her head against the soft warm down of his ski jacket. "That maybe I'd spent too much time with Kurt and found your note when it was too late." 

"I knew you'd come." Chris said smugly. No matter how many times he wrapped his arms around her, it always amazed him that Stephanie could be so strong and feel so fragile. "And as you are well aware, I am never wrong." 

"Kurt would be trying to offer me his coat right now." 

"Hey, if a beautiful woman wants hypothermia, who am I to stand in the way of her happiness?" 

"That's what I like about you, Chris." She closed her eyes, almost lulled to sleep by the way his fingers brushed her hair. "If you thought letting me get frostbite was what made happy, you'd do it." 

"I would've waited all night Princess. If for no other reason than to prove I'm always right." 

"_I_ am always right!" She smiled, keeping her eyes closed. What if she opened them and it all went away? "But don't worry. It takes time to adjust." 

"Your lips are turning blue." 

"Just kiss me, you idiot." 

"I think I'm going to hurl." Hunter shook his head disbelief. "You wanna move on, Steph? Fine. But you have got your lips on a freakin' machine! I mean, what are you doing? Teaching it how to kiss?" 

"No worries Trip." Jericho let his lips linger on Steph's for a few seconds longer. Oh the look on the Game's face was all too priceless. "I'm a fast learner." 

"We're going back." 

"Are you drunk, Hunter?" Stephanie demanded. "We can't go back." 

"I got news for you honey." Hunter smirked. "While you were....doing god knows what with your toy robot, Dr. Taker was busy finding out how Dr. Sarin was able to travel through time. He found a specially modified shuttle." 

"It's true, it's true." Angle had materialized behind the Game. 

"Oh." Stephanie felt time stand still. She wanted to go home, to stop Daddy. She didn't want to live in fear of her heart failing at any moment. "Okay. Just give me a minute here." 

"We don't have a minute." Hunter growled. "Now Steph!" 

"You have to forget what we did here Chris." She spoke in a hushed tone as they followed her husband and the American Zero through the woods. "It wasn't - I didn't mean - look just forget it alright?" 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jericho hissed. "Is this some sort of funny game for you? I thought we were done playing!" 

"I'm a big slut, Chrissie, okay?" Stephanie snapped. "I just wanted to see if I could get some action out of an android! Goodie for me - I did!" 

"You witch." 

She pretended to be deeply fascinated by the snowy footprints they left behind. 

Stephanie was keeping secrets again. 

***

SICKBAY 

"Oh my god. I've died. I've died and gone to hell." Jeff tried to sit up. He was too woozy. Not to mention too paralyzed. "And Satan looks like a big weasel." 

"Laugh it up Hardly." Shane smiled. He seemed amused. "You're gonna need that twisted sense of humor." 

"Where's Matt?" 

"Brotherly love. I'm so touched." 

"You're jealous." Jeff fought the urge to panic. Where was his brother? "Cause Stephanie hates your guts. She wouldn't care if you dropped off the edge of the universe." 

Shane's face hardened. "You have a sibling. You didn't need to steal my sister from me." 

"I can't help it Shane. For some reason Mom refused to have any more kids after me." 

"Take the restraints off." Shane snapped. "I want all the meds out of his system now." 

"Aye sir." Jeff shuddered involuntarily as Dr. Piro pushed a hypospray into his throat. It didn't make the room stop spinning. "He'll have trouble with coordination and balance. You'll need to help him walk." 

"What's up Doc?" Jeff smiled drunkenly. "Interesting choice of friends Shane O'. You do know he used your sister as a guinea pig and Steph's only got about fifteen years to live, right?" 

"Stephanie is gone." Shane said flatly. He unholstered his phaser, although Ensign Hardy obviously wasn't up to any sudden moves. "I guess you could call this a deal with the devil." 

"Shouldn't you be off destroying all of space-time?" Whoa. The floor seemed to rush up to meet him as Jeff tumbled off the bio-bed. Trouble with balance? He couldn't even keep himself in a sitting position. "Matty and I built you that cool new toy." 

Shane was kind enough to nudge him upright with his boot. "About that. You know that thing you were talking about? The little gizmo wired to my baby sister's heart?" 

"It's a totally awesome weapon in theory." Jeff commented, blinking rapidly. His head was starting to throb like it'd been rung with a double-chair shot. "Too bad it hadn't been stitched inside your ribcage." 

"We're gonna play a guessing game Jeffrey." Shane told him. "This is perhaps the happiest day of my life. Dr. Piro is in control of Sickbay. I've given you two very valuable clues here." 

"Ummm....what's the riddle?" 

Shane smiled. "Guess where the bomb is?" 

***

SHUTTLEBAY 6A 

"You like touching me don't you?" 

"Get away from me!" Shane threw Ensign Hardy against the Shuttlecraft Tombstone, frowned as the Aerialian slid to the floor. "Not the best bump I've ever seen you take Hardly." 

"Sorry sir. It's hard to sell with my hands tied." 

"Still determined to get the last laugh huh?" Shane took a handful of Jeff's hair and pulled him to his feet. "You're looking a little under the weather ensign." 

"I'm gonna toss my cookies again." His complexion was a waxy grey. "I think it's the whole bomb thing." 

"Sorry." Shane apologized sweetly. "Radiation poisoning. Unfortunately it won't kill you before the massive explosion occurs." He patted Jeff on the shoulder. "Cheer up Rainbow Bright. Maybe we'll name the wormhole after you." 

"The joke's on you then. There's not going to be a wormhole or anything else after the timer goes off." 

"Time to go bye-bye Jeffrey." Commander McMahon opened the shuttle hatch. 

"Stop!" 

"Stephanie?" Shane's phaser and Ensign Hardy clattered to the floor. "You're - you're.....alive!" 

"Move away from him!" Little sister had a confiscated Nytron disruptor pointed at his head. "I swear to god Shane, I will shoot you where you stand if you don't back off!" 

"I'm your brother!" She wouldn't. He was her flesh and blood. 

"I mean it Shane." She did mean it. He fell backwards in a shower of bright blue plasma sparks, nerves screaming in pain. Even on stun, Nytron disruptors could mess a man up. "What did he do to you?" 

"Good to see you again, Commander." Jeff smiled weakly. "Lt Commander Jericho." 

Chris kneeled beside the boy, tri-corder in hand. "I don't understand. You're in the early stages of fatal radiation poisoning." 

"Tell me about it." Jeff agreed. "This is worse than the time I ate my own cooking." 

"Dr. Taker is busy trying to get that quantum explosive away from Daddy." Stephanie sighed, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes. All the better to see how truly awful her Aerialian friend looked. "Jeff...do you really think this is a good time to be telling jokes?" 

"It's the best time as far as I'm concerned." Jeff replied. "I'm dying." 

"You are not dying!" Stephanie said angrily. "That's not even remotely funny!" 

"Here's the thing Commander Happy Pants." She was pushing a hypospray into his arm. Had she gotten it from the shuttlecraft? Everything was blurring....."You know that thing in your heart?" 

"What thing?" Jericho's eyes were burning into her. "What's in your heart, Stephanie?" 

She ignored him. "Yeah Jeff. What about it?" Stephanie was fumbling around in the medkit, but she wasn't finding anything that would halt the lethal poison spreading through his veins - dammit! She didn't know enough! She needed Dr. Taker! She didn't trust Dr. Piro.... 

"I got one of my own." Jeff had to cough the words out. "'Cept I only have about fifteen minutes to live." 

"Oh my god." Jericho's worthless emotion chip was back inside him now, but the horror of what Shane must've done...he'd never felt anything this real. 

Well, not never. 

"How does it detonate?" Stephanie asked urgently. "We can get the trigger, disarm it, and remove the bomb. Jeff?" 

"Sorry." He tried to meet her eyes, but he couldn't see anymore. Everything had faded to black. "I hate to rain on your parade again Commander, but you know how your gizmo is sort of grafted onto your heart?" 

"Commander." Jericho took the medkit from her. "I think you should go find Commander Kane and have him take your brother into custody." 

"You go find Commander Kane." Stephanie was like ice. 

"Steph-" 

"I just gave you a direct order." There was something menacing beneath the calm. "Now, Jericho!" 

"Aye sir." 

"I'd do it myself." Jeff was apologizing to her. "But that...thing, it's messed up my balance and coordination. Also, there's that whole lack of eyesight issue." 

"Stop making stupid jokes." Her lower lip was trembling. She bit down til she tasted blood. 

"Geez Steph, don't cry." Jeff sighed. "You gotta do what you gotta do, right?" 

"I'm not crying." Tears were flowing freely as she reached for another hypospray. Her fingers were shaking so badly she couldn't hold on. "I love you Jeff. Like a brother." 

"Hey Steph?" He flinched as a microscopic needle pierced his skin "Was I really the worst kisser in the history of male-female relationships or were you just saying that to make me feel good?" 

She laughed. "Jeff?" 

"Yeah Steph?" 

"You're an idiot." 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Yeah right I'm better, Dr. Quack." Stephanie sprawled out on her bed, the dull ache in her chest finally winning the battle against her excess energy. At least it wasn't her heart this time. 

Three ribs had been split cleanly in half. One had pierced her lung, collapsing it and stealing her breath away. She'd been so scared the device inside her would malfunction..... 

Steph buried her head in a pillow, asking the computer to soften the lighting through the silky fabric. She'd asked for it, telegraphed her next move to Matt in the holodeck...left herself open to attack. 

He had kicked her so hard....snapped her back with such force.... 

In a bizarre way, she felt like she deserved it. She'd killed his brother. Okay, maybe not killed him. Steph had just finished what her own flesh and blood started. 

Shane was in the brig, probably for the rest of his life. She was all Matt had to focus his rage and grief on. 

"Oh god." Stephanie gasped. There was a hot dagger being driven into her chest, twisting until it tore her heart out. This is what Russo said death would feel like...."No...." 

She crawled across her bed, the agony blossoming in every nerve cell with each inch she managed to gain. There was not enough breath inside her to cry out, to access the computer with her voice. Her comm badge winked at her from the nightstand.... 

_You'll never make it, Stephie._

"Please..."Her hand brushed the cool steel, felt air as she knocked it to the floor. 

Then she felt nothing. 

***

SICKBAY 

A cold, dark place. Endless night. Behind one shadow was another and so on and so forth. Hiding places for invisible monsters and demons and tortured souls, a million of their voices swirling together into one point of ominous black light and sound. 

No. It was different now. They were no longer afraid. 

But she was. 

"Where am I?" 

"Alive." 

Stephanie didn't feel alive. She felt cold and empty. She felt the void inside her. 

"I'm scared. I don't want to be here." 

"You were meant to be here. We exist because you exist." 

"Who are you?" They were inside her head, a million voices whispering a million things. 

"We are nobody. We are everybody. You will not remember us." 

"If I'm alive, why am I here?" Stephanie looked into the darkness, looked through all of space and time. 

"There is one timeline now. One past one present, one future. You will be home soon." 

"Home?" They promised not to harm her, a million voices inside her head. "My heart-" 

"Judgement has been passed. You have been given more time. Because you exist, what happened two hundred years ago has never happened. You will be given a second chance. There is nothing left to fear from your heart." 

"More time?" The cold was warmth. Darkness was light "Wait! I don't want to go back!" 

Silence. "You will not defy us." 

"I killed a man! I don't deserve this!" 

"The sacrifice was necessary. The boy was meant to die." 

"Please." She wondered if tears would move them. "Can't Jeff go back instead of me? I owe him everything!" 

"It violates the timeline. Judgement has been passed. The boy was meant to die." 

"No!" Their rage terrified her. "If I was meant to live, then it was only because of him! He's protected me all this time! Damn you!" Her mind was on fire. They were so angry with her...so violently angry....."This is killing his brother-Matt's dying everyday that Jeff is gone..please..." 

"Your feelings are irrelevant. His feelings are irrelevant. You will not remember us." 

"This is wrong!" They were slipping away.......like ghosts....."You said I was the reason for your existence! You owe me!" 

Silence. 

"You would sacrifice yourself for the boy?" 

"I would." 

She felt their confusion, a million voices inside her heart. They fought among themselves, anger and surrender making shadows in the darkness. 

"Judgement has been passed. The boy was meant to live..." 

***

DR. TAKER'S OFFICE 

Dr. Taker scrolled through newspaper clippings on his monitor, and came across a relatively old one. He smiled coldly as he read it: 

Nicholas Sarin, Wrestlefleet Acadamy, rank of Cadet. Born: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Stardate 01225.32. Died: Greenwich Connecticut, Stardate 00521.54. Cause of death: Homicide. Strangulation. 

Nicholas Sarin was the prime suspect in a tragic bombing that killed several students on the Greenwich Connecticut Wrestlefleet Academy campus. 

Several of his instructors have come forward to say that Sarin was obsessed with the idea of time travel to the point where it consumed him. In fact, he was possessed by the notion that a quantum explosive could be developed that would open wormholes into other dimensions. Yesterday's tragic events may have been his efforts to put that scientifically ludicrous theory into practice. 

His killer has not been found and clues are scarce. Wrestlefleet security does not appear confident that the mystery of who murdered Nicholas Sarin will ever be solved. 

The doctor had known Sarin at the time of the bombing, but hadn't known enough to recognize how dangerous, how truly mad Sarin was. 

Taker's 'gift' allowed him to erase mistakes... and he never made the same mistake twice. 

"Doctor?" Nurse Saturn loomed in the doorway. "Stephanie's awake." 

***

COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTERS 

"Come." Stephanie stretched her tired limbs, but that was all her battered body was getting out of her. The bed just felt so cool and inviting. .... 

"Sorry." A golden retriever puppy was now licking her face clean. "It seemed to know where I was going." 

"Ugh." Stephanie tried to push the dog away, but it kept lounging across her feet. "Slippers with a wet nose. Just what I needed." 

"Kinda reminds me of Kirk Angel. Except the puppy actually makes it to your bed" 

"Funny Jeffrey." She didn't get up. It was only Jeff. 

If it was only Jeff, why was she so overjoyed to see him? Had the failure of her marriage driven her to this level of desperation, where even Jeff Hardy seemed attractive? Had she gotten that lonely? 

"For you." He handed her sunflowers, the most beautiful flowers in the universe. She loved them more than roses.. 

Stephanie sighed. "Oh lord, you're in love with me aren't you?" 

"Oh yah... Big time," He replied, then grinned and pulled a bouquet of red, white, and blue roses from their vase. Jeff made sure to step on them after they hit the carpet. "There we go. Actually, they're from Matt. He felt sort of bad about breaking your arm. Must be weird having one of those conscience thingies." 

"Kurt bought me those!" Stephanie protested as she looked at the crushed flowers on her floor. Jeff made himself cozy on the empty side of the bed. "Why didn't Matt just deliver them in person?" 

"Shane put him in the brig." Jeff explained. "Silk sheets. Nice. Let me sign your cast" 

"I will kill my brother! Matt would never hurt me on purpose!" Stephanie wrenched her arm away. "_Steph Loves Jericho?_ God how I loathe you!" 

"Take it easy," Jeff stole a pillow from her. "Shane did it for Matt's protection. Your dad was about to murder him for teaching you Aerialian combat techniques. You know, your bro's not such a bad egg after all" 

"That tears it." Stephanie tried to yank the pillow out from underneath his red and purple hair. "I'm having you tested for drugs. " 

"I'm high on life, Commander." He swatted her hand away. "I could take over Matt's classes with you if you so desired. But be warned, I might get the urge to grope you or something." 

"I'll wait for Matt to get out, thanks." Stephanie scowled at him. "Don't you have a girlfriend you could be torturing? Or does she hate you as much as _I_ do now?" 

"Lita?" Jeff shrugged. "I wouldn't call it hate. She's just not speaking to me." 

"Try again." 

"See..." Jeff gazed thoughtfully up at her ceiling. "It goes like this. It was open mic night at the Smackdown right? So Ensigns Sexay and 2 Hottie did their little dance routine and they were pretty good. Then that Sugar guy and his wussie pals got up and did some boy band crap, which was alright I guess." 

"Did you just call Sexay and 2 Hottie good dancers?" 

"Anyway...." Jeff went on. "I don't know what happened. I was all jacked on one of those high caffeine Vanilla Ices that Terri makes and something came over me. I danced." 

"MY GOD!" Chyna's puppy howled with indignation as the warm, comfy cushion of her foot disappeared. Too bad. She had the sudden urge to bury it in the back of Ensign Hardy's knee. "You idiot! I'll never get rid of you now." 

"The look on Lita's face..." Jeff sighed. Wow. His knee made a totally cool crunching sound as it folded up like an accordion. Matt was turning little Stephie Mac into quite the killer. "I think I've lost her for good this time." 

"I'll speak to her." Stephanie said smugly, savoring the pleasure of watching his eyes water. "Lord knows I don't want you trying to kiss me again." 

"I cannot be the worst ever. You've kissed so many men!" 

"It was like putting my lips on a dead fish!" 

"Well!" Jeff pouted. 

"Come!" Stephanie ignored his sulking and answered the chirping door "Oh hey Kurt. What's up?" 

"Well....you're late for your physical therapy." Angle explained, eyeing the pair suspiciously. "So I thought I might bring the physical therapy to you! I have a strict exercise regimen planned and-" 

"This isn't what it looks like." Stephanie assured him, giving Jeff a dirty look. "He was just delivering a message from his brother." 

"I didn't doubt your integrity for a moment, Commander." Kurt said respectfully. "Of course you're not engaged in lewd acts that involve stripping young Jeffrey Hardy of his innocence" 

"You're about five minutes too late for that Kirk." Jeff winked. "I'll never forget my first time, love muffin." 

"You are beyond disgusting!" Stephanie pushed him off the bed. How could he...how could he just lay that big wet one on her like that? She would never eat again! 

"No way am I worse than him." Jeff nodded at the Olympic Zero as he limped out of the room. 

Stephanie laughed. "No Jeff, I can't say you were as bad as all that." 

"Yes!" He beamed. "Oh and by the way, pretty boy?" Ensign Hardy leaned in close to Kurt and lowered his voice. "If Stephie asks if you've been a bad boy - run! I don't kiss and tell, but I'm limping for a reason." 

Angle turned fire-engine red. "Why...I never-" he spluttered. "I-I take offense to your suggestive comments about this virtuous woman!" 

"Ohhh Stephie." Jeff poked his head back in the room. "I'll remember to tell Lt Commander Jericho you were asking about him." 

"I was not!" She launched a pillow across the room, but Aerialian velocity spared him the damage. Angle, though, took it square on the nose.... 

_Jericho._ Just hearing the name sent a shiver of something up her spine, but she didn't know why or what. Happiness? Regret? 

Kurt was smiling his safe, sweet smile. Whatever it was, it didn't really matter now.... 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	67. Season 8 Episode 5 Sakuran Encounter

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**   
  


**SEASON EIGHT**

**EPISODE 5: SAKURAN ENCOUNTER**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 080520.00. We are in orbit around a planet called Sakura. It seems to be inhabited by a relatively intelligent species. We have beamed down previously and have seen a market square. Our plans are to barter with these people for supplies and food..." Captain McMahon leaned back in his chair, pleased, "Finally we have contact outside the Titanprize! The crew is quite excited about the contact, and rightfully so! End log." 

Captain McMahon looked out his window at the planet and smiled. Finally, a change of scenery! 

*** 

SICKBAY 

"There. All fixed. Now get your little Houdinian ass off my diagnostics table!" Dr. Taker snapped at Ensign Crash. The petite Ensign was sporting some bruised ribs due to a game of football on the holodeck that got out of hand. Well... not really out of hand... but poor Crash had been tackled by Ensign Rikishi during the game. He had managed to disappear before too much damage was done. 

Crash quickly limped out of Sickbay. 

"Dr. Taker, you really should work on your bedside manner..." Ensign Angle said as he came up to the dark doctor, "Treating a patient like that lacks integrity..." 

Taker spun around to glare at Ensign Angle, "And messing around with a married woman lacks integrity too, Ensign!" he snapped. 

Angle opened his mouth in surprise, "Messing around? Are you speaking of Stephanie? Why, I'll have you know that her and I are just..." 

"I don't WANT to know, Ensign. Nor do I care. What are you doing in here anyway?" Taker asked. 

"Well... I figured we worked so well together during the Nytron occupation that..." 

"That... what? You'd come back in here and annoy me again? Get your stank ass out of my sickbay, boy!" 

"Dr. Taker, sir... you need a man of my intelligence and integrity to help you develop a more positive bedside manner. After all, we are lost billions of light years from home! Surely our crew deserves a doctor who cares..." 

Dr. Taker scowled at Angle. On the other side of the Sickbay, Dr. Piro snickered quietly. One quick look from Dr. Taker shut him up. 

The dark doctor rolled his eyes. He would get rid of Angle later. For now, he might as well scowl and bear it... 

When Ensign Angle least expected it, Dr. Taker would kick the boy's stank ass all over the Titanprize. 

*** 

PLANET SAKURA - MARKET SQUARE 

"Ooooh... aren't this the coolest sunglasses you've ever seen, Edge!" Ensign Christian said as he showed his brother the goods on a nearby kiosk. 

"That large bug-eyed style will go perfectly with your hair, brother! The blue of the frames will also bring out the colour in your cheeks!" 

"Colour co-ordination RULES, brother!" Christian replied, and high-fived Edge. "Oh! Here are a pair for you!" he handed him a pair of wide, red-framed sunglasses. 

"Excellent! Man, we will look so AWESOME with these shades! The chicks will go crazy!" 

"Totally shade-a-licious, Edge!" Christian said. "Think we should get a pair for the commish?" 

"Oh definitely, Christian!" Edge replied, "Hey, maybe we can teach him a bit about fashion too! I mean, plaid flannel is SO not in this season!" 

"Fashion RULES!" Christian replied. The two brothers bought their sunglasses, and moved on to another kiosk - this one selling mirrors. 

Stephanie watched the blonde brothers from a few feet away. She was standing with Ensign Lita and Lt. Commander Jericho looking over a kiosk full of engineering equipment, "What lamers..." she muttered as Edge and Christian headed off in what could only be described as a 'Cocky Kanatian' walk, "I can't believe Shane hangs around them so much..." 

"Hey... to each their own," Lita replied. She picked a tool up off the kiosk in front of her, and turned to Jericho, "Think we could make use of this, Chris?" 

Jericho took it and studied it, "It's a bit old-fashioned, but I'm sure we can," 

"Good!" Stephanie replied, and whipped a piece of plastic out of her pocket. She handed it to the humanoid at the Kiosk. Even here, a credit card was a credit card, "We'll take it!" 

"Using daddy's money again, huh Stephie?" Jericho replied, hoping his smugness was convincing. He still hadn't told Stephanie her hand-made emotion chip didn't work. 

"I'll have you know, bits-for-brains, that THIS is my OWN credit card. I DO make a living as a WrestleFleet officer you know!" she snapped. 

"You make a living doing _other_ things too from what I've heard..." Jericho muttered. Odd... that insult hadn't been in his memory banks. Perhaps his positronic net was adjusting for the situation? Yes, that must have been it. He surely couldn't have made it up by himself. That would require a personality... and a personality would require a functioning emotion chip. 

"Why you stupid....!" 

"GUYS, GUYS!" Lita jumped in, "Stop, ok? We need to get back to the Titanprize!" 

Stephanie pouted, "HE started it!" 

"Did not..." Jericho replied. 

"Did too!" Stephanie snapped back. "YOU'RE the one who made that snide comment!" 

"YOU'RE the one who called me bits-for-brains!" he answered. For some reason, pretending to show emotion was becoming easier and easier... 

"Oh for heaven sake! Would you two just give up the arguing and finally admit---" Lita was suddenly interrupted as screams erupted from the market place. 

The sound of phaser fire could be heard right behind them, and Lt. Commander Jericho pulled Stephanie out of an errant energy beam. 

Everyone was running amuck as the market square was taken over by twenty armed men, firing weapons as if they were going out of style. 

"Lita?" Stephanie called out. "Where's LITA!" She asked as she huddled behind a kiosk with Jericho. 

Jericho looked over the top of the kiosk and scanned the area for Lita's communicator. Ahh... there it was ... about three feet in front of him. But there was no sign of Lita, "I can't see her..." he replied, finding himself somewhat concerned. But... how could he feel concern? 

"You are in the custody of the Kayfabe army!" A voice said beside him and Stephanie. He turned to see two of the armed men training their weapons on them, "Stand up, hands in the air! Make a move, and we'll shoot!" 

Commander Stephanie and Lt. Commander Jericho did as they were told. The Kayfabes motioned for three more people, who came up behind the two Titanprize Engineers. The man who had been speaking proceeded to rip the comm badges off their uniforms, and the men behind them poked their guns in the WrestleFleet officer's backs, "Move..." the leader said. 

Stephanie and Jericho didn't hesitate to obey. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY (later) 

"Well, Mr. Taker, sir... here's your first chance to show a proper bedside manner!" Ensign Angle said as Dr. Taker tended to an unconscious Edge and Christian. The two blondes were the only ones the Titanprize crew could find after the commotion on the planet. It seemed that whoever had attacked the market square didn't care for two conceited pretty boys. 

Dr. Taker turned to Angle, "Let's say this.... here is your first chance to get your stank ass out of my sickbay before I stick my boot up it!" 

Ensign Angle frowned, "Hmm... well... it seems you still need some work..." he replied, then studied the unconscious Kanatians, "What do you think happened down there?" he asked. 

"Damned if _I_ know, boy..." Taker replied. "I ain't a mind reader! Now why don't you leave me alone and go teach Vampy that it's wrong to experiment on human beings!" 

"Talk to Dr. Piro?!" Angle gasped, "He's a NYTRON! I would never associate with one of them!" 

Dr. Taker turned back to his patients. Maybe if he ignored Angle, the Olympic Ensign would leave him alone... 

*** 

PLANET SAKURA - UNKNOWN LOCATION 

Lita woke up slowly, feeling a wet cloth against her head. She found herself lying on something soft. A bed? She groaned as she sat up, "What? Where am I?" she asked. 

"OH! You're awake!" a voice said happily. A male Sakuran entered the room carrying a tray of food, "My sweet little Lisa! It's been so long!" 

Lita furrowed her brow, "Lisa?" 

"Hush now, dear. You got roughed up by the Kayfabe rebels quite a bit. Here, have some soup! It's your favourite!" the man said, and pulled out a bed table. He removed the cover from one of the dishes. 

Lita looked at the tray. Well... the soup DID smell good... but, "What makes you think this is my favourite soup?" she asked. 

"Because you always used to ask mother to make it for you, my dear daughter! A father remembers these things!" the man asked. 

"Father?!" Lita sputtered. 

"Yes dear? What is it?" he asked. 

Lita shook her head, "Listen, sir... thank you for the food.. but.." 

"But nothing!! And you don't need to call me 'sir'. You never did, sweetie!" he said. Lita opened her mouth to protest, but the man stuffed a sweet-bun into it instead. She was about to spit it out, but realized she was actually quite hungry, and gulped it down. The man watched Lita as the Aerialan helped herself to the soup. He smiled, "When you left me all those years ago, I never thought I'd see you again! Oh daddy's missed you so much, honey!" 

The look in the man's eyes was almost pitiful. "I'm sorry... but my name is LITA... I'm an Aerialan, and a WrestleFleet officer aboard the Titanprize - a ship currently in orbit around your planet. I'm not sure who LISA is, but---" 

The man looked at her, then turned away, "Couldn't you humour an old man for a bit, child?" he asked. 

"Humour...?" she asked, then realized, "You know I'm not your daughter, don't you?" 

He turned back to her and sighed, "My daughter looked very much like you. And it's true, when I saw you, I thought you were her." he looked down, "You received quite a bump on your head during the raid. I was hoping you would have memory loss... and I would be able to bring my daughter back to life... but..." he shook his head, "It seems your memory is very much intact." his watery blue eyes met hers, "Selfish of me, isn't it?" he asked. 

Lita smiled softly, "Perhaps, but understandable..." she said. 

"My name is Ak'it," He held out a hand. 

Lita shook shook it, "I'm Lita," she replied, then noticed something missing, "My comm badge... where is it?" 

"Comm badge?" he asked. 

"Yes. It's a pin with the initials WF in silver against a gold background..." 

"Oh. I didn't see anything like that when I found you three days ago..." he said. 

"THREE days ago?" Lita sputtered. 

"Yes. I've been nursing you back to health for three days now. You would wake every so often, but not long enough to remember..." he replied. 

Lita smiled at him, "I appreciate you nursing me back to health..." she said, then grew serious, "The raid... I had two friends with me..." she said. 

"A blonde man and his girlfriend - a brunette lady?" 

Lita smiled, "I'd hardly call her his girlfriend… but yes. Them." 

The man nodded, "I saw them being led away by the Kayfabe army. " 

"Kayfabe army? What is that? And why did they raid the market square?" 

"They're extremist. They don't like outsiders on Sakura. As you can see, we live on trade here. We have many off-world products, and many visitors. This is the third time they've raided the Market Square this month." 

"Well... why doesn't anyone stop them? Surely your government..." 

"Our government doesn't think the Kayfabes are a big enough threat. They haven't attacked the main downtown core, just the smaller ones," Ak'it sighed, "Like our village," 

"Well, then why don't YOU guys do anything?" Lita asked. 

"Oh no no! We couldn't possibly!" he said. "We are not fighters..." 

"Sometimes you've got to fight whether you like it or not! If these rebels are destroying your only means of income, then you have to DO something!" Lita insisted. 

The man smiled, "Would you teach us?" he asked. 

"Teach you? Do you want me to teach you how to fight?" she asked. 

"Yes. Please! If I can gather enough people... will you and your ship help us?" he asked. 

Lita sighed, "You would have to talk to our Captain... he's the one who decides these things. But we can't give you any weapons. It goes against some never-spoken of WrestleFleet rule..." 

"Weapons we have..." he said. "The skill to use them, we DON'T..." 

Lita smiled, "Then perhaps we CAN work out something after all!" 

*** 

PLANET SAKURA - KAYFABE HEADQUARTERS: HOLDING CELL 

"I can't believe you!" Stephanie snapped as she paced around the small cell she shared with Lt. Commander Jericho, "You're supposed to be this super-smart computer, and you STILL can't get us out of here!" 

"I can open the door to the cell," Lt. Commander Jericho replied, "But as for getting us past the thirty Kayfabes down the hall, NO..." he frowned, "You're supposed to be the brilliant engineer... so why don't YOU think of something!" 

"Maybe if I had the proper equipment... or something to make one of Ensign Hardly's swanton bombs---" 

"As a distraction..." Jericho finished for her, "While they don't do much damage, they visually daze the enemy..." 

"God, you're sounding all robotic again, Jericho..." Stephanie replied. "Don't tell me you turned off the emotion chip I worked so hard to make for you!" 

Jericho looked at her. Was she upset? He quickly shook his head, and reached into his memory banks for one of the nicknames he had given to her so long ago, "No, Skankanie. I didn't turn it off..." he replied. _I can't turn off something that is already inactive..._ he thought. 

"Good!" she said. "Because if you EVER turn it off again, I'll personally have you melted down for scrap! I don't need to interact with a stupid, unemotional robot! Heaven knows I interact with Ensign Blackman enough!" 

_If she knew the chip didn't work..._ But she would never know. He would never tell her. He COULD never tell her. It would break her heart. 

...And why would an unemotional robot care about the heart of one Commander Stephanie McMahon? 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY 

"So... after these 'fashion victims' invaded the square, what happened?" Captain McMahon asked the newly awakened Ensigns Edge and Christian. 

Ensign Jeff Hardy sat nearby, waiting to hear news about Lita. 

"That's when we got whacked on our beautiful heads, sir..." Ensign Christian said. "Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of your hair?" he asked. 

"I don't CARE, Ensign!" McMahon snapped, "Right now, I'm trying to find my daughter!" 

"Before I totally passed out, I saw the fashion DON'TS leading them away at phaser point..." Edge replied. 

"THEM?" McMahon asked. 

"Yeah... Commander Stephanie and Lt. Commander Jericho." 

McMahon hung his head. So she was with Jericho. Just great. If the raiders didn't kill them, they'd kill _each other_! 

"Woah... McMahon, dude... you look super worried!" Christian said. 

"Captain, you don't need to worry about Steph and Jericho. They won't do anything to each other..." Jeff smirked slightly, "Or maybe they will...." he said, then grew serious. He took a deep breath and turned to Edge and Christian, "What about Lita? Did you see what happened to her?" he asked. 

"No dude... sorry..." Edge replied. 

Jeff chewed his lower lip nervously, thinking the worst. 

"Captain," a voice came over the comm, "The Rock is getting a roody poo communication from the surface. It's encoded with a WrestleFleet signature," 

"Be right there!" McMahon replied, and quickly headed to the bridge. Jeff followed. 

Dr. Taker looked at Edge and Christian, "If you two are feeling better, get your asses out of my sickbay..." 

"Doctor! Tsk tsk!" Angle scolded as he came up to Taker. "You shouldn't rush your patients out like that! It's not very nice!" 

"Me sticking my fist in your mouth won't be very nice either, boy!" Taker replied. 

*** 

BRIDGE 

Captain McMahon looked at the screen before him. Ensign Lita stood there, surrounded by a group of Sakurans. "Ensign Lita," McMahon started. "Report!" 

"Sir, there is a rebel army on this planet called the Kayfabes," Lita started, "They seem intent on destroying all outside influences, including the outsiders themselves. I have befriended a man here named Ak'it, and he's informed me that Jericho and Stephanie are most likely being held at Kayfabe headquarters" 

"Is there any way to get to them?" McMahon asked. 

"Well that's where the Titanprize comes in," Lita said. "My new friends have the weapons, but not the fighting skills. If perhaps we can send some security members down here, we might be able to teach these people how to defend themselves, and get our officers back," 

Captain McMahon nodded, "I'll send Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq, Ensign Chyna, and Commander Kane down. Do the Sakurans know where the Kayfabe headquarters are?" he asked. 

"Yes sir. If we can come up with a viable plan, then we can save them!" Lita replied. 

"I hope so! I want my baby back!" McMahon said. 

"Uh… and Lt. Commander Jericho too, sir, right?" Lita asked. 

"Oh… yes yes… him too…" McMahon added quickly. He then turned to Commander Kane, who was at the security station, "Go get your team, and beam your big red ass down there! NOW!" 

Kane nodded, and headed out. 

*** 

PLANET SAKURA – KAYFABE HOLDING CELL 

Lt. Commander Jericho opened a section under his forearm, and pulled out a few wires. He could always replace them back on the ship. He handed the wires to Stephanie. She looked at them, "Ewww… these are… like... your insides!" she said. 

"Yes. You'll need them…" he replied, then put his hands along the walls, feeling for a hollow section. "_Found it!"_ He punched a small hole in the poorly constructed wall, and ripped out a handful of fiber optic cables. 

"Just make sure no one sees the hole you just made!" Stephanie hissed, "Or this whole plan is shot!" 

"I know what I'm doing, Skankanie!" he replied. 

"I sure hope so, Jerk-icho, because if these stupid Kayfabes find out you're trying to make a swanton bomb, they'll use you for spare parts …" 

"Glad to see you look on the bright side…!" Jericho replied dryly. 

"Well gee… after almost DYING a few million times---" she stopped quickly as they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Jericho quickly leaned against the wall where the new hole was, obscuring it from the Kayfabe who had just stopped in front of the cell. 

"Here's your food!" the Kayfabe said. He opened the doors and slid two trays into the cell, then locked the door and walked on. 

"Well, I guess they haven't been doing any tests on us while we slept…" she said. "Or else they would know you don't eat. They'd know EVERYTHING about you!" 

"I'm awake even when you sleep. I wouldn't allow them to touch me…" he paused, "Or you..." 

"I thought Jeff Hardly was supposed to be my guardian angel," Stephanie muttered. "Don't tell me you've replaced him…" 

"...and that would be a problem?" he asked. 

"Of COURSE!" Stephanie snapped, "I wouldn't want to think I owed you anything!" 

"You don't think you owe JEFF anything, why would it be different with me…?" Jericho asked. 

"Because Jeff is just Jeff! You're … well… YOU…" she sighed, and turned away, "Never mind." 

Jericho shrugged, and bent down to pick up the trays by the door. He handed Stephanie hers and she dug in… while he just stared blankly at his own. He was running out of room behind his cot to hide the trays, though luckily the Kayfabe's hadn't noticed the acrid smell of rotting food coming from his side of the cell. 

Jericho sighed, and took a bite of the bun in front of him. It could be broken down in his system and reintegrated into energy, albeit wasted energy. 

"You can EAT?" Stephanie asked with surprise, her mouth full of food. 

"Yes. I just don't HAVE to …" he said. "You've seen me drink synthehol too…" 

"Well, that's to imitate human behaviour," Stephanie replied. 

"True…" he said, "But I've grown used to it…" 

"Gosh, Chris… keep this up, and I just might start treating you like human being instead of a big stupid robot…" Stephanie replied 

"Wouldn't THAT be a shame…" he muttered. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE – SICKBAY 

"Dr. Taker, sir…" Ensign Angle started, "I think I found a way to brighten your sickbay!" he said happily. 

Taker looked at him, wondering what was under the sheet the foolish Ensign had entered Sickbay with. 

Angle pulled the sheet off the rectangular object to reveal a large picture of … himself… in bright red, white, and blue. He smiled, "Well? What do you think? It will add some colour to this otherwise drab sickbay," 

"Get...... Out......" Dr. Taker hissed slowly, his voice cold enough to send shivers down Angle's spine, "GET OUT!" he repeated, "NOW." 

Angle gulped, and quickly ran out of the sickbay, leaving his picture behind. Dr. Taker picked the picture up, and broke it in half over his knee, then tossed it in the hall. 

Satan help him… he was _this_ close to chokeslamming the Olympic Ensign straight to hell. 

"Having problems with your assistant, Taker?" Dr. Piro asked as he came up to the dark doctor, gliding like a ghost. The skeletal man allowed a small smile, obviously enjoying the situation. 

"Better I have a problem with HIM then with YOU," Taker replied, then smiled coldly, "Unless, of course, you _dream _of causing me a problem…" 

"_Dream?"_ Dr. Piro paled, if that was possible for a man whose face was already bone-white. He remembered a rather disturbing dream he had had some time ago… a dream about a certain dark man ripping his heart out with his bare hands… 

Piro looked up at Taker. It couldn't have been… 

"Is there a problem, Vampy?" Taker asked. "You seem to be looking a tad under the weather. Perhaps you need a doctor?" 

Dr. V. M. Piro's eyes went wide, then he quickly regained his composure, "No…!" he snapped, "I'm FINE, Taker!" Piro then went back to his side of the Sickbay to tend to a semi-conscious Nytron, who seemed to have a piece of guitar imbedded in his forehead. 

Dr. Taker studied Dr. Piro. He briefly wondered if his non-corporeal supervisors knew Piro like They knew Taker. Taker chuckled to himself. Even if They DID, Piro was no where NEAR as powerful as Taker. No where NEAR. 

*** 

PLANET SAKURA – MARKET SQUARE MEETING HALL 

Captain McMahon watched as his security team set about teaching the Sakurans to fight. He paced nervously, waiting for any news on how to get his precious Stephanie back safe. 

"Sir?" Chyna came up behind him. 

He turned to face her, "Yes, Ensign?" 

Chyna smiled, knowing exactly what he was fretting about, "She's with Chris, sir… he won't let anything happen to her…" 

McMahon sighed, "I don't know what I'm more worried about," McMahon said, "Stephanie being locked up by violent rebels, or Stephanie being locked up with Lt. Commander Jericho!" 

Chyna furrowed her brow, "Why would you be worried about her being locked up with Jericho?" 

"Well, they always seem to be at each other's throats. I don't think a day has gone by where they don't fight. They hate each other more then they could hate any enemy!" 

Chyna laughed, "Is the entire McMahon family this blind to the obvious?" she asked. 

"What is that supposed mean, Ensign, and what do you find so damn funny about my daughter being locked up with an android she hates?" McMahon asked. 

Chyna quickly sobered up, "Forgive me, sir…" she said, "I didn't mean to speak out of line… but… don't you ever wonder why they always seem to be arguing?" 

"Because they despise each other..." McMahon replied simply. 

Chyna was about to say more when Commander Kane called her name, "Sorry sir, I have to go…" she replied, then headed off to continue training the Sakurans. 

Captain McMahon tapped his comm badge, "McMahon to Titanprize," 

"What does your candy ass want, McMahon?" Came Lt. Rock's reply. 

"A while ago on planet Bietel, Lt. Commander Austin was able to send a message to Jericho's positronic net. Would he be able to do that again?" 

"Oh hell yeah," Came Austin's reply, "If he ain't too far underground and their isn't too much interference…" 

"Try it, Lt. Commander," McMahon replied. "I need to find my daughter!" 

"She's with that jabroni Jericho?" Rock asked through the comm, then chuckled quietly. 

"What's so funny, Lieutenant?" McMahon asked. Why did everyone find it so bloody humorous that Stephanie was locked up with Lt. Commander Jericho? Surely the two were probably at each other's throats by now! McMahon had never seen two officers who gave off so many sparks by merely looking at each other! 

Wasn't anyone else concerned for his sweet daughter's well-being? If Lt. Commander Jericho hadn't been such a reliable and efficient officer, McMahon would have relieved him of duty for all the horrible things the bot had said about the Captain's only daughter. 

Rock muttered something to Austin about Jericho and poontang pie. Austin chuckled uncharacteristically. 

McMahon furrowed his brow, "I'm sorry, Lt. Rock… did you just say something about my daughter?" he asked. 

"You've already heard everything the Rock has to say about your 2 credit daughter, McMahon," Rock replied, "But anyway, the Rock will see what he can do to help Austin send a message to Jericho's candy ass," 

"You do that then," McMahon replied, then cut the comm link. He only prayed that Jericho and Stephanie hadn't killed each other yet. 

*** 

PLANET SAKURA – KAYFABE HOLDING CELL 

"OW! Damnit, Jericho!" Stephanie whined. "When I asked you to teach me some moves, I didn't mean for you to rip my head off!" 

"Oh, geeeeeee I'm sorry," Jericho replied snidely, "Is the headlock too tight, Stephie?" Stephanie reached an elegantly manicured hand up his back and pulled his hair… _hard_! He winced slightly, then let go of her, "Is THAT the type of defense Matt's been teaching you?" he asked. "How to pull hair?" 

"Hey… I know how to do a drop toe-hold too!" she snapped. 

"Oh yeah… that's a great move…" he muttered dryly, "That'll win you tons of fights…" He was amazed how good he was at pretending to have a functional emotion chip. He was actually becoming ANNOYED that Stephanie lacked simple self-defense. 

"So TEACH me something, Mr. Know-it-all!" she snapped, hands on hips. 

He took a moment to think of what to teach her first. "Ok," he said finally, "If one of them grabs you from behind, how do you get away?" 

"Um… struggle until they let go?" she asked. 

He sighed and shook his head. "Here. Let me show you..." he went up behind her, and put his arms around her waist. 

"HEY! What are you doing? PERVERT!" she snapped, and struggled to get out of his grasp. 

"Use your elbows!" he replied, "Try to _connect_ with my body instead of just struggling!" And she did. In fact, she connected one sharp elbow with his head, "Ouch!" He released her quickly, rubbing his temple, frowning. 

"Did I do something wrong?" Stephanie asked. 

"No. It was right. It just hurt!" he replied. "Ok. Next lesson. Once you get free of the enemy's arms, what do you do?" 

"Fight them?" she asked. 

He looked at her carefully, then shook his head, "You wouldn't last two minutes in a fight, Stephie. What YOU do is run like hell, and let ME handle it. Got it?" he said. 

"Listen!" Stephanie snapped. "I'm sick and tired of people always having to come to my rescue! I want to be able to save MYSELF for once!" 

He studied her. She looked so determined, her blue eyes flashing with fire. What could he say? "What IS Matt teaching you, exactly?" he asked. 

"It's some form of high-flying Aerialan fighting!" she said. 

"That won't help in a brawl!" he replied. "When we get back to the Titanprize, ask Lt. Commander Austin to teach you how to street fight!" 

"Do you honestly think I can pull Austin away from his beer long enough to teach me ANYTHING?" she said, frowning. 

"Good point…" Jericho replied, then suddenly his expression went blank. 

Stephanie looked at him, and furrowed her brow, "Jericho?" she asked. Nothing. "Hey, IDIOT!" she snapped. 

Jericho blinked his eyes, then turned back to Stephanie, "I suggest you practice your self-defense," he said. "I just received a message from the Titanprize computer. McMahon has gathered the Sakurans together, and is currently heading to our coordinates," 

"How do they know where we are?" Stephanie asked. 

"_I _know where we are. They received the coordinates from my data banks!" 

Stephanie's eyes brightened, "So Daddy's coming to get me?!" she asked happily, "I knew he'd save me!!" 

Jericho looked at her, frowning, "I thought you didn't want to be rescued any more. You wanted to take care of yourself?" 

"Well… you can teach me how to do that AFTER we're out of here!" 

"ME teach you?" he asked, "Why ME?" 

"Because I don't have any other friends!" she snapped 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "You consider me your friend?" he asked. 

"That… that's not what I meant!" she said quickly, "I mean… god… of COURSE you're not my friend! I just meant that… uh… I'd rather you teach me because your programming will prevent you from killing me while we train!" 

Jericho studied her, "Riiiiiight…" he said. 

"Don't flatter yourself, Jericho!" Stephanie replied, "Like I could ever be friends with a walking computer!" 

You seem to be friends with every OTHER male on the ship…" he started. 

"Don't even GO there!" Stephanie snapped. 

"YOU already did, Stephie… many times!" he replied, and smiled smugly. His positronic net must have been working overtime to adapt and change the insults stored in his memory banks. It was almost as if he DID have an active emotion chip again. 

Suddenly their argument was interrupted by the sounds of a fight outside. 

Five rebels ran up to the holding cell, weapons ready… but they were quickly blinded by a flash of light from one of Stephanie and Jericho's hand-made swanton bombs. 

When the rebels could see again, the cell door was wide open, and the two WrestleFleet officers were gone. 

Within moments, the Sakurans ran-in and set about taking over the Kayfabe headquarters. 

At last, their livelyhoods would be safe once more. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE – SICKBAY 

Taker went through the day's patients methodically, barely speaking except to give them a command to sit up or lie down. 

Ensign Angle studied him carefully, "You still lack compassion when you tend to your patients, Dr. Taker, sir." He said. 

Taker turned around and glared at him, "You want to see compassion?" he asked. 

Angle nodded, "Yes sir!" 

Without another word, Taker grabbed Angle around the neck. Angle screamed and struggled as Dr. Taker lifted him high into the air, then quickly dropped him through an empty diagnostics table, "I didn't chokeslam you to hell…" the doctor hissed at the barely conscious Angle, now lying in the debris of the table, "THAT is compassion, boy!" he replied. 

Dr. Taker smiled coldly. Next time, he would introduce Angle to the last ride... 


	68. Season 8 Episode 6 Only in Dreams, Pt 1

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON EIGHT**

**EPISODE 6: ONLY IN DREAMS**   
**PART ONE**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 080820.00. We are in orbit around a planet called Makota and have received a distress signal. It seems to be somewhat primitive, but we are planning on beaming down to investigate regardless. We sent Ensign Crash to the surface earlier to inform us about the people. With him being Houdinian, we were not concerned about the locals seeing him. Crash's scouting revealed a certain code of dress for the planet. We have replicated special clothing that will allow our officers to walk around unnoticed. We are unaware of how much contact the Makotans have had with off-worlders and do not wish to attract attention. End log." 

McMahon looked at the padd beside him. It listed the clothing replicated for this planet. Leather. And lots of it. 

He shrugged. Oh well. Surely his crew could pull it off... 

*** 

TRANSPORTER ROOM 2 

Commander Stephanie wiggled in her too-tight clothing, "Why do we have to dress up like this?" she asked Ensign Jeff Hardy. Her leather skirt was practically painted on, and a silver-studded black belt wrapped her waist. She tugged at her halter top, adjusting it somewhat. 

Actually, she could get used to this... 

Jeff stood beside her wearing a pair of blue jeans over black ankle-high boots, white shirt, and partially zipped up leather jacket. _Well..._ Stephanie thought, _at least it's better then outfits he shares with Lita._

Jeff gave Stephanie two thumbs up, "Eyyyyyyyyy..." he said with a wink. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Jeff?" she asked. 

Jeff smiled, "Look in the television archives," he said, "And call me the Fonz!" 

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you..." she replied. 

Jeff snickered, then studied Stephanie, "Gosh, you're looking slutier then usual..." he said. 

"Hey! Talking like that to a superior officer lacks integrity, Ensign Hardy!" Ensign Angle said. He was standing beside Stephanie, wearing red, white, and blue leather - weighed down by equipment and supplies. 

Stephanie glared at Jeff, "It lacks a LOT of integrity!" She snapped, "Do you want to be demoted to cadet, Ensign?" 

Jeff grew serious, "No ma'am..." he said. 

"Then maybe you should stop talking like Jericho!" Stephanie replied. 

"Speaking of which..." Jeff started, "I wonder what HE'S wearing..." 

"Who cares. Let's get this over with so I can finish my card game with Farooq!" Lt. Bradshaw replied as he leaned against a nearby wall. He was wearing a black shirt, and cowboy boots under denim pants. "Where the hell are the doc and the bot anyway?" 

As if on cue, the doors to the transporter room swooshed open, and in walked Dr. Taker. He looked completely different... almost as if he had a whole other personality. 

Taker's long, blood-red hair was tied back in a bandana, he had blue jeans over black cowboy boots, fingerless leather gloves, and a leather vest. 

"Woah! Looking spiffy, doc!" Jeff said. 

"Dr. Taker seems to enjoy dressing like that..." a voice said behind the doctor. Lt. Commander Jericho finally entered the transporter room. He looked at Jeff, and raised his thumbs, "Eyyyyyyyyy!" 

Jeff high-fived Jericho, "At least SOMEONE noticed!" he said with a smile. "Love the outfit, by the way!" 

Jericho looked down at his leather pants, and black boots, "It's odd. I find this outfit pretty comfortable..." he replied, "Though it's hardly WrestleFleet issue," He tightened his long blonde braid, and turned to face Jeff and Stephanie, "When are we leaving?" 

Jeff turned to Stephanie, and smirked, "As soon as Commander McMahon picks her jaw up off the floor..." he replied. 

Stephanie quickly glared at Jeff, "Shut up, Ensign Hardly!" she snapped, then stuck her chin up slightly, trying to avoid looking directly at the Y2J Unit. 

Jericho reached into his black leather duster and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, "What do you think?" he asked as he put them on, "I borrowed these from Ensign Edge ..." 

"Added touch, Chris! " Jeff replied, "And I know Steph REALLY likes the leather pants!" 

"Oh please! He looks like a... a... big... blonde.... DORK!" Stephanie sputtered, then smacked her hands together loudly, "Now enough chit chat! Let's just get down to the planet and help whoever is sending this distress signal!" With that, she hopped up onto the transporter platform. 

"Remember," Jericho started as he stepped up beside her, "We can't fix their craft until Bradshaw deems it safe to make contact, and Dr. Taker checks their vitals!" 

"I KNOW, Lt. Commander!" Stephanie replied. She grabbed the sunglasses off his face, "These look ridiculous on you!" she said, then quickly regretted taking his shades. The black ensemble he was wearing only made his blue eyes that much more vibrant. She turned away, and handed the sunglasses back to him. He pocketed them, "Debra, energize!" Stephanie demanded. 

McMichael nodded, and the transporter room soon disappeared in a sparkle of light. 

*** 

PLANET MAKOTA 

The Titanprize crew were beamed down a mile from an inhabited town so as not to attract attention. They walked for an hour until they finally entered a bustling city. Leather-clad Makotans zoomed around on large sleek two-wheeled machines. Jeff watched, eyes wide, "Man, I gotta get me one of those!" he said. 

"You'd probably break your neck!" Stephanie replied, then looked around, "Where did Dr. Taker go?" she asked. 

No sooner had she spoken, then Taker appeared and motioned for them. The group headed towards him, "I have acquired transportation to the distress signal's coordinates..." he said with a cold smile. 

Stephanie didn't want to know HOW he had acquired the shiny Makotan machines that currently stood behind him, "Only three?" she asked. 

"Only three of us know how to RIDE them, Commander!" Taker replied. "Myself, Lt. Bradshaw, and Lt. Commander Jericho," 

She didn't find it odd that Taker and Bradshaw knew... but did wonder how JERICHO knew, then realized he had everything programmed into that positronic brain of his. Stephanie sighed, "Fine. Great. Then how are US three going to get there?!" 

"Each motorcycle seats two, Commander, " Dr. Taker replied, then sat himself down on one of them. Jericho, and Bradshaw followed suit. 

"I'll go with you, Dr. Taker, sir," Angle said with a smile. Dr. Taker groaned inwardly. 

"And I'll go with Bradshaw," Jeff said quickly, then looked at Stephanie... "Looks like you gotta go with Chris!" 

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Jeff, "You did that on purpose!" she hissed. 

Jeff nudged her, "Hey, at least this way you get to cop a feel off Jericho free of embarrassment!" he whispered. 

"I don't WANT to cop a feel off Jericho!" Stephanie shouted angrily. The others looked at her, and Stephanie quickly put a hand to her head despairingly, "Damn you, Hardy," He was always trying to embarrass her! He reminded her of the annoying little brother she never wanted. 

Jeff laughed, "We should go," he said, then climbed on the ... what did Taker call it... _motorcycle_... behind Bradshaw. 

Angle climbed up behind Taker... and Stephanie reluctantly climbed up behind the Y2J Unit, "Hold on tight, Stephie... wouldn't want you to fall off or anything, now would we?" Jericho smirked. 

"Shut up, Slimebot..." she snapped, then put her helmet on. Jericho's no-selling titanium skull was so hard, he didn't need one. The Y2J Unit revved the machine and Stephanie quickly grabbed him around the waist, "If I fall off," she warned, "I'll tell Daddy to melt you down for spare parts!" 

"Well THAT just spoils all my fun," Lt. Commander Jericho replied, then literally burned rubber, and headed off in the direction of the distress signal. 

The others quickly followed suit. 

*** 

PLANET MAKOTA - CRASH SITE 

"Give me a tricorder, Kirk..." Jericho commanded, crouching in front of a pile of warped metal. 

"Yes sir!" Ensign Angle replied, and handed Jericho a tricorder out of one of the equipment bags he was holding. "Sir... may I ask a question?" 

"What is it, Angle?" Jericho asked as he scanned the debris in front of him. It seemed to be an alien shuttlecraft, scorched and ripped apart from an apparent crash landing. 

"Why am I always sent on these away missions merely to carry the equipment?" he asked. 

"Because that's all you're good for, Ensign," Jericho replied. "We usually don't need a communications trainee on away teams," he explained. 

"But I'm not _just_ a communications trainee! I assist Dr. Taker in Sickbay as well!" Angle replied. 

"Then perhaps you can assist him should we run into the pilots of this shuttle craft," Jericho answered. 

"But what if they're already dead, sir?" he asked. 

Jericho stood up and turned to Ensign Angle, "They are most likely not, or else we would have found their bodies in the vicinity," he explained. "Which makes me wonder.... what DID happen to the survivors?" 

"Perhaps Taker and Bradshaw will find them on their walkabout..." Angle offered. 

"Hey Chris!" Jeff called out. Jericho turned to the Hardy Ensign a few feet away. He was studying other pieces of the destroyed alien vessel with Stephanie, "The Commander wants you to bend over again. She was enjoying the view!" 

Stephanie responded by smacking Jeff on the back of the head, "Maybe YOU were, Hardly!" she said. 

Jeff merely laughed, "Sorry... I'd much rather stare at _Lita_ in tight leather pants," he replied. 

"Why? So you can borrow them?" she asked. 

"HEY!" Jeff snapped. 

"Let's just get back to work!" Stephanie said, then crouched down to study the debris in front of her... and heard a ripping sound. 

"Um...Steph," Jeff whispered, "Maybe next time you should wear pants... because right now I'm seeing WAY too much of you..." 

Stephanie quickly stood up, her face beat red, "Damnit!" she said, "I was wondering why I felt a draft..." 

Jeff snickered, "Love the frilly pink undies," he said. 

"One more smart-ass crack out of you, Hardly, and I'll---" 

"Steph...?" Jericho came up behind her. 

Stephanie spun around quickly, trying to hide her... _frilly pink undies_. This was juuuuuuuust what she needed. What was the stupid bot going to say now? He smirked at her, and she glared back, "Stop it!" she snapped. 

"You leave very little to the imagination, Skankanie..." Jericho said, then took off his trenchcoat and handed it to her. 

Stephanie sneered at him, but grabbed the coat and quickly put it on, covering herself more effectively. "If you make ONE more comment, I swear I'll tear out your circuits!" 

Jericho quickly reached into the pocket of the trenchcoat Stephanie was wearing now, and pulled out the shades. He put them on, and looked at her, "You wouldn't hurt a droid with glasses, would you, Stephie?" he asked. 

"If he was wearing stupid sunglasses like that, then yeah! I WOULD!" she snapped. 

Jericho allowed himself a laugh. Showing personality sans a functioning emotion chip was becoming easier and easier. He wondered why. After a moment, he grew serious again, "What did you find scanning the debris?" he asked. 

"Just scrap. That's it! It isn't worth salvaging." 

Bradshaw and Taker joined up with the group, "Nothing," Bradshaw said, "We ain't found NOTHING!" He pouted, "And I want my damn beer already!" 

"Is that all you think about?" Stephanie asked, "Getting drunk?" 

"What else IS there?" Bradshaw replied, confused that Stephanie felt there was more to think about. 

"How about turning around slowly and telling us who the hell you are?" a voice said behind the WrestleFleet group. 

Everyone spun around to see five large men dressed in similar clothing to that of the WrestleFleet officers. They trained weapons on the group, their smiles obscured by thick beards. Bradshaw lifted his phaser, but it was shot out of his hands by one of the men. 

The WrestleFleet officers raised their arms in surrender, and the men smiled, "We don't _want_ you to surrender..." a different one spoke, "We want you to go away!" With that, the men fired their weapons. 

The WrestleFleet officers fell to the ground, unmoving. 

*** 

AUTOHAUS ARENA 

Stephanie woke up slowly, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. Was she on the ship? 

"She's coming to, " a voice said. 

"Get Jericho's ass in here!" Another voice said. Daddy! 

"Vince," Jericho's voice, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize Stephanie had snuck into the ring..." 

"You're lucky Mr. McMahon doesn't fire you!" Angle's voice. 

Slowly, everything came into focus. Stephanie took in her surroundings. She was in a locker room, lying on a bench, "What... what happened?" she asked as she sat up. 

"Easy, Miss McMahon. You got quite a nasty bump on your head..." a man said. She got the impression he was a doctor. 

Speaking of which... "Where is Taker?" Stephanie asked. 

Vince looked at her, brow furrowed, "Why do you want him? He's busy getting ready for his match with Austin..." 

"Match?" Stephanie asked. She rubbed the bump on her head, and turned to Jericho. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, wearing a pair of wrestling tights. 

_Wrestling tights_? She looked around. Angle was wearing wrestling tights as well! What was going on? 

"Are you ok, Steph?" Angle asked, looking at her tenderly. 

"Ensign Angle?" she said. 

Kurt looked at McMahon, who shrugged. He turned back to Stephanie, "What's an Ensign?" he asked, "I'm sorry, Steph. I don't understand..." 

Stephanie looked at Jericho, "Lt. Commander?" 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "How hard did I hit her?" 

"Hard enough!" Vince replied angrily. Jericho winced at the tone of his voice. The tone a boss takes before he fires someone. 

Stephanie got to her feet shakily. Angle reached out a hand to her, but she ignored it. She went up to Jericho, "Give me your left hand, Chris!" She demanded. 

He was surprised she was even talking to him, "Why?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Just DO it!" Stephanie snapped. He did so. Stephanie studied his hand, "Where is it?"   
she asked. 

"Where's what?" Jericho replied. 

"The hatch that hides your emotion chip!" 

"My WHAT?" he pulled his hand away, "Hey, listen Stephanie... we may not get along very well, but understand that I didn't mean to hit you, ok? You just got in the ring at the wrong time, and your Olympic boyfriend decided to use you as a human shield!" Jericho replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to shower..." 

"Should I crawl into THIS one with you too?" Stephanie asked angrily. 

Angle's eyes went wide, "WHAT?!" he sputtered, then turned to Jericho, "What did you do to my girlfriend?!" he demanded. "What is she talking about?!" 

"I sure as hell don't know, Jerky!" Jericho replied. 

"Steph, honey?" Vince asked, "What is this about a shower with Jericho?" 

"On the Titanprize during the Nytron occupation!" Stephanie said, "It was an accident, I swear!" 

"Titanprize?" Angle said, then shook his head, "You must have had a very weird dream while you were out." 

"Yeah... a dream about showering with ME!" Jericho replied. 

"You just be quiet! You lack a lot of integrity, Mr. Jericho!" Angle snapped. He came up to Stephanie and put an arm around her, "It's ok. I'll take you back to the hotel so you can rest..." 

Stephanie shrugged out of his grasp, "Stop being so friendly with me!" Stephanie snapped. 

Kurt looked confused, "Why are you suddenly so jumpy?" he took her hand, "You know I love you, Steph, and I'm here if you need me..." 

"Let your boyfriend take you back to the hotel, Stephanie. Maybe if you play your cards right, you can finally steal his innocence!" Jericho replied, snidely, "I'm outta here..." with that, he walked away. 

"Now... what was this about a ship, Stephanie?" Vince asked. "Have you been watching Star Trek again?" 

"Ship?" Stephanie repeated. She had been talking about a ship just a moment ago... but... why couldn't she remember it now? She shook her head, "I... I guess my head hurt more then I thought..." she said, then put her arm around Kurt's waist, "Take me back to the hotel, honey... I'm sure after a nap I'll feel better..." 

"Of course you will..." Angle replied, and lead her out of the locker room. 

Stephanie smiled sweetly. Maybe she could finally convince Kurt to spend the night with her. Right now, she wanted that more then anything else in this world! 

TO BE CONTINUED 


	69. Season 8 Episode 7 Only in Dreams, Pt 2

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON EIGHT**

**EPISODE 7: ONLY IN DREAMS**   
**PART TWO**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 080920.00. Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon, Lt. Commander Jericho, Ensign Jeff Hardy, Dr. Taker, Ensign Kurt Angle, and Lt. Bradshaw have beamed down to Planet Makota and have not been heard from since. We are eagerly awaiting their report on the distress signal they have found. We are unsure of their whereabouts right now and are growing increasingly concerned..." Captain McMahon sat back in his chair, "I hope my baby is all right..." he said, "End log!" 

*** 

RAMADA INN - STEPHANIE'S ROOM, Saturday night 

Stephanie woke up with a start. She was still dreaming of that weird spaceship. Maybe she had a concussion... though the doctor that examined her said it was nothing but a bad bump. 

Stephanie sighed and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow was Sunday. A big Pay-Per-View day. Kurt was fighting The Rock. She smiled. Her Kurt would soon become the main man in the WWF! 

She looked around her empty hotel room. Kurt believed it to be improper to share a bed before sharing marriage vows - not that he had asked... yet. Sometimes Stephanie wished he wasn't so prim and proper. But then, that's why she loved him... 

Stephanie turned on her side... yes... she loved Kurt... didn't she? 

_"Skankanie? Hey... Skankanie!! Wake up!"_

Stephanie sat up quickly. What was that? 

"_There's no response. She's lost in her own little world..._" 

"_Can't you wake her up, Taker?_" the first voice again. 

"Who's there?!" Stephanie gasped. 

Silence. 

Stephanie shook her head, and lay back down. She closed her eyes.... and a bright light almost blinded her. 

"_Wait! Is she coming to?_" 

Stephanie's eyes shot open, and she was greeted by the drab hotel room again. She really didn't feel like sleeping after all. 

Stephanie reached over and grabbed the phone on the night table beside her. She dialed a room number, wondering who she'd reach. "Yo, what up?" came the voice on the other line. 

Stephanie took a moment to register who had answered. That Carolinian accent sounded familiar, "Jeff?" She asked. 

"Who is this?" Jeff asked. 

"It's Stephanie!" she replied. 

"Miss McMahon?" came Jeff's surprised response, "How can I help you, ma'am?" 

"Brown-noser..." a voice snickered in the background. Was that Matt? 

"Hey, shut up, man! She's our boss, ok!" Jeff replied to the voice. He brought his attention back to Stephanie, "Sorry, ma'am. Is there something you wanted?" 

"I reached YOUR room?" she asked. 

"Well, me and Matt's room, yeah. Right now Jericho, Lita, Edge and Christian are here too. Did you want to talk to any of them?" he paused, "Well, I know you don't wanna talk to Jericho... but I mean anyone else?" 

"Hey! Who dares me to jump out of this totally awesome window into the snowbank? It'll be snow-alicious!" Came Edge's voice in the background. 

"Don't be a bonehead!" Jeff replied to Edge, "Now shush! The boss is on the phone! Sorry Miss McMahon..." 

"Hey, Jeff! Those pants are SO not cool!" Came Christian's voice. 

"Yeah, like you dress any better!" Jeff replied, his voice muffled as he tried to cover the mouthpiece. 

"Well, yeah, dude... I DO! Didn't you see the cover of Tiger Beat? I was like, number one in fashion!" 

Stephanie smiled, "Sounds like you guys are having fun. Mind if I join you?" 

Jeff paused, surprised at her request, "Well... don't you and Kurt have a date or something, Miss McMahon?" Jeff asked. 

"I don't know where Kurt is..." she said, though she DID know. He had told her he was going to go work out in the hotel gym. 

"Well, sure you can come... but... uh... like I said, Jericho is here too," Jeff replied, "And I know you don't like him too much..." 

"Well, I don't want to just sit here in my hotel room," she said. 

"Um. Ok. But we're just goofing around here, Miss McMahon. I didn't think you would be all that interested in it..." 

"I like goofing around," Stephanie replied, "I'll be there in two minutes!" with that, she cradled the phone and headed out. 

*** 

HARDY'S HOTEL ROOM 

"Stephanie is coming here?" Jericho asked, "Since WHEN does she hang out with YOU guys?" 

"I dunno," Jeff replied. "It was a weird conversation... like she was talking as if I were her friend or something..." he shrugged. 

"Well, she sure knows how to ruin a party..." Jericho muttered, "Maybe I should leave..." 

"No! We'd rather YOU stay then HER," Lita replied. "If you scare her away, so much the better!" 

"Hey, she's the boss, Lita..." Jeff replied. 

"Boss's DAUGHTER!" Lita corrected. 

"Same dif..." Jeff answered. 

Just then, the door opened, and Stephanie walked in. "Hi guys!" she smiled. She looked at the group, who stared back at her. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable... as if she didn't know any of these people. But talking to Jeff on the phone, she felt for a moment they were friends... 

Right now, their expressions echoed the confusion she felt. Why on Earth did she think her and these young wrestlers were close? Come to think of it, she never really DID have much contact with the Hardys outside of the arena. And the way that Lita was staring at her -- it was as if she was the devil! "Uh... hmm... well... isn't this cozy..." she said, and sat down on a nearby bed. The same bed Jericho was sitting on. Jericho glared daggers at her. 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. 

Suddenly, the phone rang. Jeff picked it up, "Yo, what up?" There was a pause, "For you, Miss McMahon. It's Kurt..." 

Stephanie took the phone, "Hello?" she smiled. 

"Steph, this Joe guy told me you were hanging out with the Hardys... and that horrible Jericho!" Angle started. 

"Well... uh..." Stephanie started. She didn't know WHY... but right now, she seemed to prefer these guys to Kurt. But Kurt was her boyfriend! How could she prefer guys she hadn't said more then two words to over _Kurt_?! 

_"Man... Steph... wake up! Come on!!"_

Stephanie turned to Jeff, "Wake up?" she asked him. 

Jeff looked at her, confused. "Huh?" 

"You just told me to wake up!" Stephanie replied. 

"I didn't say anything, Miss McMahon..." Jeff replied. 

Stephanie shook her head, then turned back to the phone, "I'm sorry, Kurt... but I have to go. I think I'm going to return to my room... I ... I need sleep..." she said, and cradled the phone as she stood up. 

"_I'll hack into the computer and get Stephanie! YOU guys beam back aboard the Titanprize and tell McMahon what's going on here. I've got to get Steph out before the Makotan's come back!"_

_ "Lt. Commander Jericho, sir, I must protest..."_

_ "I'M the superior officer while Skankanie is out in la la land, Angle! I just gave you a direct order! Now get your olympic ass back to the Titanprize and do what you're told!"_

Stephanie froze and looked at Jericho, "Skankanie?" she asked. "Titanprize?" 

"What?" Jericho asked. 

"You just called me Skankanie, and said something about the Titanprize!" 

Jericho looked at the others. They seemed as confused as he was. He turned back to Stephanie, "Maybe you should go back to your room," he said. 

Stephanie blinked, "But... you just called me Skankanie! I HEARD you!" 

Jericho shook his head, "My problems with you were over when you dumped Triple H, Stephanie. I'd get my ass fired by your daddy if I started name calling again. As for that whole Titanprize thing..." he shrugged, "NO idea." 

"You hate me, don't you?" Stephanie gasped. 

"Honestly, I'm too busy trying to kick Benoit's ass to bother with you anymore, Stephanie," Jericho said. 

"But..." Stephanie started... BUT... she WANTED him to bother with her! Stephanie put her hand on the doorknob, "I think... I think I'll go now..." 

"Bye, Miss McMahon..." Jeff replied. 

Stephanie looked once more at the group in the room. They were sitting on the floor and beds, staring at her... waiting for her to leave. "Right... bye..." she said, and walked out. 

The moment she stepped into the hall, she could hear chatter and laughing from the room she had just left. 

Well, they weren't really her friends... so why did she even THINK Lita, the Hardys, and Jericho were more then mere co-workers? 

*** 

RAMADA INN - HALLWAY 

"Skankanie..." a voice called out. Stephanie spun around in the hallway. Jericho stood a few feet away. He was dressed in a black tank top and black leather pants, his hair tied back in a tight braid. 

Stephanie blinked. He hadn't looked like that when she had left the room! How did he end up in the hallway so fast? _She _had just stepped out ten seconds ago! 

"I thought you said the name calling was over?" she said. 

He furrowed his brow, "Our name calling will never be over, Princess..." he replied, then smiled smugly, "I enjoy it far too much!" 

Stephanie looked down at herself. She was wearing a black leather trenchcoat that was far too big for her... funny... she didn't remember putting it on... and the leather skirt she was wearing had a rip in the seams! And... the halter top? Where did THAT come from? 

"Come on, I've got to get you out of here," Jericho said. 

"Out of _where_?" she asked. 

"Out of this dream world you're trapped in!" he replied. "I've hacked into the Makotan computer currently trapping you in this... PLACE..." Jericho said, "You have to take my hand, Stephanie. Take it and wake up! We're going back to the Titanprize!" 

Stephanie shook her head, "What are you talking about?" she asked, "I'm Stephanie McMahon, daughter of Vincent K. McMahon, Jr., the owner of the World Wrestling Federation! I don't know anything about computers... or... the Titanprize! It was just a dream I had... after YOU knocked me unconscious in the ring during a match with my boyfriend!" 

"You are Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon - daughter of Captain Vincent K. McMahon Jr. - aboard the WWF Titanprize!" he paused, "Wait a sec... did you say you had a boyfriend?" 

"Kurt Angle!" Stephanie replied proudly, then frowned, "And if I do recall, you were just giving me the evil eye in Jeff Hardy's room a few minutes ago! How did you change your clothes and get out here so fast?" she demanded. 

Suddenly, a black shotgun appeared in Jericho's hand. He raised it up, and fired at something behind Stephanie. 

Stephanie spun around to see a bearded man in leather lying on the ground. Her eyes went wide as the body quickly disappeared, "Damnit!! They came back too soon!" Jericho said. 

She turned back to Jericho, frantic, "What happened? You just killed someone, didn't you?!" she gasped, then began to back away, "Is this because you lost the number one contender spot for the belt? Is that it?" she was shaking now, "God... you're crazy! No... you're FIRED! And I'm calling the police!" 

Without a word, Jericho lunged at Stephanie, tossing her to the ground just as a bullet flew into the wall she had been standing in front of, "Those BULLETS are real, Stephanie!" Jericho snapped, "This hotel is NOT real! This... LIFE you think you're leading is NOT real! They know I hacked in! They're trying to get rid of BOTH of us! Just LISTEN to me! We have to get out of here!" 

Stephanie was crying now, "Kurt!" she screamed, "KURT! Help me!!" 

"Kurt can't even stick up to Dr. Taker, let alone a group of pissed-off Makotans!" Jericho replied. 

"Kurt loves me! He'll help me! He's even talked about marrying me!" 

Lt. Commander Jericho looked at her, then burst out laughing. Even without an emotion chip.... he couldn't help it. Jericho jumped to his feet gracefully, and pulled Stephanie up. "When you wake up, I really hope you forget you ever said that! I can just imagine the nightmares you'd have about being married to the Olympic dork!" 

The door to the Hardys' hotel room opened, and out came.... Jericho? 

"What the...?" the Y2J Unit gasped. 

Jericho ran at the WrestleFleet officer, and clotheslined him, "You shouldn't have come here!" he said. 

Stephanie stared at Jericho, confused, "Chris! You saved me?" she asked. 

The Jericho Stephanie recognized quickly grabbed her from behind. Stephanie screamed. 

"NONE of you should have come here! We don't like visitors!" the human Jericho said. 

The Y2J Unit quickly lifted his gun, and aimed at his double, "Let her go!" he said. "Use the move I taught you, Stephanie... when your opponent has you from behind, what do you do?" he asked, still training his gun on the other Jericho. 

Suddenly a memory came to Stephanie. She reached back, and hit her attacker in the temple with an elbow. He let out a painful shout and quickly let go of her. 

The other wrestlers that had been slumming in the Hardys' hotel room came out. Edge, Christian, Jeff, Matt, and Lita. 

"Damn... my hair can't be THAT bad, can it?" another voice said. "And what kind of shirt am I wearing?" 

Stephanie turned to see... ANOTHER Jeff? This one wearing a black leather jacket. 

The first Jeff turned to the one mocking him, "We don't like outsiders!" he said, and speared the second Jeff. 

Stephanie leaned up against the wall, overwhelmed. What the hell was going on? 

Three more shots rang out. Stephanie gasped, and turned to see a leather-clad Bradshaw and Undertaker with smoking shot guns. 

Edge, Christian, and Matt now lay unmoving in the hallway. 

Stephanie screamed.... then the bodies faded away just like the first one had. 

"Hey... you shot my brother!" the leather-clad Jeff said, then smiled, "I've actually wanted to do that myself a few times!" he then held his shotgun to the ribs of his double, and fired. The body collapsed, and disappeared as well. "Poor poor guy. He truly was a fashion victim!" Jeff said. 

"I wouldn't be talking about HIM being a fashion victim, Jeff. The Makotans molded him after YOUR personality and fashion sense!" The Y2J Unit said, then turned to his double, "Now as for YOU..." he fired. The double fell, and disappeared, "You may LOOK like me, jerky... but no copy can eeeeeeeever live up to the perfection that is Y2J!" 

Jeff snickered, but his laughter didn't last long as Lita grabbed him, and threw him to the ground, "Woah..." Jeff said. 

"Hey, haven't you always wanted the REAL Lita to do that, Jeff?" Jericho asked. 

"Don't give me any ideas right now, Chris... THIS Lita is trying to kill me!" Jeff said, and jumped to his feet. Lita threw a punch, "YIKES!" Jeff gasped, and ducked it. 

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Stephanie shouted. 

Lita stopped attacking Jeff, and turned to Stephanie, "You die now!" she hissed, and lunged at her. She pinned Stephanie to the ground, and began choking the female McMahon. 

Someone quickly grabbed Lita off Stephanie, and tossed her against the wall, knocking the woman unconscious. Lita soon disappeared. 

Stephanie looked up to see who had saved her... "KURT!" she cried, and jumped to her feet. She threw her arms around him, "I'm so glad you're here!" She snuggled into him, resting her head on his shoulders. 

"Uh, Commander?" Angle started, "This is highly inappropriate for a WrestleFleet officer of your rank..." he said, but that didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her. Hey... if she was willing... 

"I REALLY hope she remembers this when we finally get her out of here..." Jeff smiled, "Can you imagine how much fun I'll have teasing her about it?" 

Lt. Commander Jericho didn't seem amused. In fact... Jeff thought he looked downright pissed! 

The Y2J Unit waited a moment, then finally spoke, "Oh for heaven's sake!" he said, and pulled Stephanie away from Angle, who seemed to be sporting a rather unsettling smirk as he eyed the Chief Engineer. Jericho frowned at Kurt, wondering exactly how much integrity the Ensign had. The Y2J Unit turned his attention back to Stephanie, "Do you even KNOW who you're playing snugglies with, Steph? WAKE UP already... BEFORE you jump Kirk's olympic bones and REALLY embarrass yourself!" 

Stephanie turned to face him, "How DARE you pull me away from my man! How DARE you!" She reached up to slap Jericho, but he stopped her hand before it connected. The Y2J Unit then grabbed her... and _kissed_ her. 

Stephanie struggled in his grasp as the hallway began fading ... the floor beneath began disappearing... the pain in her head became blinding. 

Suddenly, Stephanie felt herself spinning uncontrollably... then let out a painful scream as her world was torn apart. 

*** 

PLANET MAKOTA - CONTROL ROOM 

Stephanie bolted upright on the table, blinking back the bright light that assaulted her eyes. Her head hurt. "What the...?" 

"Finally the princess wakes up!" a voice said. Stephanie's eyes focused to see the Y2J Unit sitting on a table across from her wearing the same outfit he had been wearing when they had landed on the planet. Wires leading from his head and arms were plugged into panels along the shiny silver walls. "Do you know how HARD it was for me to pull you out?" he asked. 

Stephanie looked down at herself. She was still wrapped in his trench-coat, but there were wires attached to her temple and wrists as well. She quickly pulled them away from her body, "What happened?" she asked. 

"The distress signal was a decoy," Jericho explained. "It was a trap to lure people here. The debris was fake," The Y2J Unit unhooked the wires from his body, "The Makotans lure people in to experiment on them... in HERE..." he indicated the control room, "It's some sort of virtual reality computer they invented. Sort of like a holodeck without an exit..." 

"But... the Makotans looked so primitive!" Stephanie said. 

"Their primitive appearance was just a cover. A good one, obviously..." Jericho replied as he jumped off the table. 

"So... um... what happened then?" Stephanie asked. 

"We were all trapped in the computer," he said, "But Taker was the first to wake up. My positronic net brought my Walls up when it sensed the alien program invading my systems so I was able to wake up shortly after Taker. I helped him wake Jeff, Bradshaw, and Kirk after that. YOU, however, were being difficult. When the Makotans attacked us, you received a nasty little bump on your head. You were unconscious, and much deeper in your dream world then any of us were. I went in to get you, but the Makotans had guardians in their program. They attacked me, so Taker, Jeff, Angel, and Bradshaw came in to help." 

Stephanie looked around the room. Taker was busy unhooking wires from Jeff, Bradshaw, and Angle. "Oh god..." Stephanie gasped, and quickly looked away from Angle, "I HUGGED him!" she said. "I SNUGGLED with him!" 

"You remember?" Jericho asked, then looked at Ensign Hardy, "Hey Jeff... you have material to tease her with now!" 

"Right on!" Jeff replied as Dr. Taker unhooked the last of his wires. 

"DON'T encourage him!" Stephanie snapped, then her eyes went wide, "Wait... you KISSED me! UGH! How DARE you!" 

"Hey... it woke you up, didn't it?" Jericho asked, "Don't complain! It was an act of desperation, I ASSURE you!" he snapped. 

Stephanie scowled at him and hopped off the table, "Where are the Makotans now?" she asked. 

"They have their hands full with some angry test subjects. We found a LOT of people who had fallen into the same trap. We had to beam practically the entire crew of the Titanprize down to wake them up. The dreamers weren't pleased." he explained. "We've destroyed the distress signal and the fake debris. Hopefully no one else will end up as guinea pigs!" 

Stephanie took a step forward, but seemed a bit unsteady on her feet. Jericho quickly put an arm around her to support her. She didn't mind ... until she reminded herself that she hated the Y2J Unit, and quickly shoved him away. 

Ensign Angle came up to Stephanie, "Commander," he started, "About that... _moment_... we shared in your dream, understand that I was thinking of nothing more then the fact you were my good friend! The ... _snuggling _really meant nothing to me, Steph! Nothing at all!" 

"Please, Kurt... don't EVER mention that _moment_ again!" 

"Sorry, Commander," Angle said, "I will never mention the snuggling again..." 

Stephanie winced, and put a hand to the welt on her head. 

What the Chief Engineer wouldn't give for a case of selective amnesia right about now...   



	70. Season 8 Episode 8 The Informer

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 8

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 8: THE INFORMER 

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 081400.00 Foley is God! The Titanprize is breezing through an arctic, barren nebula with all the interstellar flare of Ensign Blackman's personality and the crew has never been happier or more primed for the challenges that face us! Mick sets up these matches that work magic on the morale of the officers-people never get tired of watching Edge, Christian, and Kurt Angle become the APA's own personal bi-" 

His comm badge chirped. "McMahon." 

"This is Joe from Information and Linguistics on Deck 38. We have been hailed by that Class-X Planet we picked up on long range scanners and I have decoded their message." 

"Joe?" Vince frowned. Who the hell was Joe? Wrestlefleet? Nytron? 

"Yes sir. Just Joe." 

"Er....go ahead then...just Joe." 

"The royal family of Aurora-12 will welcome the Titanprize into orbit after we arrive within the borders of their space approximately seven Federation standard days from now. The communication was from a one Princess Ri'ael, who is eager to exchange technological and cultural knowledge with us." 

"Ahhh I see." McMahon yawned. Great. The crew wasn't going to stay psyched for long with these kind of stick-in-the-mud diplomatic missions! The novelty of being lost in space wore off quick when there were no cosmic clashes to keep the juices flowing! "McMahon out." 

Time to spice things up! Vince called up an image of the brig on his own personal viewscreen. He chuckled as he watched Russo on his knees, whimpering and crying and begging for mercy he wasn't gonna get. Security Ensigns Buh Buh and Devon seemed unmoved by the disgusting display of cowardice. 

"Please...I am begging you....anything but this! Kill me now! Make me watch Nytron matches! Just...end...the....torture!" 

"Do you think the Rock gives a monkey's behind about your boo-hoos and your poor me's, Jabroni? Does Vincent Rusoo, the biggest piece of trailer park trash walking God's green universe want the People's Lieutenant to bring him a diaper and a pacifier? The Rock Says This: Know your role and shut your damn mouth before the The Great One just brings it! What was that Jabroni? You think the Rock should leave your candy ass alone? Well the People's Lieutenant wipes a llama's ass with what you think! Right now, the Rock wants one thing and one thing only - to take my phaser, turn that son of a bi-" 

"Oh God just take me now!" Russo moaned. 

"Devon." Buh Buh whispered. The Ensign was spellbound, his eyes snapped wide and feverish by the last catchphrase. "Get the table." 

"Testify!" 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Did I give you permission to sit?" The soft pulse of the warp core was the only company Stephanie wanted tonight. 

Something was terribly wrong with Lt Commander Jericho and she needed to be alone with that. 

He'd kissed her inside the computer-generated Makota dreamworld, a computer himself feeling just like warm wonderful flesh and blood melting against her body, making every cell inside her tingle like it was on fire. 

Coming back to reality had been just a little bit cruel. And oh god... he hadn't felt a single thing. 

Damn Chris for ever showing her a sliver of genuine passion! If only he hadn't, she'd never know the difference now..... 

Ignorance was bliss. Wondering if his emotion chip was failing, the chip she'd slaved over...that was pure hell. 

"Try me Steph." Jeff rested his feet on the Engineering console. "Just go ahead and try me tonight. See where it gets you." 

Commander McMahon-Helmsley blinked, pushed her padd away. Hardy with an attitude was far more interesting than all that. "Looking for a free trip to the brig, Jeffrey?" 

"I believe that the countless times I saved your sweet little backside makes me immune to your evil power trips." Jeff said smoothly, glancing at the data that sat between them. "Divorce documents from Hunter, huh?" 

"None of your damn business!" 

"To tell you the truth Steph...." Jeff sighed. "I'd rather see you stay married to that Degenerate creep than stalking the virginity of Kirk Angel. Hunter may be scum of the universe, but at least you knew what his game was. With Kurt.....you of all people Commander should see that someone so morally pure has got to be a little warped somewhere." 

"Kurt's as innocent as a newborn baby." Jeff was warning her. Had he ever once failed to protect her? Her mind, her heart...everything inside her was screaming the same thing. _Listen to him!_

But when Angle looked into her eyes, Stephanie felt like she was lost in them, like she was the only thing in the room he could see. She felt like a work of art when he praised her. And the way Kurt listened to her... Steph's words were like a beautiful song he couldn't stop listening to! 

How could she not want that? How could she not want sweetness and comfort after being married to a man who gave her necklaces with bombs in them, a rebel whose criminal acts included a mutiny against her own father? Jericho... he was a cold-hearted android, a magnet for danger. She deserved better... 

"You're an Aerialian, Jeff." She smiled weakly. "You couldn't possibly understand wanting to be safe." 

"Kurt's not-" He let it die. Ensign Hardy couldn't be a perfect guardian angel - he couldn't save Stephanie from herself. "You're going to do me a favor." 

"Pretty cocky for a guy wearing his girlfriend's shirt." 

"See, Lita and I have been dating for six glorious months." Jeff knew she'd do it. She'd do anything for him. 

"Great." Stephanie said. "I'd be happy to send her a sympathy card." 

"Send yourself one." Jeff wasn't laughing, wasn't even smirking. Heck, he didn't even have that wicked gleam in his eyes. "Lita's on the warpath and we're in the line of fire. She thinks we... slept together." 

"What?" Stephanie suddenly felt queasy. She hoped her face wasn't as green as Jeff's hair looked in the glow of the warp core. "My god! That's...that's......" There was no flattering way to end that sentence. 

"Insane." Jeff finished it for her. "I know. I told her no matter how much you lusted after me, I could never ever return those feelings. You're my Commander, for pete's sake!" 

"Jeff...." Stephanie groaned. "You're an idiot." 

"I'm thinking of getting T-shirts made up." Jeff told her enthusiastically. "On the front it would just say JEFF and on the back it would say YOU'RE AN IDIOT." 

She sighed. "Look, I'll loan you whatever you need to buy an awesome anniversary gift. I'm getting pretty good at defending myself, but I ain't ready to take an ass-kicking from Lita. You just get her something nice and smooth things over before she kills me." 

"Lita's not into material things." Jeff explained. "She's not some shallow, spoiled little Greenwich-bred brat like you, Commander. I wanna throw her a big-ass, spectacular anniversary party in the Smackdown so the whole world knows how much I love and adore her!" 

"God Jeff, when you pour on the compliments and flattery like that....." 

"I sort of want to ask her to marry me too." 

Stephanie burst out laughing. She laughed so hard the tears threatened to short-circuit her computer. "You get married? To a woman?" 

"Of course to a woman." Jeff frowned. "To Lita. I know what you're thinking....we're young, we haven't been dating that long...but I've loved her all my life Steph. And being lost out here-" 

"The hurl is starting to rise here, Hardly." 

"Right. Well...I was thinking since you're a chick and all, you could help me draft a proposal, tell me what romantic cliches you ladies like, assist me with planning the perfect moment." 

"I'll do anything if you promise never to gush about Lita and your twisted love thing again." Stephanie told him. Hey, Jeff wanted advice from the universe's biggest romantic failure since the dawn of time, more power to him! He was, after all, an idiot! "And where did Red ever get the idea we did... _it_?" 

Jeff scowled. "Apparently Angle was spilling his All-American guts to some guy named Joe in the Smackdown. Told him he caught us in your room together, on the bed, and that I kissed you on the lips." 

"You did." Stephanie pointed out. "It was a joke. Kurt mentioned that part, right?" 

"This is Kirk Angel we're talking about, Stephie!" Jeff said with exasperation. "He doesn't even have a sense of humor! He sincerely believes you sullied my precious innocence!" 

"Kurt thinks I would sleep with you?" Stephanie cried. "With _you_?!" 

"And so does Lita." Jeff shook his head. "I guess this Joe guy was totally mortified when he realized she'd overheard every word. I had to sneak into a Jeffries tube to escape her wrath." 

"I am sooo dead." Stephanie moaned. "Lita's jealousy is lethal." 

Jeff didn't say anything. There wasn't much to disagree with in that statement. 

"Wait a minute." Stephanie wrinkled up her perfect little nose. "Who's Joe?" 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Hmmm... interesting." 

"What?" Hunter was startled out of his black mood. "What the hell are you staring at?" 

"Geez I'm sorry Ensign Helmlsey." The jerk who was about to get his teeth punched down his throat for invading Hunter's privacy didn't seem familiar at all. "It's just that I studied interstellar law at Wrestlefleet Academy and those looked like legal documents." 

"Law huh?" The Degenerate decided to spare the stranger's dental work for now. "Yeah well, everyone on this damn ship knows I'm in the middle of a divorce. No secret there." 

Thoughtful dark eyes studied the padd. "You're going pretty easy on your wife, Stephanie." 

"Freedom comes at a cost." Hunter shrugged his broad shoulders. "Let me explain something to you pal. You take from a woman, they never let you forget it as long as you live. I don't need that kind of curse on me." 

The legal eagle nodded wisely. "You've got enough crosses to bear with that girl as it is, right?" 

"Damn right." Helmsley burned away a little bitterness with a shot of synthehol. "She's lucky to have me as a husband! After the crap she put me through, I'm entitled to a hell of a lot more than that!" 

"I'm with you. I mean, is it gratitude to tell Lita that your groom is lucky to get the clothes on his back after he tried to murder you a thousand times?" 

"I never tried killing her!" Hunter exclaimed. "Oh god, that wench! She said that to Lita?" 

"I shouldn't even repeat this...." The daggers in Ensign Helmsley's eyes ordered him to continue. "But then again, Stephanie shouldn't have been gossiping on duty. I went to drop off some new encryption codes to Lt Commander Jericho and I guess their whispering got a little too loud. The words she used....violent, abusive, terrifying....." He shook his head. "Sorry man. None of my business." 

"That shrew!" Hunter felt like there was acid seething in his veins. Every muscle in his body went as tight and tense as titanium wire. "That freaking liar! I never harmed one hair on her skanky little head!" 

"Hey maybe she was kidding. I mean, the way she was laughing at you-" 

"Laughing" Hunter realized he was trembling. Odd that Stephanie could still inspire such fury in him...."She was laughing at me?" 

"You know how it is during a divorce." The man tried on a diplomatic smile. "People say stuff they don't mean. Stephanie was probably just showing off, trying to act tough in front of her girlfriend." 

"Steph and Lita are NOT friends!" Hunter spat. He never could stand the way those Aerialian nitwits worshipped his two-credit slut of a wife like loyal little puppy dogs or the way Stephanie rewarded them by lavishing so much affection and warmth on the freaks..... 

"Of course not! Ensign Lita was just being a polite listener! Steph's her commanding officer, so naturally she'd have to giggle while her superior bragged on how she pulled the wool over your eyes!" 

"I am the Game!" Hunter's voice shot up a few decibels. Heads turned. He didn't care. "I am that damn good! A spoiled McMahon princess does NOT get the better of me!" 

"Man, why is the husband always the last to know?" Helmsley's new bud sighed as if to say _you poor bastard_. "I heard you guys were splitting up cause of her affair with Jeff Hardy." 

"Jeff Hardy? An affair with a woman?" 

"Stephanie just seemed so proud of the way she could flaunt it and you didn't even catch on." A sip of Kanatian brandy, a sympathetic shake of the head. "Some women...." 

"I was willing to let her go without taking a damn thing!" Hunter snarled. "If that witch cheats on me, she owes me!" 

"She owes you big then. Heck, I even feel bad for Jeff - stupid kid doesn't even realize she's toying with his own big brother or that Olympic guy...you know....the one with the gold medals that's always talking about teaching you Degenerates some integrity!" 

"Kurt Angle?" Helmsley's death grip on his glass almost crushed it into a million pieces. "He lays a hand on another man's wife and _I_ need to learn integrity? Holy sh-" 

"Course you wouldn't even be in this predicament if it weren't for Chris Jericho, right? Stephanie was telling Lita how thankful she is to the guy for opening her eyes, making her see her husband for the monster he really is." 

"Jericho is just a thing!" Hunter knew the truth - he'd sabotaged the emotion chip himself, got the perfect revenge on the robot he loathed more than any flesh and blood human being. Jericho could kiss Stephanie, Jericho could touch Stephanie, but he would never ever _love_ Stephanie! "He's not capable of affecting my wife in any way, shape, or form!" 

"Oh no, no, no." Helmsley was smirking. Must have done something pretty cold to the Y2J Unit that would need to be uncovered for future use...."Of course not, Ensign. I didn't meant to imply....look, I'm sure they won't even speak to each other at Kurt's birthday party tomorrow night. I'll cya then - midnight isn't it?" 

"It could be when hell freezes over for all I care." 

X-Pac started sweeping up glass behind the bar. Hunter hadn't thrown his mug too carefully before leaving. "Maybe we should point out to The Game that Stephanie would never confess an affair with Jeff Hardy to his own damn girlfriend." 

"I'm surprised you're still talking to him." Joe commented, quietly finishing off his synthehol. "The way he spits on you and Roadie for being waiters and bragging on his own rank like he was a Lieutenant Commander? Hey, I myself think it's good, honest work! And you guys didn't have to marry the bosses daughter to get it!" 

"Your ass better call somebody, Joe." Jesse James was no fool. "Triple H and us Degenerates - it's better than blood, man. Tighter than brothers." 

"Sure." Joe nodded. "It's not like Hunter Hearst Helmsley would ever pick ambition over family, right?" 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Encryption codes from the Captain, sir." 

"Yeah. Thanks." He had to push warp core efficiency to the max so that maybe it would take only three centuries to reach Earth instead of four. Had to focus on that and not on Stephanie's illogical choice of companions.... 

Jericho was troubled by his irrational need to lock his hands around Kurt Angle's throat and squeeze until the Olympic Zero was safely roasting in the fires of hell. Androids without working emotion chips did not engage in such passionate murder fantasies. 

"Is Commander McMahon-Helmsley working tonight?" 

"Stephanie requires sleep." Jericho said blandly. Was she sleeping alone? God, he needed to think about the Titanprize engines, not the the ship's misguided human mattress.... 

"It's a miracle she can sleep." Joe shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, the nightmares she must have about Benoit..." 

"Benoit?" 

"Benoit." Joe sighed heavily. "You know, down in Information and Linguistics we do a lot of sophisticated code work, encrypt a lot of high-profile, top secret data. None of it ever got to me...until now." 

If that mad scientist had even put a scratch on Princess...Chris blinked. Hard. More than anything he wanted to rip the emotion chip out of his finger and reduce it to ashes with phaser fire. Clearly, Hunter hadn't ruined his precious bride's invention - he'd merely tampered with it to drive Jericho nuts! 

That was the only logical conclusion! 

"Tell me what Benoit did to Stephanie." 

"Oh boy sir." Joe took a deep breath. "I've already revealed too much, upset you-" 

"It is not possible to upset me." Jericho assured him in even, measured tones. "I am merely curious to know if Lt. Chris Benoit is a danger to Commander McMahon-Helmsley or Wrestlefleet. If you are worried that I will share this conversation with Benoit-" 

"Like I'd doubt the word of the great Lt Commander Jericho!" Joe laughed. Jericho didn't. "It was during a Wrestlefleet Intelligence Op, sir. Led by Shane McMahon." 

"The weasel?" 

Intriguing....Chris could make the transition from formal machine to smart-ass smooth as silk. Quite a mood swing for someone operating on a flawless emotion chip. 

"I'm sure Shane had no idea that - well he'd never approve of such a thing!" Joe sat down, as if he couldn't bear the weight of what he had to say. "Lt Benoit created this incredible bomb...Vince wanted to use it against the Nytron if they stepped out of line. Well....Benoit had another target in mind - Lieutenant Rock." 

"So?" Like Jericho cared. 

"So.....the bomb was a high-impact plasma explosive." Joe explained. "Small enough to fit into...say....a diamond necklace." 

"Where is this going?" 

"Stephanie was presenting Rock with an award on Copeland-9. Ensign Helmsley bought his wife a new necklace for their second honeymoon, a piece of jewelry she planned to wear to the ceremony." 

"Princess likes shiny things. Of course she'd wear it." 

"Benoit had the same opinion." Joe was warming to the tragic tale. "So he planted a plasma bomb in a diamond and made sure Hunter would get his hands on the gem." 

"No." 

"Would've worked too, if not for Steph's boyfriend." 

"Steph's...boyfriend?" Jericho shook his head. "Kirk Angel?" 

"Angel?" Joe frowned. "No. Jeff Hardy." 

Jeff? Not logical at all. Stephanie often compared the young Aerialian to the gum you scraped off your shoe-mildly annoying, didn't taste all that great in your mouth, and you wanted to get rid of him after five minutes. 

"I think that's when they became more than friends." Joe was still talking. "After Ensign Hardy disarmed the bomb around her neck. Guess danger makes for strange bedfellows." 

Jeff? In a bed? With a woman? 

"Sir?" 

The sharp scent of burnt wires shocked Jericho into the waking world. His tri-corder was nothing but a crushed, twisted mass of scorched steel and melted wires, the victim of android strength and....anger? 

Impossible. Anger was not part of his make-up anymore. 

Then why did the rage seething in his positronic net threaten to blind him? 

"....midnight in the Smackdown." 

"What?" 

"I was just saying you should avoid the Smackdown tomorrow night." Joe told him. "Benoit usually likes to hang there around midnight cause it's so quiet and he won't be disturbed." 

Midnight? The perfect time for Benoit to pay for his sins, to feel the fear Stephanie must have felt..... 

Revenge was perfectly logical, wasn't it? 

***

OUTSIDE ENSIGN EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

"We have finally transcended sucktitude, little buddy." 

"Maybe...maybe it would help to have a memorial service." Christian suggested, resting a solemn hand on Edge's shoulder. "It would be a totally excellent excuse to wear bitchin' black sunglasses!" 

The cocky Kanatian smiled wistfully. "The crazy-ass kind, Christian?" 

"Now Edge...." Little brother hesitated. "While you totally ooze awesomeness, the bug-eyed visual accessorizing is sooo my thing!" 

"Dude," Edge nodded in surrender. "I can feel the tears, you know, but I am just so totally scared that my eyes will get red and puffy! I - I can't risk that!" 

"Whoever did this..." Christian shook his head, praying to the almighty god above that not a single blonde lock would shimmer out of place. "They will so feel the wicked and most heinous wrath of our revengeance!" 

"I can't believe it's gone." Edge whispered, fingers lightly touching the sparkling shards of glass scattered on the carpet. "Just when we'd bonded...." 

"There will be other mirrors!" Christian held his brother tight as the sobs began. "I have a bodacious piece of glass you could borrow! It will so make your lips look even poutier!" 

"My god Christian!" Edge jerked away. "Is there no limit to your so totally not radical desensitivity? How can I...how can I replace something that's given so much of itself? Tell me little buddy! Why I should I go on living when I can no longer see the beauty that is...Edge?" 

"Oh geez guys." Joe kneeled down in front of the shimmering mess as if worshipping at a sacred temple. "I knew Jeff was mad at you for that chair shot, but I never imagined....my good god." 

"Jeff Hardy?" Christian asked. "The total dweeb with the technicolor hair? Talks like he just sucked on a helium balloon?" 

"I assume the purple and blue streak I just saw tearin' down the hall was Ensign Hardy." Joe replied. 

"I don't understand this kind of evil." Edge whispered. "I guess I can totally understand being ripped about the awesome concussion I gave him.....but....this...." 

"I do not understand!" Christian cried. "That was chairalicious to the max!" 

"Totally!" Big brother agreed. "He wants to smack me upside the head, fine! But to take the life of an innocent mirror? It had so much more to offer the world and he snuffed out its precious flame! Jeff Hardy sucks!" 

"Yeah well, he said if you wanted to discuss it he'd be waiting in the Smackdown at midnight tomorrow." Joe said. "Told me he'd only need one foot to kick both your asses if you wanted to get uppity about it." 

"I am so gonna get uppity!" Christian snapped. 

"Let's mess up his hair!" Edge snarled, the fires of hatred burning in his eyes. 

***

OUTSIDE HOLODECK 6 

"Ensign Lita - wait up!" 

She turned her head slightly, trying to place the tall, dark-haired officer who beckoned. Joe...something or other; he had one of those handsome, friendly faces that seemed to blend into the crowd. "Joe, right?" 

"Yeah. Just Joe. Look I wanted to explain about what you overheard in the Smackdown yesterday. Ensign Angle didn't know what the heck he was saying and-" 

Her stomach twisted itself into a knot. Of course - that's how she remembered Joe! Kurt had been spilling his poor pathetic guts out about how Jeff has improperly touched the pure and virginal Stephanie McMahon-Helmlsey. Joe had been the unfortunate listener. "Forget it. I should have known better." 

"What are you talking about?" Joe demanded. "You're the smartest ensign in Engineering! And you trust people! Who can fault a girl for trusting the man she loves?" 

"Only a blind idiot would miss the red flags popping up everywhere!" Lita cried. "His blind loyalty towards her, the way Jeff is always rescuing her from danger like some sort of white knight, all that blatantly obvious flirting he does... you know I almost bought the story that he was like a little brother to her! What a naive little jerk I was!" 

"Geesh Lita." Joe sighed. "Romancing an ensign would be highly improper. To suggest the Commander might do that.... " 

"She'a a McMahon!" Lita laughed bitterly. "McMahons take whatever they want and damn everyone else's feelings!" 

"Stephanie couldn't possibly have feelings for Jeff!" Joe insisted. "They've got nothing in common." 

"She doesn't care." Lita shook her red head. "Stephanie likes a challenge, the thrill of possessing something that doesn't belong to her. McMahons enjoy a nice, hostile takeover." 

"Seems greedy. I mean, she's got Hunter and Kurt and Chris.....Jeff's not her type." 

"He's a man. He's breathing. He's her type." 

"Look I happen to know for a fact that Matt and Jeff are inside this holodeck visiting Aerialia right now!" Joe told her. "Ask him to step outside for a minute. Talk it out - you'll see that Jeff only has eyes for you." 

"No offense Joe, but I'd rather find Stephanie and kick her teeth down her throat." 

"Sorry Lita, but I can't just stand here and watch you make a mistake like this." Joe was manually unlocking Holodeck 6's comm. "It's completely unfair to Ensign Hardy. He deserves a chance to defend himself." 

Lita rolled her eyes. Unfair to Jeff? She was the one who looked like a damn fool while Jeffy and Stephie played kissy face right under her nose! Commander McMahon-Helmsley's evil little giggle pulled Lita out of her self-imposed gloom. 

Joe started to open his mouth. She shut it for him with a kick to the shin and a shake of her head. 

"Would you please be serious, Jeff? All your little jokes are spoiling the mood!" 

"Chris is right. Your nose starts to run when you're angry." 

"It does not!" Stephanie sniffed. "Do you want me to leave, Jeff, or do you want to learn?" 

"Alright, alright." Jeff sighed. "I sure can't do this with Lita and do it right unless you show me how. I'd ask her, but you're way more experienced." 

Lita's mouth fell open. 

"Well, Lita doesn't spend as much time doing this as I do." Stephanie pointed out. "It's practically a hobby with me." 

"I didn't know you had any hobbies that involved standing up-OW!" 

"First, we need romantic music." The computer obliged. "Okay, put your arms around me." 

"Like this?" 

"Where the hell is your hand?" Stephanie demanded. "I already told you that was off-limits!" 

"That's what I'd do with Lita." Jeff sounded pouty. "Except I wouldn't have so much to grab-OW!" 

"You've just got no idea what to do with a woman do you?" Stephanie sighed. "You don't grab. Just hold me very gently okay." 

"Okay. Chris would be awfully mad if I broke you." 

"Don't ever tell Jericho about his!" Stephanie warned him. "He'll think I'm a softie, offering to give you lessons like this." 

"You make it sound like it's my first time or something." Jeff said indignantly. "I have done this before." 

"When you do it with yourself, that doesn't count." 

"It still feels good." 

Stephanie took a deep breath to calm herself down. "What you're gonna do now is move like I showed you before. Without hurting me this time, if you can help it." 

"I'm kind of a spazz." 

"I noticed. Lita's not going to enjoy herself at all if you're stiff and awkward when you move. Just relax okay?" 

"I'm just nervous about tomorrow night." Jeff explained. "I want everything to be perfect for her." 

"I don't understand." Stephanie sighed with despair. "I sense that you're trying really hard and I'm getting nothing out of this. You're Aerialian. Shouldn't you be all flexible and agile and what not?" 

"Maybe it's you." Jeff's tone was accusatory. "We'd probably do a lot better if you were flat on your back and I was-" 

"Sorry to disappoint you." Stephanie said sarcastically. "I like to go easy with the rookies." 

"Oh that is it!" Lita had punched off the comm. "He is the most disgusting, loathesome, slimy scum......" She shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "Oh yeah, I can't wait for our date tomorrow night! Jeff actually thinks I'm gonna spend a night in the sack with him after he warms up with Stephanie? He's out of his mind! The biggest thrill he's going to get tomorrow is my phaser in his shorts!" 

"Wait a minute! Lita!" 

Joe shrugged. Wasn't his fault the silly girl didn't hang around to hear the perfectly innocent explanation . 

"Hey." Jeff stuck his head outside the holodeck doors. "Did you just hear shouting? Like right out in the hallway here?" 

"Gosh no." Joe said innocently. "How are the dancing lessons coming along?" 

"They'd go a lot better if Stephanie didn't waste so much time slapping me silly." he answered. "But I guess Lita probably won't marry me if she thinks I'm gonna dance like an idiot at our wedding. It's worth the abuse." 

"You're a really devoted boyfriend, Ensign Hardy. I hope Lita realizes how very lucky she is." 

***

DECK 15 

".....so I wear my gold medals not for the purposes of self-congratulation and vanity, but to teach young ensigns everywhere that you can achieve your dreams through the ideals of intensity, integrity and intelligence. It's true, it's true." 

"It is true." Joe said sincerely, gratefully shifting his weight to the foot that still had feeling in it. He was supposed to be spotting Kurt while he lifted weights in the Titanprize gym, but Angle preferred to get his exercise blowing hot air instead of doing actual physical labor. 

Even though he could always savor the explosive outcome of his manipulations, sometimes putting them into practice could be downright painful, especially if one of your pawns was an egotistical twit feigning sainthood and sportsmanship. 

At an early age, Joe learned he could fight his own battles using witty zingers as opposed to fists. Once he'd crossed the bridge into the grown-up world, he decided it was time to expand the game, to raise the stakes and go for more than cheap heat. The Titanprize had proven to be the perfect stage on which to direct his grand little dramas.... 

The best part was that no one ever knew their buttons were being pushed. They didn't feel their strings being pulled by the puppetmaster with the kind, anonymous, easily forgotten face. Joe was just a friendly ear, a guy skilled in small talk. Didn't even have a mischievous gleam in his eyes! 

It was the easiest thing in the world to do really - you didn't even have to be a genius like Vince McMahon. Three rules: Watch, listen, and then analyze. Pick certain people, play on their weaknesses, their vices, their love and hate. Jealousy was by far the best catalyst for major confrontations. Slip little lies into honest conversation or use the truth in malicious ways. Set the trap and the little rats would come. Stoke the fires and they burned themselves. It was hilarious how self-destructive some people could become when you played them just right.... 

"Are you not interested in my tales of heroism, Joe?" 

"Sorry man." Joe sat on a weight bench, looking grave. "I just can't believe that guy you know? Someone like Hunter....yeah you expect 'em to get a little hot under the collar, but the scene I saw out in the hallway makes me wanna puke!" 

"Ensign Helmsley? Perhaps he could use some anger management classes?" 

"Oh yeah he could!" Joe nodded vigorously. "Raising his voice to Stephanie like that!" 

"Stephanie?" Kurt raised an eyebrow. "My friend, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley? My good friend, nothing more than a simple friend, my pal, Stephanie?" 

Had Angle just winked at him? God, why didn't he just cram the obviousness of their icky relationship down his throat? "Yeah, the one and only." 

Kurt shook his head sadly. "That man needs to be taught some serious lessons about how to treat a lady. You know I have more integrity in my little toe than Hunter Hearst Helmsley has in his whole degenerate body." 

"He's degenerate alright." Joe agreed. "I was appalled when I saw him raise his hand and-" 

"Raise his hand?" Angle's face turned as red as his tights. "You know it's my opinion that violence is never the answer, a value I have tried to teach the illustrious Dr. Taker at every opportunity. Needless to say, this has not prevented the entry of his boot into one of the more sensitive areas of my body. But I digress! Only a coward raises his hand to a woman, and as an American hero, I cannot abide by a coward like Hunter!" 

"Oh of course." Joe agreed. "It's true! He's planning on talking to her tomorrow night in the Smackdown....to discuss the details of the divorce or something. Could get ugly. Good thing it ain't too crowded there at midnight." 

"Oh you better believe your Olympic ensign will be there!" Angle exclaimed. "As someone of integrity, it is my sworn duty to see that my own close personal friend and commanding officer Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley is not harmed by that son of a female dog, Triple H!" 

"I really admire you Kurt." Joe said, his voice thick with phony respect. "I think I might one day reach your level of honor and nobility if I just practice the three I's!" 

"It's true." Angle nodded. "It's true." 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Jeff." 

"Jeff?" 

If he paced anymore, he'd wear a deep hole in the Smackdown's plush carpeting. Plus he'd make Stephanie queasy enough to hurl. 

"Jeff!!!!" 

"Sorry." He stopped. "You got the invitations sent out right? I want all of Lita's friends here to enjoy the look on her face when I spring this surprise party on her." 

"No Jeff, I burned all the invites to keep myself warm. What do you think, idiot? I had that Information Officer Joe send the invites over a shipwide channel so everyone got em'. That way, you look more popular than you really are." 

"Good plan, Steph." Jeff was trying to study everything in the room at once. Would Lita have preferred yellow and white roses to red and blue ones? Maybe the music was too mushy for her. What if she didn't like how the special Aerialian champagne tasted? Terri had been so generous searching her replicator memory banks for just the right kind......He couldn't get Lita a diamond either, not that she was materialistic that way or anything. Diamonds were something unique to Federation space, but he did have a gorgeous ring made of something silvery blue and fiery bright to offer her, a gem found on some mysterious planet or another..... 

"Hey did you invite everyone in your little black book too? Then I'd look the most popular guy in the universe." 

"Stow it Hardly." Stephanie was studying her reflection in the bar's sweeping curved window. Would Chris find the soft, silky ringlets that framed her face "visually pleasing" A surprisingly sad pair of big brown eyes surrounded by a million sparkling stars stared back at her; even the shimmer of creme-colored silk against her pale skin couldn't brighten those eyes. Would Chris find her dress "visually pleasing" as well? Sometimes his robotic speech was so frightfully frigid that she couldn't have much faith in his feeling anything at all. 

"If you stare at your reflection any harder, I'll start mistaking you for Edge." Jeff commented. "You look pretty. Now stop focusing on yourself and direct your energies towards me and my problems." 

"Wow. A compliment from a man who thinks painting his nails is the essence of style. Thanks Jeff." 

"You're welcome." 

"Have you noticed anything different about Jericho?" she asked suddenly. 

"Jericho?" God, he really was all she ever thought about. "Nah. He's gotten a lot meaner since you started drooling all over the Olympic Zero, but that's just his jealousy talking." 

"Right." You couldn't expect insightful commentary or keen observation from a man in a blue and purple ponytail now could you? "You got the ring, right? 

"Actually I ate it for lunch." Jeff showed her the small, black box that held the precious ring. "What do you think?" 

"Well, maybe you should just practice your speech again." Stephanie suggested. "Get confident with the material so you don't get the disastrous urge to improvise." 

"Alright. Pretend your Lita, keeping in mind that Lita doesn't stick her finger down her throat and gag when I say something romantic." Jeff got down on one knee. "Now I know your instincts tell you I'm going to try and get fresh, but rest assured I will not make physical contact with you. Okay - you're Lita now." 

Stephanie smacked him across the face. 

"Hey!" Jeff frowned. "You know if I wake up with a bruise, that will be just like Lita too. By the way, what did Hunter say when he proposed to you? Maybe I can incorporate some of that into my routine." 

"I doubt it." Stephanie sighed. The memory didn't seem so flowery and romantic now. Growing up and realizing the truth took the blissful excitement of her first marriage proposal and just about killed it. "He was all like....so you wanna get married?" 

"Short and....well never mind." Boy, Stephanie was a real jerk-magnet and she wasn't getting any less attractive to the scum aboard the ship, as evidenced by the slimy courtship of Ensign Angle. "Okay. Here I go. Lita....ever since we were little kids growing up on Aerialia, I dreamed about marrying you and - hey! You're turning green!" 

"Well I am sooo sorry! I really believe Lita would toss her cookies right now! I'm trying to be realistic!" 

"To be 100% realistic, you'd have to replace your big fat ring finger with Lita's beautiful, delicate one, but that ain't gonna happen so we'll have to work with this." Jeff snapped back. "Now stop cutting in or I'll practice my kissing on you too!" 

Silence. 

"Thank you." he said smugly. "As I was saying Lita darling.....in the beginning, just loving you was enough to make me happy. When you said you loved me back, everything that ever happened to me before that just paled in comparison to hearing you say the words. Believe it or not, I'm still not the luckiest or happiest man on earth yet and I won't ever be unless you say you'll spend the rest of your life with me. So...will you marry me?" 

"Jeff!" 

"Oh god." He couldn't look. "Oh my god. Tell me Lita is not standing there watching me do this." 

"I'd tell you, but then I'd be lying." Stephanie began to mentally prepare her last will and testament. She hoped an old-school ass-kicking didn't hurt as much as Hunter said it did. "Lita-" 

"Shut up slut, before _I_ shut you up!" Lita was smoldering, like a fire ready to rage out of control. "What kind of sicko are you Jeff? Inviting me on a date so I could help celebrate you and Steph's little engagement? You are nuts! When I get done doing the girly thing and crying my eyes out, I swear to god I am going to torture and kill you both!" 

"Lita-no!" Jeff jumped to his feet and tried to chase after her. The steel chair that Christian was holding stopped him cold. Actually it knocked him flat out. "That was for Edge! And the mirror you killed in cold blood!" 

"What the hell are you doing?" Stephanie grabbed Christian's arm. "He was going to propose to his girlfriend tonight and now he won't even remember who the heck he is! What? Did Shane send you to do that?" 

"Shane O'?" Christian seemed confused. "He's cool, but he'd never appreciate anything so totally chairalicious." 

"Stop saying that!" Stephanie cried. "There's no such word!" 

"You can't even wait for the divorce can you, honey?" Hunter was in her face, sneering. "I am going to bleed you dry you little slut! God, did you really think you could get it on with Hardy under my nose and not have me find out? I am the Game dammit! You will not deny me what I am owed, especially after I catch you accepting a ring from that little fruitcake on the floor!" 

"You know what Hunter?" Stephanie went ice cold. "If you're the damn Game, then how the hell can you be so freakin' stupid to think I'd get hitched to Twinkle Toes down there? He was going to propose to _Lita_, you big jealous moron! He was practicing his speech so he didn't sound as utterly uninspired as you did the day you tempted me into making the worst damn mistake of my life!" 

"Maybe I just wasn't in the mood to waste valuable energy and words on a cheap tramp who was gonna spit em back in my face anyway." 

Stephanie slapped him. Hunter stood frozen for a moment, as if in shock. His wife had never dared strike him before. Betrayed him, yes. Fooled around behind his back, yes. Physically laid a hand on him...no. It enraged him to be disrespected like that..... 

"I recommend you put that hand down before I kick some integrity down your throat and use your two eyes for target practice." 

"Stay the hell out of this Angle!" Hunter turned his fury on the All-American Boy Scout, felt his temper flare even hotter in the face of that damn self-righteous smirk. "Before Taker has to dig those gold medals out of your-" 

"You better not use the A word in the lady's presence!" Kurt retorted. 

"That's enough Kurt! I can handle Hunter!" Stephanie was tired of Angle always smothering her, always telling other men how they could and could not treat her! It was like having another father or something! "Oh and guess what! Stop being an ass!" 

"Why Stephanie!" 

"You got great taste in men, Steph!" Hunter shook his head. "I mean, if it ain't the dainty little virgin on the floor, it's the King of the Thirty Year Old Virgins standing right here! Course, you always had to have the upper hand in any relationship didn't you, sweetheart?" 

"Finally saw the light, huh Trip?" Jericho decided there was too much fun being missed by simply listening and observing. "Innocence lasts about as long as a beer around Bradshaw when Stephanie hits the scene. And trust me, when it comes to fresh young ensigns, Skankanie uses far more than just the upper hand!" 

"Just go and melt somewhere you titanium twit!" Stephanie hissed. The last thing she needed was Chris catching her in this bizarre cosmic soap opera, thinking she wanted any of these men! It would just give him more ammo to fire at her! 

"God, you really wore this one out didn't you?" Jericho nudged Jeff's prone body with his foot. "I hope he recovers." 

"I didn't touch him!" Stephanie snapped. "Christian did that with a steel chair!" 

"Cool pinkie ring!" Christian picked up the blue-silver gem that had fallen out of Jeff's pocket. He tried it on and studied his reflection in the ever-present handheld mirror. "Whoa! Totally ringalicious! The way this thing sets off my eyes.....pardon me, it takes my breath away!" 

"If you ever combine delicious with any other word again, I will combine my fist with your face!" Stephanie shouted at him. It was hard to hear her over Triple H and Kurt and Jericho's three-way verbal smackdown. "But congratulations lamer! You're now engaged to Jeff Hardy!" 

"Am not!" 

"Pardon the Rock for interrupting Jabroni." The People's Lieutenant tapped Angle on the shoulder. "I was told I could find you here." 

"Yeah?" Angle was slowly losing his cool and his integrity. How dare any of these men raise their voices in anger and utter such filthy insults in front of his friend Stephanie? He was certain a woman of her virtue had to be appalled by the suggested places he could stick his 3 I's! "Who told you that?" 

"Well the Rock says this. Apparently that silver-spoon sucking rich boy on the bridge has been punking the Rock out, saying he was hiding behind his tired catchphrases. And the Rock said...just bring it!" 

Triple H frowned. "Doesn't that just prove his point?" 

"Wake up and smell your wife's dirty panties, jabroni!" Rock snapped. "The Rock is more than the sum of his one-liners. The Rock is all about turning things sideways and sticking things up people's candy asses. The Rock is all about kicking people's candy-asses all over god's green earth. The Rock is all about just bringing it, if you smelllll-la la la what the Rock is cooking!" 

"While I have no idea what that all meant, I do know this." Kurt said. "Whatever the honorable Commander Shane McMahon said about you, that has nothing to do with your Olympic ensign!" 

"It doesn't matter if you understand it or not!" Rock retorted. "What does matter is this: Shane said he was too busy on the bridge to hit Rock Bottom, but that you'd be happy to take his place like the good little llama-licking piece of monkey crap you are!" 

"I don't think-" But it didn't matter what Kurt Angle thought; it was too late. Rocky had already spit on his hand and smacked the Olympic zero across the face, sending him flying across the bar. 

"What the hell is in that spit?" Jericho murmured. Perhaps he should do a scientific study.... 

"Lieutenant Commander?" Benoit's was like a silent assassin, sneaking up on Chris with such stealth that the android almost hadn't heard him. Almost. Nothing could slip past his superhuman hearing at such close range. "I demand to know why you refused to sign off my warp drive experiments! They would assist us in getting home, yet you can't see past your own petty professional jealousy to worry about that!" 

"What?" Jericho was only half-listening. Stephanie was so concerned about poor little Jeff, sitting beside him and trying to wake him up from his chair-induced coma. Analyzing her facial expressions, he determined that there was a 99.9999% chance that Commander McMahon-Helmsley's concern could be described as sisterly. "Listen up Benoit and listen good, cause I'm only gonna say this once. I don't even know what the heck you're talking about and I really don't give a damn either! All project approvals go through Vinnie Mac. As for owing someone an explanation jerky...." 

Now Stephanie was kneeling beside Ensign Angle, touching his hair lightly, examining the bruise that was forming on his pretty boy face. If he was analyzing her body language correctly, she was not behaving out of platonic compassion. Then again, maybe he should spend more time observing her body language just to make sure.... 

"Actually Benoit, I honestly don't have that much of a problem with you. In fact, I'd like to thank you. It's your brand of Intelligence operation that will make the Titanprize a better place to be. Only the next time you attempt to blow someone up, try harder!" 

Benoit's mouth fell open. Jericho didn't care. 

After all, even if he couldn't feel it, that sort of anger was expected of him....   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	71. Season 8 Episode 9 Hide and Seek, Pt 1

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 9

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 9: HIDE AND SEEK   
**PART ONE**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 081300.00. Once upon a time, I truly believed that Mick Foley was god. After what I have just witnessed in the Smackdown, I now truly believe he is Satan! How could this happen? Rock and Angle are at each other's throats, my darling daughter's divorce has turned bitter, Lt Commander Jericho is stubbornly refusing to play nice with Lt Benoit on projects that could get the Titanprize home! Dr. Taker reports that Ensign Hardy will not be able to return to Engineering for a week thanks to the severe concussion he received at the hands of Ensign Christian. I would like to punish the pretty boy severly, but my son Shane seems to see something positive in the lad...." 

What the heck was his prize ship coming to? Four hundred years from Federation space and the crew was tearing itself apart instead of trying to find a damn solution? 

Some fine Morale Officer Foley was turning out to be! 

"Captain Monkey Crap!" Lt Rock barked over the comm. "Aurora-12 is within visual range. Efforts to hail their candy asses have failed...." 

The catchphrases and taglines of the Great One faded into sweet, merciful oblivion as McMahon's mind wandered, which it often did when the Rock launched into one of his promos. 

Aurora-12 had been an answered prayer materializing on long-distance scans seven days ago; a lush tropical paradise flowering with both exotic medicines and technology. Among the crystalline turquoise seas and ivory-white beaches were rich titanium mines and brilliant scientists producing chemicals the Titanprize desperately needed to fly. 

The mysterious Princess Rai'el had promised them everything they desired. All she asked for in return was cultural and biological knowledge concerning the species aboard the Wrestlefleet vessel, and McMahon had happily obliged. Too easy? Too good to be true? 

It didn't matter. Future generations of Federation officers would take this ship back to Earth and it was the current captain's duty to keep the Titanprize alive long enough to pass his rank on to Shane. Shane would have to be trusted to do the same. Aurora-12 would help fuel his crew's home for many more light years to come, and McMahon couldn't turn his back on that. 

".....surface appears rocky and dehydrated. Oceans cannot survive under the harsh acidic atmosphere. Life signs-" 

"Wait!" McMahon cut in sharply. He'd been brought out of his blissful stupor by Ensign Lita's voice coming over the comm at Tactical. "This is Aurora-12, the planet we scanned to death over a week ago?" 

"Aye sir." Lita replied. "All life signs, both plant and animal, have completely disappeared. It should be officially catalogued as a Class-R planet due to its lack of organic-" 

"I didn't ask for suggestions dammit!" Vince knew his temper was flaring more hot than it should have been, but how else did a leader react to his people's hopes and dreams evaporating into thin air? "That world had millions of people on it 24 hours ago! I want answers and I want them right now!" 

"Geez Pops." Shane bristled indignantly. "Maybe if you'd just let Ensign Lita finish her report-" 

"Shut up weasel boy!" Lita hissed. "I can handle myself just fine thank you! As I was explaining, Captain McMahon, there is a power source firing in the core of the planet that cannot be identified by our computers. There are also minute traces of chronoton particles in the air, consistent with a large scale holographic image dissipating-" 

"A trick?" McMahon roared, pounding a fist on his desk so hard it almost shook the ready room. "Bait to lure us in? What the hell do they want?" 

"Pops-" 

"Good work Ensign Lita." The Captain took a deep breath, steadied himself. "Is it safe to send an Away Team?" 

"Well..." She hesistated. "I'd have to consult with Dr. Piro or Dr. Taker first." 

"Do it!" Vince McMahon didn't get played like this, not in any quadrant of space! 

Aurora-12 had a big surprise coming to it. The hunter was now the hunted..... 

***

JEFFRIES TUBE 68A 

"You can't hide in here forever you know." Matt squeezed his lithe Aerialian body into the single most claustrophobic Jeffries Tube on the ship. Course, maybe it just felt crowded cause his stupid brother was camped out in there. "Here's your food, idiot." 

"Ow!" Jeff fished the high-impact projectile out of his sleeping bag. It was too easy to get at him when he was sleeping in quarters...."Decaffeinated soda? Come on man, you know I need a rush!" 

Matt's look was deadly. 

"Right. Thanks then." Little brother gratefully unwrapped his candybar. "I know I can't hide here forever cause it'll take Lita at least three days to scour all the ductwork on the Titanprize. I hope that wench Stephanie finds a nice place to stick herself." 

"Wench?" Goodness! Had devoted little Jeffrey just slandered the princess? "Geesh, maybe you guys need some pre-marital counseling or something." 

"Drop dead." 

"Maybe later." Matt said pleasantly. "Oh just lighten up Jeff. Everyone on the ship knows Stephanie wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole." 

"Somehow this painfully obvious fact has eluded Lita." Jeff complained. "You wouldn't believe the horrible threats she's made against my life. Remember when we were both eight and she made me eat Aerialian fire spiders?" 

Matt snickered. "Sometimes I forget you've been an idiot since birth." 

"She's going to give said Aerialian fire spiders to Lt Benoit down in Science and Research." the younger Hardy was sulking. "He's going to mutate them and let them eat _me_!" 

"Oh man." Tears splashed on the cold steel floor, Matt was laughing so hard. "Lita is so totally in love with you! I can't believe she thought Stephanie was teaching you how to.....uhhhhh......pleasure a woman in the Holodeck." 

"I've read books!" Jeff retorted, face flushing as red as his hair. "I don't need Steph to show me how!" 

"So you've at least talked to Lita then?" Matt was just going to pretend he hadn't heard that. 

"Uh-huh." Jeff nodded. "And things are looking hopeful. She said she'd marry me if I was the last male of any species left alive in the known universe! So you know, I'm keeping my fingers crossed." 

"Good thing you got the looks in the family. " Matt shook his head. "Cause you sure as hell didn't get the brains." 

"You picking on me for a reason?" 

"Have I ever needed a reason?" Wow. There wasn't much that felt worse than a big brother's guilt, if the twinge of pain in his chest was any indication. Matt was so damn relieved that Jeff wasn't getting hitched...it took every bit of willpower he had not to show it. 

Pretending he wasn't in love with Lita required a strength he didn't know he had. 

"I gotta go get ready for a match." Matt was crawling back towards the Jeffries tube hatch. "Foley booked me and Christian for the Smackdown at 0900 hours. " 

Jeff perked up. "Want that I should bring a steel chair?" 

"I want that you stay put!" Matt snapped. Great. Another thing to feel guilty about: tearing into his little brother like that. But if he had to yell and scream at Jeff to get through to him, that's what Matt would do. 

Mockery, boyish pranks, even the occasional beatdown...that was all fun and games. Wacking baby brother over the head with a steel chair so hard Jeff forgot his own name for eight hours was crossing the damn line! Matt was out for blood and Jeff didn't need to shed any more.... 

***

JEFFRIES TUBE 71A 

Close...so close now. The hunter could smell the blood of his prey and was circling in for the kill, like a cruel and hungry vulture. 

Soon they would hear him. Soon they would see him. He could feel the noose tightening around his neck, suffocating him. 

He jerked a hand through his unkempt silvery-white hair, a nervous spastic, gesture. The young Aerialian who'd slithered into the pipes forty-eight hours ago was quick and clever. He wore the uniform of an Engineering ensign. He would be good at perceiving the tiniest details, anomalies in scent, sight, sound; he would be scientific and look for the source of these shifts in reality. 

And then Eric would be discovered, pulled from his safe haven and thrust into the cold, harsh hands of justice. He'd come to grips with his own sins, had stopped trying to wash the blood from his own hands. Bishoff carried in his soul the intimate knowledge of Nytron crimes he himself had manipulated into living nightmares. He saw his victims' faces when he slept, saw their fingers pointed at his chest, his empty heart, heard their screams as they suffered. 

Russo was there too, in the shadow world of his dreams, mocking him with icy laughter. His vow to Eric was even colder....if Bishoff was caught, like a rat in a maze, then McMahon would destroy him. He would turn over to Russo, and only God could help him then. 

And as Russo had proven time and time again, there was no higher power than the Nytron leader. There could be no mercy for Eric Bishoff....... 

The young Aerialian must never be allowed to discover him..... 

***

DECK 35 

"Please boys and girls, settle down." Miss Elizabeth clapped her hands together and offered the ragtag classroom before her a weary smile. It was hard to be angry with the children, hard to be impatient with the little ones who'd given her a place, a reason to belong. 

Most weren't meant to be here. When that demonic Russo had captured the Titanprize, a flood of young people, from Aerialians to Houdinians to Earthlings had flowed through the corridors of the starship, studying, researching, eyes wide with awe as they learned what Wrestlefleet Academy one day might offer them. 

And they had been without their parents, the families that loved and adored and cared for them. They were still alone, though Miss Elizabeth was trying to ease their pain and confusion by filling their lives with knowledge, by showing them that someone out there still had time for them. She could never be their mother, but she could still make a difference. 

Sure, it might sound like cliche to some, but she felt lucky, blessed even. McMahon could have thrown her in the brig for being a rebel's girlfriend, but he'd been fair enough to realize she was innocent of Nytron crimes. She was just a witness to them, a witness who would feel the sting of emotional scars forever. 

"Class, I have a very special surprise for you today! Commander McMahon-Helmsley and Lt Commander Jericho from Engineering are here to show us how the warp core works!" 

She saw it in a few eyes - the bright sparks of interest. All the children would have to find a passion for the ship, for Wrestlefleet. There was no other future out there, not as long as they were adrift in strange space. 

"Just remember." Jericho spoke in a low voice, while Stephanie fussed with a padd. "They're as scared of you as you are of them. Of course, that's when they attack you know. When they smell your fear." 

"I wonder if they'd smell your no-selling titanium melting in corrosive acid." Stephanie muttered. If there was ever a place she didn't want to be, it was here facing these children. She wondered if other women heard their biological clocks going off and wanted to hit the snooze button like she did. 

"And how do we welcome our special guests, class?" 

"Y2J Y2J Y2J!" 

Stephanie groaned and rolled her eyes. Jericho wore a charming smile as he sat up on Miss Elizabeth's desk. 

"My goodness." Miss Elizabeth grinned. "You got a bigger pop than Lt Rock did last week!" 

"It doesn't matter who gets a bigger pop!" a boy cried out. 

"The young certainly are impressionable." Jericho said with a sigh. "Okay, this is how we're gonna do things. I don't want to bore you little twits to death, and that's why I didn't bring Ensign Angle along with me." 

A collective groan. 

"Why don't you tell the Commander and I what exactly you guys wanna know about the warp core, and we'll use our brilliant minds to answer your questions. _I_ will, anyways." 

Stephanie elbowed him. 

"Are you really stronger than the whole entire crew put together?" a Houdinian child demanded. 

"I don't know about that..." Jericho grinned. "But I can do this!" 

Stephanie shrieked with terror and embarrassment as she was swept above Chris' blonde head, supported only by one firm android hand. "Put me down you big, stupid show-off! I mean it!" Her face flushed hot and bright red as the class giggled. 

"Course, my lovely Commander doesn't care for that much." 

Stephanie straightened her dress uniform, trying to maintain her stately officer's dignity. "Have I mentioned that Lt Commander Jericho is not only the strongest man on the Titanprize, but also the most obnoxious?" 

"Class, don't we have any scientific questions to ask the Chief Engineers?" Miss Elizabeth asked mildly. 

"I'd like to know why the warp core is blue." The girl's dramatic red and yellow hair marked her as Aerialian. "Ensign Hardy explained it was chemically balanced to match his hair, but I think he was kidding." 

Stephanie started, "Yeah well Ensign Hardy is an id-" 

"The warp core is blue because superheated plasma burns blue." Jericho cut in smoothly. "When something gets really, really, really hot, it becomes white or blue. Plasma fuels the matter and anti-matter reactions in the core, so the core is the same color as Ensign Hardy's hair. Now how about you kiddies telling us a few things you know?" 

"I know my role." one boy offered seriously. 

"I'm sure you do." Chris managed a faint smile. Good ol' Crocky. "Does anyone know how the exchange of matter for anti-matter makes the ship fly?" 

"With all due respect, sir." A fair-featured Resian girl raised her hand. "Ensign Hardy taught us what powers the Titanprize, and it's not the chemical reactions in the warp core." 

"Oh lord." Stephanie buried her face in her hands. "Have I mentioned yet that Ensign Hardy is an id-" 

"What did Ensign Hardy teach you?" Chris smiled patiently. 

"The ship is powered by you and Commander McMahon-Helmsley making sparks in Engineering." the Resian answered politely. 

His positronic net assured him this was amusing, so he smiled at Stephanie. While Chris was certain she was plotting some horrible fate for poor little Jeff, he could still feel his wires crossing when she blushed and smiled back. 

That was the only way to explain the pleasant buzzing in his brain. 

"They're gonna kiss!" a girl shouted. 

"Ewwww! They're in looooovvvvveeeee!" 

"Is he your boyfriend?" the Aerialian with the red and yellow hair asked. 

"My boyfriend?" Stephanie blanked out. Where was her quick McMahon wit now? "I...uhhh....ummm, well Lt Commander Jericho is not my boyfriend really, he's more like my...um....." 

Plush carpeting smacked her across the face as the ship pitched and rolled as if being tossed on the crest of a tidal wave. Every last drop of breath she had was forcibly exhaled as gravitational flux crushed her lungs and squeezed her throat, the fear effect magnified by intermittant yellow and red alerts screaming in her ears until they threatened to bleed.... 

"That ruled!" a young Kanatian squealed. 

The world was still again. The children looked impressed , as if they'd just gotten an adrenaline rush off the coolest roller coaster in the universe. And there was that stupid, smirking, smiling, perfectly balanced 'bot hovering over her, hand extended. 

"Eat dirt, Jericho." 

"Jericho!" McMahon barked over the comm. "Get your ass to the bridge! Aurora-12 has locked onto the Titanprize with a tractor beam of unknown origin! Energy and matter are being leeched off the warp core! Severe power fluxes are shipwide! Move it!" 

"Aye Cap." 

"Daddy?" Stephanie wobbled to her feet. 

"Commander, you're in Engineering! That damn planet is not going to bleed this ship dry!" 

"Aye Daddy." 

***

ENGINEERING 

"I got it." Jeff lowered his voice as he leaned over Matt's console, effectively blocking his view of the brightly flashing monitor. At this rate of energy loss, the balance between matter and anti-matter in the warp core would be lost in sixteen hours, triggering a massive and instantly fatal explosion. Matters of life and death rarely rained on Ensign Hardy's parade though. 

"Got what?" Matt whispered back, pushing his brother's annoying purple head out of the way. "A comedic deficiency disorder?" 

"Cold, dude." Jeff sighed. "You are so totally jealous of my quirky charms!" 

"Get some first." 

"Seriously. Check it out." Jeff uncurled his fist, revealing a palm-sized silver cannister with a tiny, blinking detonator strapped to its gleaming surface. "We are soooo gonna serve up a big bowl of justice soup to Edge and Christian for every chairalicious act they have committed against us!" 

"Jeff..." Matt groaned. "English please." 

"It's an aerosol bomb." Jeff said simply. "We crawl through the Jeffries Tubes, plant this baby in the vent above their quarters and set it to release sweet, sweet poison into the atmosphere." 

"Poison?" 

"Er...well...not poison." Jeff admitted. "But something equally cool I thieved from Piro's bag of tricks while faking a blackout in Sickbay. See, seven hours after exposure to this toxin, those valley boys will find their lustrous locks falling out in shiny golden clumps. Nice, huh?" 

Matt grinned. "They'll be suicidal. I mean, Chyna had to prevent Christian from leaping out an airlock after he discovered that zit on his nose." 

"Brother." Jeff said solemnly. "What we have done here will redefine sucktitude on every level known to man. It is an act of sheer and utter heinosity unparalleled in human history." 

"Alright Jeff." 

"Don't be such a square!" Kid brother was sulking. "This is awesomeness of the highest magnitutions! They're going to be singing a different conchairto when we're through." 

"I swear to god, Jeff. Don't make me kick your ass." 

Jeff frowned. "There's gonna be serious ramapercussions from that statement." 

"Oh that is IT!" Matt lunged after his brother, who had wisely employed his lightning-fast Aerialian velocity to scrape out a split second headstart. "Come on Jeff. Take your beating like a man!" 

"Hah! Shows what you know. I have yet to become a man!" 

"You can't run forever!" Matt cleared a lab table and cornered his brother. "I know where you live!" 

"Big deal!" Jeff slid under the table and sprinted across the room. "We share quarters! It doesn't make you Sherlock Holmes to figure out where I live!" 

"Matthew!" Stephanie snapped her fingers at him. Hey, she didn't need a baby. She had Matt and Jeff Hardy to parent! "I want the computers calibrated to compensate for the lost energy. Get cracking, genius." 

"Aye sir." Matt shot his brother a dirty look. The little brat was trying to catch his breath between waves of tear-inducing laughter. 

"And you." Stephanie poked a finger at Jeff's chest. "Put your little bomb away and go sit in the corner. Play with the diagnostics and see if something doesn't click in your twisted mind." 

"Geez." Jeff slouched over to the diagnostics array like a beaten dog. "I don't know why people think I hit the sheets with you, Steph. Your sense of humor doesn't exactly scream sexy." 

Stephanie bit her tongue so she wouldn't scream _anything_. She just turned around and calmly faced the soft turquoise light of the warp core, comforting herself with the steady hum of the energy pulses. Her tri-corder clicked with a steady rhythm, counting the seconds until the ship evaporated in a sparkling cloud of plasma. 

_Please let it take Jeff first,_ she thought with a sigh. 

Silence. Blissful silence. She was almost lulled to sleep by the blue-red wash of light emanating from the plasma generator. 

Red? 

Crimson streaks glowed like shooting stars threading their way through the heat of the warp core. Vibrant ruby raindrops slithered down the glossy surface of her console, brushing her fingers with a hot, thick liquid touch. The air was charged with an electric, coppery smell. 

God....it was blood. It had to be everywhere....soaking the walls, the floors...... 

A dark, distorted shadow loomed over her. 

Every fiber of her being quivered with terror, a terror so cold and black it came from a place beneath her soul. She turned to stare down her demons.... 

....and screamed. 

***

THE BRIG 

Ghosts. Wrestlefleet science didn't believe in their existence. They surely wouldn't believe in a human ghost, one of flesh and blood, one they believed was trapped behind a wall of high-voltage electricity. 

Russo smirked. Ensign Buh Buh thought he was so damn bad, making his broken down Nytron prisoner the Dudley brother's own personal bitch every night for kicks and giggles. Oh yeah, he'd take the wood, the splinters, the ache in his muscles..... 

Devon could testify his goofy glasses off and that wouldn't change the truth. The power flux that had rocked the ship had also rendered the force field that held him useless. Completely useless. He could've stepped through the curtain of light at will. 

But why give McMahon the easy way out? Why make his potential to spread chaos and violence obvious? 

There was a hatch above his head. He stared up at it every night while his back complained about the rock-hard bunk beneath him. And he wondered, wondered how he could manually disable the damn force field that kept him sealed in this hideous Wrestlefleet tomb. 

He didn't need to wonder anymore. 

Russo stretched out on his bed, the tension in his bones melting away as beautiful fantasies danced across his seething brain. He could almost taste the fear that tainted the air...could almost savor the cold little core of hopelessness that would soon be eating through Vinnie Mac's gut..... 

_I'm gonna kill your daughter McMahon. You've taken everything from me, right down to my pride. An eye for an eye, McMahon, an eye for an eye....._

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker wasn't happy, and that didn't bode well for the crowd gathered around the Hardyz bio-beds. 

The dead man didn't like his patients being harrassed, especially when they were patients who'd been on the wrong end of an Aerialian dagger. Poor little punks had splashed enough blood on the floor of Engineering to fuel another human being for god's sake. Slashed from behind...had to be a coward wielding the knife, a gutless coward who now held Stephanie's fate in his hands.... 

Taker didn't like weak men who couldn't look you in the eye while they tried to take your life. He especially loathed a man who would steal an innocent girl after cutting down her guardian angels. Be a damn, crying shame if the dark doctor got his hands around the villian's throat before security found the son of a bi- 

"Hey you little punk!" Shane was wriggling six feet above the floor, the collar of his uniform twisted through Taker's fingers. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" 

"Uhhhhh...." Okay, it probably didn't look good, his itchy little hand next to Jeff Hardy's ventilator. 

"You never give up, do you Boy Wonder?" Taker spat on the floor and heaved McMahon out the door. "Next time you'll leave on the end of my foot." 

"You'll have to pardon Shane, sir." Lita smiled wryly. "I think it's almost an involuntary reflex with him." 

"You sure it wasn't weasel boy who stabbed us?" Matt could feel himself drowning in a fog of painkillers, though he had to say the most recent hypospray wasn't killing much pain. Funny, even with the resistance to agony Aerialian nerve cells provided, a six inch blade being plunged into his spine could still send white hot flares of pain through his back. "He is the master of the sneak attack, after all." 

"He was on the Bridge." Chyna smiled. "And he tossed his cookies when he saw all the blood splattered in Engineering, so I doubt he could have held his lunch long enough to stick you guys. Sorry." 

"Matt." Lita hovered over him, frowning worriedly as she brushed damp black hair out of his eyes. "Who did this? Honest to god, you look like death warmed over. You're hurting - I can tell. I can always tell when you're sucking it up trying to be prideful and stubborn. Dr. Taker can give you-" 

"Lita!" He jerked away from her touch. Matt didn't want to be cruel, but since he felt like someone was still twisting the knife inside his spinal column, he didn't have the patience for her touching platonic concern. She could go shower her sweet affections on baby brother for all he cared. "I'm fine. I'll live. I can handle a knife in my back - I'm used to it." 

She blinked. "Matt...." 

"Where is she?" Jericho virtually materialized out of thin air, his android speed so amazing his grand entrance into Sickbay would've been missed had someone blinked. "Where the hell is she?" 

"Where is who?" Matt asked impatiently. Couldn't these people just get out of his face and let him suffer in silence? 

"Stephanie." Jericho answered through clenched teeth. "She's missing. With all the power surges on the ship and the energy drain going on, we can't get a lock on her bio-signal. Who the hell took her, Hardy?" 

"Jericho, you son of a bitch." Taker moved his near seven feet of bulk in front of the android, eyes grayer and harder than a storm cloud. "I don't know if this just ain't registering in your positronic pea brain or what, but my two patients have been viciously stabbed and parted from most of their blood. They're in severe pain. They don't need this crap right now." 

But Chris was fearless. Without an emotion chip, there could be no terror, no being intimidated by the dead man. 

Still....despite having a high-tech piece of scrap underneath his fingernail, he felt considerable rage and helplessness knowing he could not locate Stephanie. Princess was now the prize of some maniac, a psycho willing to kill Matt and Jeff to take what he wanted. The fury started to rise again..... 

"Tell me what you saw Matt. Tell me who took her." 

Matt closed his eyes, tried to remember. He recalled seeing Jeff slump to the floor in a pool of his own blood....not being able to cry for help because a dagger had left him momentarily numb before consciousness slipped away.... 

"Steph had been facing the warp core." he said finally. "She was still alive when I blacked out. We were attcked from behind...I don't know Chris. I'm sorry." 

"Damn." Jericho muttered. "It's alright Matt. Not your fault." 

He watched Jeff's eyes flutter open, saw the momentary flash of terror in their green depths before everything evened out. . "Ensign Hardy?" 

"Sir." The one word was so quiet Chris had to lean in to hear it. 

"How do you feel?" 

"Well, I'd feel a lot better if I didn't have this tube in my throat." Jeff whispered. "But it's a step up from that Aerialian dagger I suppose." 

"They didn't get your vocal cords." Chris pointed out. 

Jeff beamed. "Lucky for all my fans." 

Jericho rolled his eyes. "Did you see your attacker?" 

"Where's Matt?" 

"To your left." Lita pointed out. "Can't you sense all the sunshine he's radiating?" 

"Lita!" Jeff smiled happily. "You've come to accept my marriage proposal! All it took to get a yes was a near fatal stabbing!" 

"I'll accept your proposal after you make your first funny joke." 

"What?" His smile faded. "I don't think I like what you're implying." 

"Hah!" Matt said scornfully. "Jeff already did something funny. He was born." 

Lita laughed. "Oh well, now that was hilarious. I guess I'm gonna have to marry your brother now sweetheart." 

"Go ahead and marry Matt." Young Hardy pouted. "But I swear to god I'll dance at your wedding." 

"Flirt later." Jericho sighed. "Jeff, did you see your attacker?" 

"No. I was running a diagnostic. Then I was gushing blood all over the place. Then I woke up here." 

"Stephanie." Chris was getting frustrated. "What about Stephanie?" 

"I'm touched by your concern, Lt Commander." Jeff said dryly. "Steph totally yelled at me and then went to run tests on the warp core. Before I collapsed in my own blood, I saw she was safe." 

"Why did Stephanie yell at you?" Lita demanded. 

"Uhhhh...some insignificant little things about me building aerosol bombs to sick on Edge and Christian while the ship was getting blown up or something. She gets so moody." 

"I'm starting to understand the whole idiot thing, you know." Lita said with a smile. 

Jeff smiled back. "Scary, isn't it?" 

Chris ignored them. He'd go turn Angle and Helmsley upside down and see what shook loose there. Logic told him there wasn't a single Wrestlefleet officer aboard the Titanprize burning with enough hate to stab the Hardyz and kidnap Stephanie. 

Only one man wanted to kill Stephanie. Only one man had vowed to torment and murder her while being dragged to the brig in humiliation. 

Vince Russo. 

But that slime was cozy in the brig, under the watchful eye of the Dudleyz. As much as he wanted to claw at the heart of Captain McMahon, Russo was helpless to do so..... 

Damn it to hell! With his only logical suspect rotting in jail, that meant Jericho had to find a crew member harboring some secret evil in their souls. This was more a job for Counselor Snow, someone with enough feeling for human behavior to peer inside a madman's mind. It wasn't a mission for an ice-cold robot. 

But he'd do it. He'd turn this damn ship upside down to find Princess.... 

***

JEFFRIES TUBE 85-RC 

Stephanie knew what fear was. She'd felt her blood run cold with it so many times..... 

Hunter, Shane, Daddy, Matt, Jeff... even Chris Jericho could stand between her and mortal danger, but they could never protect her from the psychological terror. And that was the part she hated the most, waiting for the axe to fall and the physical pain to begin. 

She knew fear. Stephanie had somehow found the iron will to crush her husband's Degenerate mutiny back in Federation space, had dared to face The Game's wrath. But she'd been quivering inside the whole time, especially when he'd turned the phaser on her.... 

She knew what it was like to be hunted. Her brother's heartless friend, Lt Chris Benoit had tried to detonate her like a human bomb, a weapon aimed at his bitter rival, The People's Lieutenant. The rabid wolverine almost silenced her forever...until Rocky himself had played the hero. And all she'd been able to do was whimper like a frightened child in Benoit's vicious chokehold. 

There was also being around Lt Commander Chris Jericho....a whole other brand of anxiety. 

This.._. this_ emotion went beyond fear. It was deep, chilling horror, a feeling so cold that her bones felt like they were slicked with ice. Awakening, she'd seen stars. When the drug-induced nebula had cleared, she'd found herself staring into a pair of eyes she never wanted to see. 

The eyes of Eric Bishoff. Eyes that were wide and fearful and probably didn't look too much at reality anymore. 

The legends about Bishoff were as grand and terrifying as any earth legend from the Headless Horseman to Dracula. Even a frigid ghoul like Dr. Piro cringed when he heard the man's name. Eric was the dark heart of terror beating at the core of the Nytron rebel movement, a loathesome subhuman creature capable of untold sins and methods of torture. 

Stephanie had tried to scream, found herself muffled by a stale, sweaty cloth driven deep into her mouth. She'd choked. He would have his way with her. She couldn't fight him with razor sharp wire coiled like poisonous snakes around her wrists and ankles.... 

"You're safe now." Bishoff nervously met her damp, salty gaze. His voice was soft and shy. 

Safe? In this cramped little hellhole, a mere crawlspace between Jeffries Tubes that smelled of trapped, musty heat and very real human fear? A claustrophobic hole lit only by a wash of sickly yellow flourescence? Oh yeah, real safe. 

"I-I'm sorry I gave you so much sedative." Eric murmured, distressed at her paleness and shaking. "It was crucial that you didn't struggle. I-I'd like to remove the gag, but I don't want you to scream for help. That would be very bad for you." 

Oh lord, maybe she could reason her way out of here....Stephanie nodded in understanding, hoping she looked small and pathetic and unthreatening. 

"Please don't play games, Commander McMahon-Helmsley. You look like such a tiny wisp of a person, but I know how strong you are. You survived Russo. Anyone who can survive Russo has got to be strong and sly. Please don't make me regret my faith in you." 

She shuddered at the mention of Vince Russo's name. Oh the way he'd leered at her sometimes...as if he could take her father's ship and his baby girl too.... 

Stephanie gasped and coughed up dust as the gag was pulled loose of her throat. "Where did you come from?" 

Eric frowned. "Russo likes to bring his favorite toys along wherever he goes. For pleasure, he had my Kimberly. To satisfy his sick, twisted need to be a puppetmaster and inflict pain, he had me. It ain't right to go into the bloody details with a lady, so......" 

"He likes to hurt people." Stephanie said quietly. "In a ways I probably can't imagine." 

"It's like a fever burning in his brain." Eric's eyes darkened to a haunted gray. "A cancer that eats at him but makes him stronger. Now he's free to indulge the monsters inside him, the ones that tell him to hurt Captain McMahon..." 

"Daddy..." Stephanie realized she was being lured into his confidence, morbidly fascinated by his horror stories and the disturbing pictures his bizarre words painted. But other voices spoke to her too-the voices of X-Pac and Chavo and those who'd been burned by this man, inside and out. "I don't care what Vince Russo did to you, Bishoff! Why did you have to kill Matt and Jeff? They had nothing to do with....this." 

"Stephanie...no." Eric shook his head. The heartbreak in her eyes left her looking so vulnerable...."They're not dead. But Russo, he tried...he had those knives and he was so quiet and smooth like a ghost. By the time I realized....well I couldn't stop him...the blood was all over the place...." 

A flicker of hope. "I need to see them. It's the only way I can trust you." 

"Stephanie!" Now his voice shrilled with alarm. "Going to Sickbay is too risky. Russo must never see you. You musn't ever be exposed or available to him. He'll...." He trailed off, turning corpse-white. 

"Prove to me that Matt and Jeff are alive. You're asking me to believe an awful lot when you accuse a locked-up Wrestlefleet prisoner of attempted murder." 

"Don't you understand?" Eric's tone was spiraling towards hysteria. "He's not your prisoner anymore. You're _his_ prisoner Stephanie, _his_ hostage! Now that we're trapped by Aurora-12, he can be anywhere, hurt anyone! You'll have to wait until I destroy him before you can see your friends again." 

Stephanie licked her dry lips. Bishoff was lucid enough to comprehend that the Titanprize was in desperate straits, but his mind was clearly distorted by whatever nightmare Russo had forced on him. In the weak, trickling shower of light that creeped into their crawlspace, she could see jagged red scars on his flesh paling to pink and islands of bruises swimming beneath his sallow skin. 

"What does Russo want to do to me?" 

His eyes widened. "It's a secret Stephanie. And if I tell you, you'll never sleep again." 

TO BE CONTINUED

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harluemu2@yahoo.com



	72. Season 8 Episode 10 Hide and Seek, Pt 2

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 10

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 10: HIDE AND SEEK   
**PART TWO**

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 082400.00. My daughter is missing. My precious angel Stephanie has disappeared into thin air and I cannot spare the time to look for her. My first duty is to the ship and the crew, as both will cease to exist if the planet of Aurora-12 continues to drain energy from the warp core. A fatal core explosion is imminent and will take place in five hours unless we find a way to disengage the mysterious tractor beam." 

McMahon washed down his bitter loss with a glass of water and continued. 

"Ensign Chyna in Security has been given the solemn task of locating Stephanie and apprehending the piece of human garbage who stabbed Matt and Jeff Hardy. All other personnel are dedicated to freeing the Titanprize from Aurora-12's death grip. I am very concerned about Lt. Commander Jericho, who seems to have his priorities dangerously screwed up." 

Vince pondered the robot's bizarre, emotionally charged behavior. He knew his little girl and Ensign Matt Hardy had combined their respective sklls and constructed a new set of feelings for the Y2J Unit. But McMahon wasn't a fool. There was no way this side of Jupiter that their homemade emotion chip could possibly match the original model for complexity and quality. 

"Lt Commander Chris Jericho, my best engineer, doesn't seem to give a damn about saving the warp core. In fact, he seems downright obsessed with with one mission and one mission only." 

McMahon paused. 

"Finding Stephanie." 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"It's true, it's true." Angle nodded at Hunter as they sulked over two mugs of synthehol at the bar. 

"It is true." Helmsley agreed. "Divorce was the best damn thing that ever happened to me. If Steph wants to go off and play the spin the bottle with her android lover or that rainbow freak, she's more than welcome to do it!" 

"It turns out that in a weak moment where I lacked integrity, I may have spread an untruth." Kurt said hesitantly. "As it happens, the virtuous Stephanie didn't steal Jeff Hardy's innocence like a thief in the night. My apologies." 

Hunter thought about punching the Olympic idiot in the nose, but shrugged the urge off. He'd need something to keep him amused later. "Hey, doesn't matter if it's Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, a jerk like you, or Chris Jericho. Once a slut, always a slut. I'm just glad I washed my hands of the dirty who-" 

"Please Ensign." Kurt flushed. "Mind your integrity!" 

"Excuse me Jerky One and Jerky Two." Jericho tapped them both on the shoulder. Chyna had already bawled him out for improperly questioning the Hardyz, but his fierce android persistence wouldn't allow him to quit. "A minute of your time?" 

"You just took it." Hunter didn't turn around. "Now buzz off, creep." 

Angle wrinkled up his perfect Olympic nose. "How awful. You may be capable of intelligence and intensity, but as a machine you have no capability for integrity." 

"How's about I add a fourth I to your list Kirk?" Jericho's teeth were bared in a predatory scowl. "As in _I_ am going to shove my boot so far up your Olympic ass you'll be able to tell me what flavor my shoe polish is?" 

"You had a question, sir?" Kurt asked politely. Helmsley sighed loudly. 

"Matt and Jeff Hardy were both run through with Aerialian daggers in Engineering ten hours ago." Chris reported blandly. "Both were attacked from behind and neither saw the stabber. The intent of the criminal was clear - he wanted both young men to die." 

"Too bad." Hunter shrugged his broad shoulders. "Cry me a river." 

"Let me know if they croak." Angle said cheerfully. "I'll send flowers." 

"They'll live." Jericho said coldly. "Where were you ten hours ago, Ensign Angel? I mean, besides with your nose stitched to Trip's behind?" 

"Guess if I had my nose there, I have an alibi." Kurt pointed out. 

So Angle was a bit of a smart mouth, eh? "How about you Trip?" 

"It just so happens I was at the helm of the Titanprize, scumbag." Helmsley drained his beer. "Now can a man enjoy his beer in peace, or do I need to go find my sledgehammer?" 

"Stephanie is missing." The look of shock on both their ugly faces was too genuine. Neither of these losers had the first clue about where Princess was stashed. Too bad really. He was looking forward to breaking their kneecaps in a spirited effort to learn the truth. "Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq have determined that she was kidnapped shortly after the Hardyz were assaulted." 

"Kidnapped?" Hunter exploded off his stool, landing nose to nose with the Y2J Unit. Chris didn't bat a single synthetic eyelash. "My wife was stolen by some maniac and I gotta wait ten hours for a jack-ass like you to tell me? When I get my hands on the son of a bitch who took her, he will pray to god he was never born!" 

"Ex-wife." Jericho said sweetly. 

"No thanks to you!" Helmsley was about to raise his fist when Chyna intervened, restraining his muscular arm with a firm hand. "Just let me have one punch, Chyna! Let me bash that arrogant titanium smirk in!" 

"Not today." Chyna shook her head. "What the hell are you doing, Chris? I asked you to back off! This is an official investigation, not your own personal quest for justice. I know you can be logical, Chris, and the logical thing for you to do right now is apply your talents in Engineering and step out of my way. Let me find her." 

Jericho took a deep breath as he absorbed her words like stinging slaps to the face. Oh yes, he could indeed be logical. He was running on nothing but pure logic right now. This need, this desire to find Princess didn't gel with the worthless emotion chip lying dead underneath his fingernail. Maybe a minor subroutine in his positronic net was damaged and a diagnostic was required. Maybe he was getting so good at pretending he had feelings that he was simply getting carried away.... 

Chyna steered him away from Hunter and Kurt's prying eyes. "I understand, Chris. You're worried sick about her. No matter how much you try and scam me, I know you care for Stephanie in ways that you're not exactly comfortable with. But if the ship is dead cause the legendary Jericho wasn't there to save it, what does Steph's fate matter then?" 

Jericho's expression faded to neutral. "Message received, loud and clear. I won't stand in your way. I apologize for violating protocol." 

Chyna smiled. Funny... Chris usually denied caring about Stephanie... 

***

ENSIGN HELMSLEY'S AND ANGLE'S QUARTERS 

"It's true, it's true." Angle said solemnly. 

"What's true, dude?" Christian made a beeline for the mirror. "We totally didn't say anything." 

"Uhhhhh..." Angle thought for a moment as the doors sealed shut behind them. "Was I talking out loud again?" 

"Unfortunately." Edge replied. "But we'll invite you to partake in some totally chairalicious action with us anyways. We haven't properly introduced Matt Hardy's head to Mr. Steel Chair yet." 

"Oh my." Kurt was at the replicator, ordering up a nice, healthy, pure glass of milk. Pure like the virtuous Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. He had to hide a smirk. "Haven't you heard? Matthew and Jeffrey were stabbed in Engineering several hours ago. I'm afraid we'll have to perform the inevitable beatdown later." 

"What?" Christian spluttered, adjusting his over-sized turquoise sunglasses so the light caught them just right, giving him the aura of a cool and untouchable rock star. "Why... that's like, that's so totally like, that is TOTALLY LACKING COOLNESS! I don't know whether to call it heinosity or sucktitude!" 

"Little buddy." Edge scowled. "When someone robs us of the chance to put a dent in the Hardyz heads, it is what we in the business call a totally heinous swerve!" 

"SO not swervealicious." Christian shook his head. 

"Kurt!" Edge gasped, his eyes drawn to the medals around the Olympian's neck like they were magnets. "I...I am like so totally inspired right now! This is like an epiphany! I am feeling totally epiphanous right now!" 

"Have my three I's finally changed your life?" Kurt asked hopefully. 

"You can shove your three I's!" Edge declared, pulling one of the golden discs away from Angle's neck. He slipped it around his own. "It is a miracle of cosmetic divinity! The glow of this gold magnifies the fair luster of my hair to the millionth degree!. Gold medals rule!" 

"Whoa!" Christian murmured as he high-fived his brother. "Have you like discovered religiosity or something?" 

"I'm my own religiosity little buddy." Edge seemed captivated by the image staring back at him in the mirror. "If only I could step outside myself and worship my own totally awesome beauty!" 

"As much I would like to engage in further frivolities, I must be on my way." Kurt told them. "It's obviously up to your Olympic ensign to rescue the fair maiden Stephanie." 

"With all due respect, Ensign Angle." Christian said scornfully. "You couldn't find your way out of a wet paper bag." 

"Yes, but I could find myself an Olympic Lieutenant if I manage to shag the Captain's little girl." Angle said bluntly, letting the smirk free at last. "And what that plan lacks in integrity, it more than makes up for with intelligence." 

"Whoa!" Edge gazed at him admiringly. "Cheapening oneself with loveless intimacy to get a promotion totally rules!" 

"Totally." Angle smiled and nodded. 

"Dude, it's _my_ job to smile and nod after something clever is said." Christian scolded him. 

"Come on Christian." Edge said. "It's time to pursue our glamorous movie careers and once again become the adoring object of people's flash photography. We're trying out for the Dudleyz new film, We Got Wood." 

"Ummm now might be a good time to employ my third I, intelligence." Kurt frowned at them. "I don't think that's a real movie. I think it's just an excuse for Buh Buh to powerbomb you through a table and laugh about it." 

"You see that, Christian?" Edge sighed. "You get just one glorious moment of fame and all the little people become jealous and catty. Well meow to you too, Ensign Angle!" 

Kurt rolled his eyes as the doors swooshed closed behind the Cocky Kanatians. He might've already hung them up by their toenails had they not proven to be so useful in distracting those pathetic Hardy boy scouts. Matt and Jeff, in their misguided loyalty towards precious Stephie, could endanger his plans to snuggle up to the influential commander.... 

"Hey!" Kurt gasped and writhed as his medals were yanked tight against his overly suntanned neck, his throat straining to suck in air as the noose crushed his windpipe. "My....god......have....you....no.....integrity?" 

His Olympic knees buckled and the edges of reality were shadowed in darkness. Was that a white light, or merely his gold reflecting back at him? 

"Russo!" Helmsley wasn't surprised. As a rebel, he'd seen too damn much evil rise from the dead to bat an eyelash at the Nytron slime's appearance. Someone with as black a heart as Vince couldn't be held by a meager forcefield. "You scumbag! Where's my wife?" 

His fingers flexed as they reached for his prized sledgehammer. His body jerked backwards, every muscle, every nerve ripped with pain as the fire from a Resian disruptor coursed through his rugged frame. Paralysis was too merciful to hope for as the weapon he'd given to Stephanie so long ago ate his senses alive.... 

"Don't worry Hunter." Russo laughed, spit on Helmsley. "What a joke - _Hunter,_" His lips curled back in a sneer. "A man half your size has you writhing in agony... you're not the _predator_, you're the damn _prey_!" 

Hunter groaned. He didn't care about the humiliation or the way his muscles seized against the scorching hot radiation. He only cared that this murderous psycho had Stephanie.... 

"Relax loser." Russo smiled, holstered the powerful weapon. "You'll live, just like Kurt, just like Matt and Jeff. And once you've all recovered, you can play a little game, Game! You can have a scavenger hunt and bet on who can find the most pieces of your beautiful wife scattered throughout the Titanprize." 

It was so amusing, seeing this helpless man's eyes snap with impotent rage. 

"That is, if there's anything left of her when I'm done...." 

***

JEFFRIES TUBES 56AC 

Another horrible crawlspace, another stifling pocket of the ship that could become her tomb. 

Stephanie didn't remember coming here, but then reality flooded back to her with less and less clarity now. The delicate skin of her throat felt like hot, dry desert sand that needed an ocean of liquid to wash it away. Cold, sickly, feverish sweat dripped down her face, clouded her already blurring eyes. Her blood sugar had plunged so low that the world around her seemed to tremble instead of her own weakening body. 

It was then that she heard Bishoff slithering through the ductwork, and it was the first time that a devil had ever looked like an angel before. 

"I'm sorry it took so long." He was always apologetic, always sorry. "Here." He loosened her bonds just enough so her shaky hands could grip the glass of water. It was lukewarm but tasted like a Greenwich spring to her parched throat. "I didn't want Culinary Officer Rikishi to catch me in the kitchen and back that ass up on me." 

Stephanie managed a small smile. "I don't blame you. Do you have... food?" 

Eric offered her some Aerialian chocolate and Kanatian candies. "These will keep your sugar up, but they're not too healthy." 

"I don't care." Stephanie didn't care about talking with her mouth full either. If only Etiquette Officer Richards could see her know... she'd give him something to censor! "Look Eric, I've been good. I didn't scream or try to escape while you were off scraping up some nourishment for me. I think you should take me to Matt and Jeff now." 

Bishoff frowned. "No Stephanie. It's more dangerous than ever. Russo has attacked Kurt Angle and Hunter as well. He's trying to massacre everyone who could protect you." 

"Oh god." Stephanie whispered, closing her eyes. "Hunter...." 

"Hunter will survive his disruptor blast." Eric said, giving her an odd look. "As Angle will survive being brutally choked with his own gold medals." 

Stephanie snickered cruelly. 

"I don't see how this is amusing." Bishoff was disappointed in this one...but of course the poor thing could have no earthly idea of what Russo wanted to do to her..._with _her...after all, Stephanie was human and most normal humans didn't have fantasies like the Nytron tyrant did....."Don't you see?" he asked earnestly. "First he cuts up your prized Aerialians and then he brutalizes your husband and your... friend. He's trying to lure you to Sickbay by wounding the ones you love." 

The sweet chocolate went sour in her mouth. Bishoff was right. Russo knew she had a weakness for all those men. God...what would he do to Jericho? 

"I can't hide here forever. Once the ship is secure and out of danger from Aurora-12, these tubes will be flooded with security looking for me." 

"I will stop Russo long before that." 

She shivered and trusted completely in that vow. 

***

SICKBAY 

"What the hell are you staring at, boy?" Hunter didn't need the attitude, not now, not ever. Especially not while his pain receptors were still so angry about the disruptor blast he'd received from Vince Russo. The fire in his muscles had dulled to a slow, steady burn that somehow couldn't melt the cold ball of fear in his stomach. 

Where was Russo holding his wife? Was she hurting right now? 

_ Ex-wife_. He had to keep reminding himself of that. The marriage was over, though he couldn't bring himself to take a share of the blame. 

Hunter, though, could blame that sneaky little creep Jeff Hardy. He could also take a lazer scalpel to the freak's beady eyes if he didn't wise up and point them in some other direction. "You got a problem?" 

"Uhhh yeah, actually I do. Could you move your nose to the right a little? It's blocking my view of that whole entire wall." 

"You little bastard!" Hunter would've shot across the room like a rocket had he not seen Kane's black-gloved hand twitch on the trigger of his phaser. It probably wasn't the slickest idea in the universe to draw Farooq and Bradshaw away from their card table and half-finished beers either. "You just keep pushing me, Hardy, just keep pushing me, cause dammit, I would be all too happy to push you back!" 

"I'm shaking." 

Lita and Shane looked up from the tactical padds they were going over together. Well, Jeff had pushed his luck, going without a severe beating from a fellow crewmember for more than 24 hours. He was about due. 

"You better shake like a damn leaf." Hunter smiled coldly. "You're gonna pay in spades for taking my wife to bed. I'll make getting your throat cut look like a damn pleasure cruise!" 

"Ensign Helmsley, show a little integrity please." Kurt sighed, which was difficult considering his badly bruised neck. "I told you that Jeff and Stephanie never-" 

Hunter silenced the Olympian with a murderous glare. Of course he knew Stephanie wouldn't touch the little puke with a ten foot pole, but he didn't know what else to do with the fear and anxiety twisting his gut, the regrets and remorse that nagged at his brain. He let it all fuel his rage, a rage he would've been happy to unleash on the rainbow-haired Aerialian scum smirking on the other side of Sickbay. 

"It's alright, Kurt." Jeff assured him. "What can I say, Hunter? There were just some things that Stephanie could get out of my flexible Aerialian body that you couldn't offer. Don't be upset - doesn't make you any less of a man." 

"Son of a bi-" Ensign Hardy snickered as Commander Kane and Dr. Taker restrained a red-faced Hunter. 

Lita's mouth fell open. Did Jeff actually think it was humorous to joke about going to bed with Stephanie? Did he honestly believe it was sensitive and in good taste to do it in front of her? 

"Stop it Jeff!" Matt hissed. Lord, why did his brother always have to start something he couldn't finish? He didn't need this right now, not when he still couldn't hobble out of his bio-bed without crutches and a strong hypospray. "If he had gotten loose, he would've killed you on the spot. You can't handle someone like Hunter." 

"I wonder how hard you'd be laughing if I got a piece of your woman?" Hunter sneered at him. "How about that Jeff? How about I drag Lita into the Jeffries Tubes one night and have my way with her? She's probably ready for a real man right now anyways." 

"You're dead." Now it was Hunter having a chuckle while Chyna held Ensign Hardy back. 

"There you go, Angle." Hunter elbowed his roommate. "You can mentor Jeff Hardy, King of the Thirty Year Old Virgins In Training." 

"Don't know if I happened to tell you boys this." Bradshaw calmly removed a cigar from his mouth. "But there's enough cold boot leather here for each one of your asses. Just a little something for you all to think about." 

Dr. Taker welcomed the uneasy silence that followed. Chyna had set a nice for trap for Russo, but it sure as hell wouldn't work if all these damn human emotions were boiling so close to the surface. Wasn't worth it to use these officers as bait if they killed each other off.... 

"You better be right, Chyna." Shane's icy voice cut through the silence. "My sister better turn up alive." 

"She will." The Ninth Wonder of the Universe's intuition had been sharpened by years of Degenerate rebel training. Steph was alive, frightened and terrified, but very much alive. If Russo had the poor girl in his clutches, he'd be forcing the ship to listen to her screams by now. "I'd stake my career on it, Commander. Better yet, my life." 

Taker knew that was a safe bet. When he'd been called to Engineering by a scared sick Ensign Crash and seen the rivers of Aerialian blood flowing, he'd been ready to call the time of death and prepare two caskets. Stephanie didn't have the stomach for carnage he did, couldn't turn her heart on and off like the dead man was capable of doing. Seeing two men she loved like brothers violently slashed had traumatized her enough to force her into some godforsaken hiding place. 

The dark doctor knew in his gut that Stephanie would be drawn here, that she somehow knew all the people she loved were in Sickbay. She cared too much to turn away. Stephanie would come for Matt and Jeff and Hunter and Shane and Lita... maybe Kurt. 

Russo would follow. And Russo would find out why most feared the immortal Dr. Taker more than hell itself.... 

Kane narrowed his eyes at his brother, felt his stomach turn. So the good doctor was setting a clever and elaborate trap for the maniacal and murderous Russo! How utterly mericful! A disease like Russo had to be eradicated entirely, wiped from the face of existence.... 

Perhaps the invincible dead man didn't understand evil as well as he thought. 

Kane understood all too well about the demons and monsters that stirred inside a man. Watching his brother calmly allow the devil incarnate to stalk the ship and an innocent girl was awakening the monster that slept in his mind..... 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Report, Ensign Guerrero." Jericho was tired, oh so tired and overrun by fatigue. Sixty minutes were all that stood between the Titanprize and oblivion, and all he could do was stare and push buttons as the warp core flared and flickered in the grip of the Aurorian tractor beam. 

Of course, techinally he couldn't be worn out. Androids didn't sleep or rest. Technically, he couldn't be experiencing emotional fatigue, but he was genuinely drained thanks to worrying about Princess and the attack on the ship. His positronic net was rigged to handle thousands of complex calculations all at once, but Stephanie's fate kept tracking through his circuits like a feedback loop. 

Technically... hell _technically_ didn't matter anymore. He had to face that. The emotion chip under his fingernail was far more dead than even Dr. Taker and yet he was obsessed with it, obsessed with his own very human reactions to things that shouldn't affect him at all. 

"....show you this slide, sir." Latino Heat held a bio-slide on the tips of his fingers. "I think you'll find it fascinating." 

"Explain." 

"The tractor beam is composed of organic life forms." Eddie told him. "You might say it's alive." 

"Alive?" Jericho frowned. "You're saying it's an energy-based alien life form?" 

"Exactly." Guerrero nodded. "Ultrasonic scans by Lt Benoit show that the beam's point of origin is in the core of Aurora-12. There's an enormous amount of similar energy there and from it's shape and size, I'd have to say it's one large radioactive creature." 

"Hold on." Jericho paused. "What you're saying is that Aurora-12 is the alien, and it's ticked off with us?" 

"I don't know about ticked off." Eddie smiled. "I'd say it's feeding itself and our warp core is the main course. Other scans of the planet's surface indicate the wreckage of several craft, which means this has happened before and no one's survived." 

"Intriguing." Chris murmurmed. "An alien composed of radiation and mysterious energy buried inside a rocky planet that feeds on plasma and matter. It obviously has holographic capabilities, since it lured us in. It also has incredible gravitational pull since the Titanprize can't break away." 

"Benoit's tests indicate that Aurora-12 needs to process plasma to stay alive." Eddie went on. "The more it drains from our engines, the more powerful and poisonous the radiation beneath the surface. Lt Rock is not able to communicate with the creature, and he's guessing its too highly evolved for us to comprehend." 

"Yeah well, Rocky is about as evolved as an amoeba." Jericho muttered. "But he's probably right." 

"I'd say Aurora-12 is clearly hostile." Guerrero hesitated for a split second, but then decided the fate of the Titanprize had to come before his own anxiety. Making recommendations to an officer as superior as Jericho could be very intimidating. "It uses illusions and deceit to draw us into orbit. It traps us and then absorbs our energy without hailing us or offering anything in return. It shows no concern for our safety. Several other ships have already been destroyed, indicating that Aurora-12 values no life but its own." 

"Agreed." Jericho nodded. "It's us or them. We've got fifty-three minutes and counting to make sure this alien never eats another starship alive." 

***

JEFFRIES TUBE 66M 

"I thought I could trust you!" 

Stephanie whimpered as she felt the cold of the metal hatch bite into her back. She had forgotten that Eric was a Houdinian and could move with a speed and agility that would make lightning envious. 

She'd been so close too, so close to being free of all this madness. The Jeffries Tubes were choking the life out of her, shrinking with each passing second, filling her with an almost feverish claustrophobia that Counselor Snow would never be able to cure..... 

"I can't take it anymore." Stephanie hoped the tears sparkling in her eyes would soften the panic glowing in his. "If I don't see that Jeff and Matt and Hunter are alive, I'll go crazy! What if something's happened to Shane or Daddy or Lita?" She blinked. "Oh and Kurt of course." 

"Russo won't kill them." Bishoff seemed saddened by her inability to comprehend a madman's sickness. "He wants them to suffer through your torture. He wants an audience for it. And he needs them as bait, so you'll walk into his trap. That's what you're doing you know - giving yourself to him, committing suicide." 

Stephanie gazed at the hatch behind her. Just a few inches of thick steel between her and her friends.....but she could hear them. There was a faint "it's true, it's true" and a not so faint "Jeff you're an idiot", which meant he had lived to annoy another day. She took a deep breath. 

"At least let me go assist Jericho. If my calculations are correct, the ship will be exploding in twenty-four minutes." 

Eric was hesitating. She could see it in the blood red light that streamed through the tubes, alarms to notify the crew that death was close at hand. "Russo will go after Lt Commander Jericho last. I cannot allow you to be there when it happens!" 

"If we're all dead, your worries about Russo are irrelevant!" Stephanie said impatiently. "Look, Chrissie is one heck of an officer, but even a well-designed android can't save a ship alone. He needs me to-- Eric?" 

Time and space had frozen where he stood. Bishoff was like a statue, the only life showing in the crazy terror shining behind his eyes. "No...." 

"Pretty, pretty princess." Russo cooed. He gently carressed her soft white throat with the crimson tip of an Aerialian dagger. "I can't wait to hear you scream for me. I promise, I'll be so good to you before I kill you." 

Stephanie dared not swallow, lest the razor sharp blade slash her skin. Woozy, she wondered if it was Jeff's blood or Matt's blood on the knife. 

"Come on, Russo!" Bishoff's fear slowly gave way to rage. No more, no more of this...this trying to build himself into a puppetmaster and tyrant by crushing the smaller and weaker. No more trying to wash away his own inferiority with the blood of the innocent. No, Russo would not be allowed to play his hideous game anymore. "Be a man! For once in your pathetic life, be a man! Do you think you'll prove how high and mighty you are by slaughtering a scared little girl? All it proves is that you're too damn afraid of Vince McMahon to attack him face to face!" 

"Oh Eric cares about you." Stephanie had to swallow the bile in her throat as Russo whispered in her ear. "Wait til you see how much I care about you, sweetheart." 

"Eric never hurt me." 

"You're protecting her?" Russo laughed wildly. "You moron! Do you think McMahon is gonna give you freedom and a pat on the back for this?" 

"I'll never be free." Bishoff said grimly. "Not as long as you're alive. Come on Russo, let that poor girl go and let's finish this. If I gotta die to end the nightmares then I'll damn well do it. But killing her won't get to McMahon, won't get to all those people who love her. It'll just make them hungry, hungry for you to suffer a thousand times worse than you make her suffer now." 

"Screw you, Bishoff!" 

Stephanie screamed as the knife twitched and slipped inside her, the blade crushing her nerve cells until they exploded with pain. She couldn't see anything but the blinding pain. ..... 

"Run Stephanie!" 

Run? A bright blue light streamed over her head, singing her hair. _My phaser!_ Eric had her phaser and was firing it at Russo. Russo was yelling in agony. 

"Run!" 

Eric sounded hysterical so she slithered faster, each inch dragging the spasms of pain out longer and longer. The tunnel surely went on forever, plunging deeper and deeper into darkness as time slowed more and more.... 

And then there was a bright light..... 

***

ENGINEERING 

"Chris!" 

"Steph! My god...." 

She fell into his waiting, open arms beneath the Jeffries Tube hatch. "I-I'm alright. Just tell me how you're going to save the warp core." 

"You're bleeding!" Her uniform was smeared with the thick streaks of scarlet fluid and dirt. "Did Russo cut you?" 

There was an edge to his voice. Stephanie decided not to mention the way Russo had experly slashed at the base of her spine, causing the maximum amount of pain to blossom through her veins. "It's Matt and Jeff's blood mostly. How can I help?" 

"Steph...." 

"Dammit Chris! The Titanprize is about to be vaporized! Stop screwing around give me answers! That's an order!" 

"Aye sir." Funny....she didn't seem so commanding with her body limp in his arms and her head buried against the soft warm fabric of his uniform. She was shaking, biting down on her lip so hard it bled freely. Princess was in physical agony and not even shedding a tear. 

He was impressed. "Aurora-12 is alive, Commander. It's feeding off the plasma and matter in our warp core. It suckered us into orbit by projecting a sophisticated holographic image onto our sensors, making us believe we'd found a planet similar to ones back in Federation space. The alien is possibly empathic and definitely superintelligent. It is hostile and will kill us if we allow it to drain our engines anymore." 

"I see." She pulled away, making him feel curiously empty. 

"Warning. Fifteen minutes to massive warp core failure. All crew must evacuate. Warning. Fifteen minutes to-" 

The computer's sugar-coated monotone blandly warned them of their impending doom. 

"Options?" Stephanie demanded. 

"Only one, sir." Jericho replied. "We send a concentrated stream of anti-matter into the tractor beam. It will mix with the matter and plasma to render the beam highly unstable. There will be a fatal explosion of incredible proportions once the anti-matter reaches the core of the planet." 

"That will destroy the entire world." Stephanie frowned. Typically Wrestlefleet tried to avoid such bloody solutions. 

"There's no other way." Chris said quietly. He'd been programmed to believe the same. 

"I'm preparing to fire anti-matter through the missile bays." Guerrero reported. "It will strike the deflector dish and target the tractor beam. Once the planet absorbs enough, it will detonate. Ensign Christian is standing by at the helm to launch the Titanprize into warp once the fatal chain reaction begins." 

Stephanie nodded. "Fire at will, Ensign." 

"You wench!" Stephanie screamed bloody murder even before she saw Russo drag himself into Engineering, the chest of his prisoner's jumpsuit singed with black ash from Eric's phaser fire. His face was white, eyes bulging with bloodlust and insanity as he raised a Resian disruptor set to kill and pointed it's fiery tip at her own rapidly beating heart. "Why did you make him do that? You're like, like some sort of evil witch with this black magic and you've got all these stupid fools falling at your feet, falling under your wicked spell!" 

Stephanie gulped. Russo must've killed Bishoff and stalked her through the Jeffries Tubes. She'd been possessed by such mind-numbing agony it hadn't even occured to her that the sicko could escape.... 

"I can't take it anymore sweet, sweet Stephanie." Russo was sweating out his madness. "The curse ends tonight. It has to." 

Fantastic. He'd spent his time in the brig developing a bizarre obsession for the Captain's daughter. No wonder Eric had been so bent on shielding her from this man.....she owed Bishoff the one thing he'd asked for: never to reveal his existence to anyone. 

"Dear god." Jericho stepped in front of Stephanie and stood face to face with a man so far over the edge there was no pulling him back. "You won't take her, Russo. I'll see you in hell first." 

"Hell?" He laughed until tears ran down his face. "Hell is knowing McMahon beat me at my own game, turned my people against me, made them hate me! Hell is knowing I could destroy him by killing his slut daughter and never being able to get my hands around her beautiful throat..." 

"Put the disruptor down before someone is forced to kill you, Russo." Chris spoke rationally. His cool android logic was the only thing preventing him from shattering protocol and tearing Russo into a million little pieces. "Cause trust me, Vinnie Mac would love to shoot your worthless corpse into outer space to drift for eternity. Wouldn't want McMahon to get his own way again, would you?" 

"Don't try and play head games with me, robot!" Russo snarled. "You're just a piece of metallic crap who's got no idea what's twisting in my brain right now! Oh but it will come across loud and clear when you watch me enjoy your precious little princess!" 

"Well, well, well, ain't monkey crap just turning up in the funniest places." Lt Rock had a plasma rifle ready to discharge white hot energy into Russo's prison-starved body. "When I say Know Your Role, jabroni, it's a matter of life and death. Don't make me bring it!" 

Stephanie almost sobbed with relief. She'd never enjoyed Rocky's catchphrases until this one blissful moment. Heck, she'd probably never enjoy them again, but for now..... 

Russo heard several more clicks; they roared in his ears, louder than the screeching red alert or the erratic pulse of the tortured warp core. Those damn Hardyz, that Olympic twit, and the Game lined the Engineering promenade above him, plasma rifles sighted on his heart. Most fearsome of all was Bradshaw and Farooq, who'd stepped off the turbolift wielding lead pipes and baseball bats, cigars dangling casually from their mouth like delivering a good old-fashioned ass-kicking was just as natural as getting out of bed in the morning. 

No. He wouldn't let it all end in misery and defeat again. He wouldn't let McMahon's people rip away his pride again! 

"Get your dirty panties down!" Rock speared Stephanie to the ground as blistering disruptor fire spread havoc through Jericho's positronic net, his no-selling titanium shielding Commander McMahon-Helmsley from the lethal radiation. 

"Ummm...thanks I guess." Stephanie groaned and pulled herself off of Rock's 500 credit uniform. Maybe she hadn't sold that spear properly, or perhaps like the rest of Lt Rock's fighting techniques, it simply didn't hurt. At any rate, she was able to sit up easily and without agony now. "Oh god, Jericho!" 

"He's alright." Matt was already kneeling beside the android, plasma rifle left abandoned on the floor. "His positronic net just needs a few minute to absorb the energy before it dissipates. They don't call it no-selling titanium for nothing Steph." 

She sighed with relief. Stephanie sure didn't need to worry about Russo anymore. 

"Brutal huh?" Jeff nodded at the action in front of them. "I guess that's how Bradshaw and Farooq recruit their personal bitches now." 

"I guess." She was just so happy to be in her Engineering, with her crew, her friends, that she forgot to remind her beloved Ensign Hardy that he was, indeed, an idiot. 

***

THE BRIDGE 

"Congratulations Lt Commander Rock." Stephanie smiled through gritted teeth as she pinned the gleaming gold star to his spiffy new 600 credit uniform. She couldn't hold it in dammit! "You freaking, flaming, glory-hogging phony!" 

No one heard of course. With Etiquette Officer Richards frowning sternly over the proceedings, she decided to deliver that personal message in a whisper. Steven didn't scare her, but she sure didn't need the irritation. 

"Pardon me you dirty piece of Greenwich streetwalking trash." Rock raised an eyebrow and punctuated the taunting gesture with a smirk. "Do you like whispering in the Great One's ear?" 

Stephanie cleared her throat. "Acting on behalf of Captain McMahon, I officially promote Lieutenant Rock to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, as is fitting an officer of his courage, sacrifice, and honor. Now pardon me while I go throw up." 

There was polite applause and mindless chanting for the new Lt Commander as Stephanie leaned against the Engineering console and sighed. It made her so depressed, having to give the Rock another push, but Daddy was busy "interrogating" Russo. "_Jericho _saved my life, not that lazy, two-bit, catchphrase-spitting wimp." 

"Cheer up Steph." Jeff couldn't take his eyes off tactical, where Lita was chatting pleasantly with First Officer Weasel Boy, no doubt just to punish him. Sure, he'd made a few tasteless jokes about sleeping with Stephanie, but they were only jokes for pete's sake. Okay, maybe he'd been slightly out of line taunting Hunter with an affair that had _never_ happened, but being a smart-ass was in Jeff's blood! Lita was supposed to love him faults and all! 

"Cheer up?" Stephanie muttered. "Right, well, I shouldn't be shocked now should I? Lt Rock has always polished his own career by leeching off other people's hard work. Someone else takes care of the technical little details and then he swoops in and steals their thunder. God I hate him!" 

"Don't fight it Steph. No one can truly hate the Rock." 

"Oh yeah?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow of her own. "Hey have you ever thought of legally changing your name to Idiot?" 

"Hey," Jeff grinned. "You ever thought of legally changing your name to Mrs. Jericho?" 

"A shame that Aerialian dagger missed your vocal cords by a mere inch." Stephanie commented. 

Jeff just smiled. 

"Why if it isn't my good friend, Stephanie." Kurt was beaming at her, his dorky little smirk as bright as his gold. "Shall we celebrate Lt Rock's good fortune in the Smackdown?" 

"Excellent choice, Kurt." Jeff told him. "I hear it's no cover charge for virgins tonight." 

Angle frowned. "Please Stephanie. We should get you away from this crude element." 

"Oh yes you definitely should." Stephanie gave Ensign Hardy a haughty look as she marched off on Kurt's arm. 

Jeff just rolled his eyes and wondered how long it would be before he and Matt had to rescue their painfully naive commander from the clutches of the All-American Creep.....   


   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	73. Season 8 Episode 11 Reunions

Wrestle Trek: Season 8, Episode 11

**TITANPRIZE: **

Voyagers

****

SEASON EIGHT 

****

EPISODE 11: REUNIONS 

By: [Elektra][1]

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - WWF TITANPRIZE 

Captain's log, Stardate 051220.00. We've reached the Triangle nebula. Dr. Taker has suggested caution, claiming that he has heard rumor that this is home to many a vanished WrestleFleet officer… though considering this sector of space is uncharted and we are far from any WrestleFleet space – thanks to Russo throwing us through a damn worm hole...!" Captain McMahon's voice grew bitter, then he calmed down, "Since this is uncharted," he repeated, "It is unlikely Dr. Taker would know anything about this nebula, nor the disappearance of any WrestleFleet officers." 

He paused, and reconsidered. Dr. Taker DID know many things no one else did…. But really – vanished WrestleFleet officers? Impossible! 

"In other news, it seems my daughter and Ensign Angle are growing close. Perhaps this is better for her. That bastard degenerate, Triple H, made my baby cry! That is unforgivable!" McMahon slammed a fist down on his desk, then composed himself. "Ensign Angle is a man of integrity. He will not hurt my baby! And if he does... he will be sorry he is even aboard the WWF Titanprize! End log." The Captain finished. 

McMahon looked over the pile of crew evaluations on the desk beside him. He read Shane's evaluation on Angle. The Commander had written that Angle had great potential and should possibly be in line for a promotion. 

Captain McMahon put the padd down. He would have to give that some thought. He WAS impressed with Angle, after all... 

***

NURSE SATURN'S QUARTERS 

Saturn tossed and turned in his bed. Odd images invaded his mind. The beating of feathers echoed in his ears. A shadow loomed over him… and spoke, "What about me?" 

"What?" Saturn asked the image in his dream. 

"You forgot about me! What about me?!" 

Nurse Saturn bolted upright in bed. Why was he having such weird dreams lately? 

And why did it feel like someone was watching him? 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - the next day 

"Attention! I have an announcement," Morale Commissioner Foley started as he stood on the top of the bar. Terri was worried he would start dancing for a moment... but instead, Foley just smiled his toothless smile, "We are going to have a Pay Per View right here..." he gave the crowd a thumbs up, "... on the WWF Titanprize!!" 

The crowd cheered loudly, stomping their feet on the floor. 

"Ok ok!" Foley started, raising his hands to restore order, "Here's the card..." he looked at the group in front of him, "First match -- We will see Nash vs Show in a big lazy contest. The last person to fall asleep during the match wins!" Foley looked across the room, and frowned, "Hey SHOW! Wake up!" 

Ensign Show's eyes flew open, "Huh? Wha??" 

Foley rolled his eyes, "Guess we know who's gonna win that one," he muttered. "Anyway, the next match will see the Bridge crew vs the Engineering crew in a light-hearted contest with Edge and Christian representing the Bridge while the Hardys will represent Engineering..." 

"Sir... one moment..." Angle spoke as he stood up. 

Foley looked at him, "What is it, Kurt?" 

"Why only Bridge and Engineering? Shouldn't the Medical/Science crew also get involved? Since I DO work in Sickbay often, I would consider myself Medical.... and Lt. Benoit from Science can tag team with your Olympic hero!" 

Benoit allowed a small grin. Any chance to kick pretty boy ass would be fine by him. 

"Good point, Kurt. Ok. It will be the Cocky Kanatians vs the Hardys vs Shane and Stephanie's special friends. Anyone else want to throw themselves into this match? The Nytrons, perhaps?" Foley asked. 

No one replied, and Foley continued to list off the rest of the card. 

***

ROAD DOGG AND X-PAC'S QUARTERS - later 

"Hey, X to the P to the A to the C!" Road Dogg called out, "What did you do with my boots?! I need 'em for Foley's damn Pay-per-view..." he said. 

"Boots?" X-pac asked from the washroom. "Like I'd touch your nasty boots, man!" 

"Seriously, X! They ain't here!" Road Dogg said. "I know I didn't put 'em nowhere. You're the only other person that lives here!" 

"I told ya, I ain't got 'em, Dawg!" X-pac replied. 

"Well damn then! Where the hell are they?!" Road Dogg asked, then looked around again. 

Road Dogg could hear X-pac rifling through his things, "I don't know, man, but..." a pause, "HEY! Have you seen my bandana?" 

***

SICKBAY - the next day 

Nurse Saturn entered Sickbay looking half-asleep. Dr. Piro studied him, "Are you here for medical treatment?" he asked. 

"No! I'm here to work!" Saturn replied. 

Piro looked over him carefully, "You look like you could use some medical treatment…" 

"Not from YOU, that's for sure…" Saturn said. "Where is Dr. Taker?" 

"He had an emergency boot removal in Holodeck 3. Apparently Morale Commissioner Foley booked a match with Farooq and Bradshaw against those pretty-boy Kanatians as a warm up for the dumb blondes' Pay-Per-View match," Piro smiled coldly, "Guess who came out on the losing end…" 

Saturn winced. How many times had Edge and Christian had Farooq and Bradshaw's boots removed from their rears? "Well… if Dr. Taker isn't here, then _I_ don't need to be here. I'm not YOUR nurse!" Saturn said. 

"Oh… you're leaving then?" Piro asked. 

"Yes. Don't be too disappointed…" Saturn replied with a frown, then headed out of Sickbay. 

***

COUNSELOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

"Come," Counselor Snow called as his door chimes rang. Nurse Saturn walked in. 

"Snow," he paused, and furrowed his brow, "What the hell are you doing?" 

Counselor Snow was standing on his head, "It's good for the blood flow," he replied. 

"Whatever. Listen, Snow. I've been having weird dreams lately," Saturn began. "Can't get any sleep…" 

Counselor Snow righted himself, "Have a seat," he said, and motioned towards the couch. The counselor grabbed H.E.A.D. and sat down in his chair, "Now tell me all about it," he said with a smile. 

Saturn got comfortable on the couch, "There's this bird," he said. "A black bird. And a shadow. And a voice," he explained. 

"Voices in your head?" Snow asked, looking at Saturn as if he knew exactly what the nurse was talking about. Saturn briefly wondered if coming to counselor Snow was a bad idea. Maybe the Nytron Counselors – Crowbar and Daffney – would have been more helpful. "What does the voice say?" Snow asked. 

"It says 'What about me?' The voice claims I left it alone. That I dumped it." 

"Is there someone in your past that you dumped? That you left alone?" Snow asked. 

"Well, not that I –" Saturn paused, then gasped, "No. It CAN'T be!" he said. 

"What? What is it, Saturn?" 

"I left him, then he disappeared!" Saturn said, "Why now? Why is his memory haunting me NOW?!" 

"Perhaps where we are… the Triangle Nebula. You heard what Dr. Taker has said about this place. About how it's said to be home to many a vanished WrestleFleet officer…" Counselor Snow said. "This person you left… was he a WrestleFleet officer?" 

"Yes. He was!" 

"And how did you leave him?" 

Saturn took a deep breath, "Back when we served on the WCW Thunder… shortly before Russo took over. I left him there when I transferred to the Titanprize with Benoit, Malenko, and Eddie! Last I heard, he had requested a transfer to Captain Heyman's ship, and then he disappeared!" Saturn stood up, "I … I have to go. Thank you, Counselor!" With that, Saturn headed out the door. 

"Wait! Who was he!? What was his name?!" Snow asked, but Saturn was long gone. 

***

ENSIGN HELMSLEY AND ENSIGN ANGLE'S QUARTERS 

Angle shined up his gold medals as he stared out the window at the Triangle Nebula. He wondered if valets or managers were allowed to join the wrestlers at ringside during Foley's little pay-per-view --- something the Morale Commissioner had called 'Wrestlefleet-mania'. Angle frowned. What a stupid name THAT was... 

Angle stood up and put his medals away in his special safe. Luckily, Triple H wasn't here to spy on him. Ensign Helmsley was currently stuck on the night shift on the Bridge under the watchful eye of Lt. Brawler and his jobber crew. 

Angle checked the time. 0300 hours. Stephanie was probably asleep. He smirked. Maybe he would go to her quarters and see for himself. Surely Stephanie wouldn't mind a late-night visit from her good friend. 

Angle chuckled to himself, and headed out. 

***

COMMANDER STEPHANIE'S QUARTERS 

Stephanie was startled awake by the sounds of the chimes, "Huh... uh.... who's there?" her voice was that of one half-asleep. There was no answer. The chimes rang again. She cleared her throat and called louder, "Who's there!" 

"It's Kurt, Steph," 

Stephanie sighed and rubbed a hand over her blurry eyes, "Computer -- Time?" she mumbled. 

"The time is currently 0300 hours," the monotone voice replied. 

"Ugh... what is he doing here this early in the morning?" she muttered to herself, then slowly stood up. 

"Steph? Everything ok in there?" Angle asked through the door. 

Stephanie frowned as she looked around her room, "What the hell did I do with my robe?" she asked herself. It was gone! 

Stephanie sighed. Now who could have taken her robe? 

"Stephanie?" Angle was knocking now, his voice sounding worried. 

"Yeah yeah, one sec, Kurt!" Stephanie called out. Forget the robe. She'd report it to Chyna in security first thing tomorrow morning_._

Stephanie went up to the door and opened it. She crossed her arms in front of her, and stared at Ensign Angle, "What was so important you needed to wake me up?" 

Angle looked at her. She was dressed in a tight, white WrestleFleet tanktop, and skimpy spandex shorts. "Commander!" he gasped, "Where is your robe! Your integrity----" 

"My integrity is just fine! I couldn't find the robe. What do you want?" 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were asleep..." he said. 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "It's 3 o'clock in the morning! What did you THINK I was doing? Having a party?" 

"Forgive me, Commander," Angle said, hiding the smirk as he looked at her rather form-fitting PJs, "I just naturally assumed you'd still be working away, since you are such a dedicated WrestleFleet officer," 

"I'm not the Y2J Unit, Kurt," Stephanie replied, "I can't stay up all hours of the night like HE can..." She sat on her bed, wishing Angle would just GO so she could get back to sleep. 

Ensign Angle sat down beside Stephanie. Maybe _too_ close beside her... but she seemed too tired to notice, "Well, Commander," he started, "I was just wondering about this pay-per-view Morale Commissioner Foley put together..." 

"What about it?" she asked. 

"For the three-way tag match, do you think the Commissioner would allow Benoit and myself to have a beautiful valet in our corner?" 

"Who? Trish?" Stephanie asked. 

"No, Steph... YOU..." Angle replied. 

Stephanie blushed, "You think I'm beautiful, Kurt?" she asked, smiling shyly. 

"Of course! How Triple H could let a lovely lady like you get away, I will NEVER understand," Angle took her hand in his, "You are the most beautiful woman aboard this ship," 

"Oh!" Stephanie gasped, truly flattered. 

Angle smirked, and began to lean in closer to her. Just a few more inches, and he would be able to--- 

"Excuse me, Commander," a voice interrupted. 

Kurt jumped away from Stephanie. She hadn't even noticed his attempt to make a move on her. In fact... she looked about ready to fall asleep just before the sound of her new visitor's voice interrupted him. 

Stephanie turned to the doorway, "Jericho? What are YOU doing here?" 

"I was returning to my quarters when I noticed your door was ajar," Lt. Commander Jericho said. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. He glared at Angle with obvious hostile intentions. The Y2J Unit looked back at Stephanie, "It is 0300h. You have a duty shift at 0700h. Go to sleep," 

Stephanie stood up and walked towards her fellow Engineer, hands on hips, "_I_ am the superior officer here! YOU have no right to order me to sleep!" 

Jericho frowned, "I'm not ORDERING you, Skankanie... I'm just making a SUGGESTION..." he raised an eyebrow, "Unless you have plans with the Olympic twit over there. If that's the case, I really DON'T want to know about it!" he studied her, and smirked, "Nice outfit. All you need is a pair of knee-high boots and you'll be all ready for a night on the town with wild-boy Kirk there..." 

Stephanie narrowed her eyes, "These are my _pajamas_, Y2Jerk! I couldn't find my robe!" Stephanie snapped. 

Jericho looked at Angle, and saw the way the Olympic Ensign was staring at the Chief Engineer. His smirk grated on Jericho's wires, "I didn't know _leering_ was an Olympic sport now, Kirk..." the Y2J Unit said. 

Angle's creepy smirk quickly changed to a look of innocent confusion when Stephanie turned his way, "I don't understand, Lt. Commander..." 

Jericho narrowed his eyes, not buying Angle's 'innocent buddy' gimmick. Jericho _knew_ he hadn't misread that look on Kurt's face, or the fact that Ensign Angle had tried to kiss a half-asleep Commander Stephanie before Jericho had interrupted. "_Intergrity, my ass_!" Jericho thought, then blinked at his negative reaction to Angle. He really needed to stop pretending to have emotions... it was starting to become all too real. "I suggest you leave the Commander to sleep, Jerky!" Jericho said. 

"But... does she _want_ me to go?" Angle asked, and looked towards Stephanie. 

Stephanie sighed, then yawned. She quickly covered her mouth, "Oh... I'm sorry..." she said, then took a deep breath, "I guess Jerkicho is right. I DO need my sleep..." 

Angle frowned, but hid it from the Chief Engineer. Jericho stared at him, "Do you need an escort back to your quarters, Ensign Angel?" he asked. 

Kurt looked at him and smiled, "Of course not, Lt. Commander..." then brushed against Stephanie as he headed out the door, "Oh.... I'm sorry, Steph..." Angle appologized, "That's what they call '_my bad_' " he said. 

"That's ok, Kurt..." Stephanie said sweetly. 

Jericho resisted the urge to punch Angle in the face as Kurt walked past him and into the hallway. He kept his eyes on Angle until the man disappeared around a corner, then turned back to Stephanie. She DID look cute with her hair braided like that... and those pajamas were-- 

Jericho shook his head. What was he thinking? "Good night, Commander..." he said, and quickly headed out Stephanie's door. 

***

NURSE SATURN'S QUARTERS 

"What about me?" a voice called out. 

Saturn looked behind him, but saw nothing. '_It's just a dream…_' he reminded himself, '_just a dream.._' 

Suddenly there was a flutter of wings. Saturn looked behind him again… and again saw nothing. What was going on? 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw the shadow of a bird. A specific black bird. 

NO! He wouldn't be sucked into that again! That damn bird wasn't going to influence him THIS time! 

***

ENSIGN HELMSELY AND ENSIGN ANGLE'S QUARTERS - the next morning 

"What the hell is going on here, Angle?" Ensign Helmsley shouted to his roommate, "First you steal my wife, and now you steal my work-out tights?" 

"Sorry?" Angle asked, confused. 

"My damn tights! Where the hell are they?!" he asked. 

"I'm sorry, Hunter… I don't have them. And as for stealing your wife… well---" 

"SHUT up!" Triple H shouted, "Listen… I don't give a damn what you do with my ex-wife, but NO ONE touches my tights! NO ONE!" 

"I'm sorry, Triple H. I don't have your tights!" Angle repeated. 

"You're such a little jerk, Angle, you know that?" 

"I'm what…?" 

"You're a jerk. It's true, it's true!" Triple H said, "You know what? I'm not even gonna bother with your wimpy Olympic ass anymore. I'll go replicate myself some new tights!" 

With that, Triple H stormed out of the room. 

***

SECURITY OFFICE 

Chyna look over the latest reports as she held the fort for Commander Kane, who was busy on the bridge. Road Dogg claimed his boots were missing, X-pac claimed his bandana was gone, Triple H claimed his work-out tights had disappeared, Stephanie claimed her robe had vanished. 

Chyna sighed, and looked at her watch... "What the...?" It was gone. She had remembered putting it on when she woke up! She NEVER forgot! 

Chyna groaned, and added it to the list of missing items. 

***

HOLODECK 3 (BACKSTAGE) - Sunday Night 

The crowd of Nytrons and WrestleFleet officers made their displeasure known as Ensign Show fell asleep within two minutes of his match with Nash. It took ten of Dr. Piro's Nytron crew to place the big man on a gurney and roll him back to the dressing rooms. 

Edge and Christian snickered as they sat backstage, watching the sleeping giant wheel past them, "Dude... that is SO not professional!" Christian said. 

"Hmm..." Edge rubbed his chin, "Whaddya say we have some fun, little brother?" Edge asked. 

"You mean... some _gurney-licious_ fun, Edge?" Christian asked. 

"You got it!" Edge replied. 

"All right!!" Christian said. 

The two blondes snuck up behind Ensign Show's gurney and pushed the Nytrons out of the way. The ex-rebels didn't seem too eager to regain control as they watched the Cocky Kanatians shove the gurney into the women's locker room. Ensign Show's snores could still be heard over the screams of the ladies. "Gurneys RULE!" Edge said as he high-fived his younger brother. 

"TOTALLY, Edge!" 

"Hey boys!" a voice called out. Trish walked out of the women's locker room wearing her usual long coat and cowboy hat, "Don't you two have a match?" she asked. 

"Well... yeah..." Edge replied, then smiled, "But we thought we'd play a totally awesome prank first..." 

"Wheeling a giant into the women's dressing room is NOT awesome!" she said, then paused for a moment, "Hmm... do you think I could sue him for sexual harassment?" 

Christian looked at her, "Dudette... he's SLEEPING. I don't think you could accuse him of dishing out any heinous harassment right now!" 

Trish pouted, "Oh poop..." she replied, then looked at the two blondes before her. An idea came to her, and she smiled, "Hey.. I was wondering... have you two ever considered having a manager?" 

"Any manager would pale in comparison to our total blonde bombshell-ness..." Christian replied. "Who would you suggest? Nurse Bearer?" he snickered. 

"No. How about someone who can add to your _total blonde bombshell-ness_... with her OWN total blonde bombshell-ness!" Trish said. 

Edge furrowed his brow, "Like WHO?" 

"Like ME, you idiots!" she snapped, then smiled again, "I think we'd make a great team! We're all from Trawna City, Kanata... we all have blonde hair... and we're all totally beautiful!" 

Edge looked at his brother, "Jericho is in Jeffery and Matthew Hardly's corner, and Stephanie is in Kurt and Benoit's corner. We seem to be by our magnificent selves!" 

"I can't believe Jericho is helping the Hardlys! He's a fellow Kanatian! This is so totally heinous!" Christian pouted, then suddenly brighted up, "Edge! I just had a totally inspired idea reeking of awesomeness!!" Christian said. 

"What is it, brother?" 

"How about we put TRISH in OUR corner!!" Christian started, "It would SO rock!" he finished, smiling and nodding. 

"Dude!! You're a genius! Should we ask her?" 

Trish looked at them, confused, "Guys... I'M the one who just suggested that!" 

Edge looked at her, "Suggested WHAT?" he said, then smiled, showing off his blinding white teeth, "Hey! Christian and I had an idea! How about if YOU were in our corner?" 

Trish rolled her eyes, "Come on... let's go!" She began to walk away. 

Edge furrowed his brow, "Does that mean yes?" he asked. 

"YES! YES!" Trish replied impatiently, "Now move it or lose it, babes!" 

Edge and Christian quickly followed Trish out into the arena. 

***

HOLODECK 3 (ARENA) 

Jericho stood at ringside as Jeff Hardy took it to Edge, and Christian took it to Angle. 

In Angle and Benoit's corner, Stephanie watched with concern, "Come on, Kurt! Come on!!" She shouted as she cheered on her _good friend_. Stephanie jumped on the ring apron, trying to interfere. Trish noticed and ran around the ring, attempting to pull the princess off. 

Stephanie kicked at Trish, who was currently tugging at her leg. 

Jericho went up to the Cocky Kanatians' valet, "You stay in YOUR corner, and I'll get Steph to stay in HERS, ok?!" 

Trish looked at him suspiciously, "And let you interfere to help the Hardys?" 

Jericho shrugged, "The Hardys don't _need _my help!" he replied, "Now get back in your corner!" He went over to Stephanie, "Get down from there!" He shouted. 

"Go away, Jerkicho!" Stephanie snapped. 

"I SAID get down!! Unless you want to go INTO the ring?" 

"Listen, if I DID want to get in the ring, I could do it! I can fight just as well as anyone!" she replied. 

"Yeah... sure you can! Move it or lose it, Commander!" Jericho said. 

Back in the ring, Matt whipped Angle into the ropes. The Olympic Ensign's momentum carried him right into Stephanie, knocking her to the floor... her head bouncing off the steel steps with a sickening thud. 

Angle spun around, and looked down at the Commander, "Steph!" he shouted, and began to climb out of the ring. Matt grabbed him from behind and pulled him back in. 

Jericho crouched beside Stephanie. She was out cold, "Skankanie?" he asked. Nothing. He tapped her face lightly, "Hey! Steph!!" 

The ref looked over at Jericho, "Get her out of here!" he commanded, "Take her backstage!" 

Jericho sighed, and lifted up the Chief Engineer. He quickly made his way to the dressing room, leaving Angle staring after him. 

***

HOLODECK 3 (SEATS) 

"Hey... Perry..." a voice whispered behind Saturn. The nurse spun around... to see nothing. 

"Who's there?" he asked. 

Nothing but silence... but something was on the seat. Saturn picked it up and studied it. 

A black feather? '_NO!' _Saturn thought nervously, and quickly tossed it away... 

"Perry?" Terri put an arm around his shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked. 

"Nothing..." he said quickly, then smiled. "Nothing at all..." 

***

"Hey, X! Did you take my popcorn?" Road Dogg asked X-pac, "I put it right here when I went to the can, and now it's gone!!" 

"I didn't touch your damn popcorn! And why the hell are you suddenly accusing me of everything?" X-pac asked. 

"Accusing you of everything? Like what!!" 

"Like stealing your boots, now stealing your popcorn! What about my bandana, Road doggy dog? You got that hidden up your ass somewhere?" 

"Now why the HELL would I steal your stupid bandana?!" Road Dogg replied. 

"Why the hell would I steal your cheese-smelling boots? Dumbass!" 

Road Dogg stood up, "So... you want to start something with me then, huh?" he asked. 

X-pac stood up as well. The two stood nose to nose, "Looks like YOU'RE the one who wants to start something!" 

"I don't got time for this!!" Road Dogg snapped, and shoved X-pac as he made his way out of the row of seats. 

X-pac grabbed Road Dogg's arm, "Don't just shove me and walk away, Jesse!" he snapped. 

"I'll do what I damn well wanna do!!" he said, and shoved X-pac again. X-pac threw a punch, and Road Dogg quickly ducked it, "Oh! So that's the way it is, huh?!" he snapped, then grabbed his buddy in a headlock and dragged him out of the holodeck, "I'll make you eat your own damn fist, XP!" 

***

OUTSIDE HOLODECK 3 

"What the hell is going on here?" an angry voice shouted. 

X-pac and Road Dogg looked up from their fight to see Lt. Farooq and Lt. Bradshaw glaring at them, arms crossed, "We don't like degenerates disrupting our ship!" Bradshaw replied. He was looking smug after his '_last man not-passed-out_' win against Nytron officer Hall. 

"You know something, Bradshaw... I don't think these boys have tasted our boot leather yet..." Farooq said. 

"Maybe we should give 'em a taste then, huh Farooq?!" 

Farooq smiled, and the two security Lieutenants quickly converged on the degenerates in front of them. 

***

HOLODECK 3 (BACKSTAGE) 

Lt. Commander Jericho carried the semi-conscious Stephanie into the lounge and placed her gently on the couch. He sat beside her and leaned over, "Commander?" he asked, "Are you all right?" Stephanie tried to speak, but her mumblings were incoherent, "Sorry, Commander… what was that?" He leaned in closer, trying to make out her words. 

Stephanie's eyes were partially closed. She still had not come to her senses, "Chris…?" She whispered. 

"Yeah, I'm here…" he began. 

Stephanie looked up at him drowsily, and smiled, "I'm glad..." she replied, still quite out of it. 

He furrowed his brow, "Maybe you got hit on the head harder then I thought. You just said you were GLAD I--" Before he could finish speaking, Stephanie reached up and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head in the crook of his neck. The Y2J Unit quickly tensed, "Steph.... what are you doing?" he asked. "_And why do I LIKE it ...?_" 

The Y2J Unit's logic circuits quickly tried to make sense of the situation: Commander Stephanie McMahon was in a daze. She obviously wasn't aware of WHOM she was holding, of whose hair she was running her fingers through. 

The Y2J Unit gently untangled her fingers from his hair, and pushed her arms back to her side, "Stephanie," his voice was quiet, almost a whisper, "... don't..." 

Stephanie blinked as the cobwebs cleared. She put a hand to her head, wincing at the painful ache that pounded in her skull, "What happened?" she muttered. Stephanie looked at Jericho, frowning, "And why are you staring at me like that, Jerkicho?" she shoved him to the floor and threw her legs over the side of the couch. 

Jericho studied her. She didn't seem to remember being a little overly friendly with him not more then ten seconds ago. 

He breathed a sigh of relief. 

Well, at least that was ONE less complication to worry about... 

***

JEFFERIES TUBE - SECTION A:6 

The blonde lurker snickered as he watched the scene unfold below him. It seemed Stephanie preferred a robot over good ol' Hunter. His former Degenerate leader would surely be surprised to know that. 

The lurker smiled to himself. After being lost in the Triangle Nebula for so long, he would finally be able to distrupt things back on the Titanprize again! What a fun time he was having already - sneaking around unnoticed! Earlier, he had watched Road Dogg and X-pac go at it thanks to a few unfounded accusations about _stolen_ items. Items that he himself had hidden in a nice safe place. He would give them back eventually, but for right now, the lurker was feeling quite proud of himself! He still knew how to stir the pot! 

It was good to be home! 

And it would be even better when he could seek revenge on the ones who had left him suffering in the Triangle Nebula...! 

***

HOLODECK 3 (BACKSTAGE) 

"What's going on here?!" Ensign Angle demanded as he barged into the lounge. Stephanie was sitting on the couch, rubbing her head. Lt. Commander Jericho was sitting on the ground watching her. Angle quickly sat beside the Chief Engineer, "I'm sorry, Steph! I'm so sorry! I never meant to hurt you!" 

"It's ok, Kurt... I'm fine!" Stephanie replied. Angle put his arms around her, apologizing profusely. "I told you it was ok," she said kindly, comforting the distraught Ensign. 

Jericho frowned at Ensign Angle. "_Anything to cop a feel, huh Kirk?_" Jericho thought, quite aware of the Olympic Ensign's intentions towards Commander Stephanie. He shook his head. He really would have to get Matt to look at the negative energy surges that invaded his positronic net when he was around Angle. 

He sighed. Maybe Matt could also help Lt. Commander Jericho figure out his OWN intentions towards Commander Stephanie. 

Jericho suddenly jumped to his feet, "Well," he started, glaring at Angle, "Since you seem to be in _good hands_," he replied, "I'll leave you two alone..." with that, he turned on his heel and walked out. 

"Thanks for being so concerned, Kurt..." Stephanie said with a smile. 

"I can't believe Lt. Commander Jericho didn't even ask how you were before he left!" Angle replied. 

Stephanie would have gone on about how Lt. Commander Jericho was nothing but a stupid robot ... but then again, he DID seem concerned for her well-being even if he didn't come right out and say it. 

"Commander?" Angle started, snapping Stephanie out of her thoughts. 

"What is it, Kurt?" 

"Are you sure you're ok?" 

"Yes, yes! I'm fine! Y2Jerk tended to me," Stephanie said. 

"That's good," Ensign Angle replied, then glanced at the door Jericho had just walked out of. Angle frowned. Damn Lt. Commander Jericho! KURT was supposed to be the one to carry Stephanie backstage and tend to her! Did the Y2J Unit even _know_ how difficult it had been for Angle to get his position just right so that his momentum would knock Stephanie off the ring apron? Would he even _appreciate _it? 

Ensign Angle smirked to himself. Perhaps Jericho WOULD appreciate the lengths the Olympic Ensign would go to in order to protect Stephanie from the android's cold, inhuman personality! The Y2J Unit treated her with such disrespect! He would NOT get away with that... not if Kurt had anything to do with it! 

"Uhhhh... Kurt?" Stephanie spoke, her voice suspicious. Why did he suddenly look so creepy? 

Angle turned back to her, and smiled innocently, "What is it, Commander?" 

Stephanie shook her head. Perhaps she had hit her head worse then she thought. To even _think_ her kind, innocent friend Kurt was capable of ANY amount of creepiness was preposterous... wasn't it? 

***

X-PAC AND ROAD DOGG'S QUARTERS 

"Damn Lt. Bradshaw and Lt. Farooq..." Road Dogg muttered as he tended to the bump on his forehead. 

"We'll get 'em, doggy! You and me together!" X-pac replied, limping over to the replicator. 

"If you get through ME first..." a voice said. X-pac and Road Dogg gasped as they turned to the source of the voice. A smug-looking blonde man leaned against the wall. He dropped Road Dogg's missing boots and X-pac's missing bandana on the floor in front of him and glared at the two degenerates, eyes narrowed, "Surely you haven't forgotten about your old buddy, Mr. Ass, now have you?" 

***

NURSE SATURN'S QUARTERS 

Saturn stared at the Triangle Nebula through his window. Maybe that strange anomaly had something to do with his latest discomfort, "They're dreams..." he said aloud, "Just dreams! That's all!" 

"Just dreams, Perry?" a voice said behind him. 

Saturn spun around, "What the..!" his voice caught in his throat as he saw what was sitting on his bed. It was a black bird. No... a RAVEN. 

The bird suddenly began melting away. First it's body, then it's head. Soon, all that was left was a black puddle of liquid. 

Saturn blinked quickly, willing the image away. 

It remained. 

The puddle began to stretch upwards and out, slowly taking form. Within a few moments, a full grown adult male stood before Saturn. He had long, curly, unkempt dirty-blonde hair, and was dressed in a grungy WrestleFleet uniform. 

The man looked at Saturn, eyes hard, "Hello, Perry..." he started, "Did you miss me?!" 

Saturn shook his head in disbelief, "How did you get here!?" he gasped. "HOW?" 

The man didn't answer as he went to the window and looked out, "You know, Perry... when I was younger, I always wanted to explore outer space. Why? Because it was better then staying in a home where no one loved me! A home where no one cared! A home that was nothing but a hole in the gutter of life..." he started, "So I joined WrestleFleet. Things were going good for a while... then I started getting shoved around onboard the WCW Thunder, getting stuck on jobber shifts almost every day! And then... and then you left me ALONE! I thought you were my FRIEND!" he snapped, then was quiet for a moment. Finally he continued, "Luckily I had asked WrestleFleet for reassignment before Russo decided to start up the Nytron movement..." he turned to Saturn, "But you know, life aboard the ECW Extremeship was no better! Heyman was promoting guys like Dreamer and Van Damn, but not me!" He turned back to the window, "What about ME, Perry? Huh? What about RAVEN?" 

"Well... what ABOUT you?" Saturn asked, getting annoyed, "You stand here whining and complaining about how life screwed you over when you and I BOTH know you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth! You bitch and moan about how much your childhood sucked! About how your mommy never loved you when you damn well know she did!" Saturn snapped. "Where the hell have you been since you disappeared from Heyman's ship, Raven, huh? Sailing on the family yacht?" 

Raven put a hand up to the window, "I've been THERE... " he said, indicating the Triangle Nebula, "It's quite an amazing expanse of space, you know..." 

"I'm sure it is..." Saturn muttered, "Now how about you go away and leave me alone?" 

Raven turned back to Saturn, "I'll go away for now..." he said, "But as for leaving you alone... Quote the raven -- nevermore!" 

Saturn cursed his visitor under his breath. 

Suddenly, Raven's body turned into liquid again... and a black bird took form. It flew past Saturn's face, and up into the air ducts. "I'll see you soon, Perry..." Raven's voice echoed, "I've decided to become a full-fledged officer aboard the Titanprize now..." 

Saturn put his head in his hands. Great. Just what he needed. Even out here, millions of light years from Earth, he would never escape the whining of his one-time friend. 

Life on-board the WWF Titanprize had just become damn near unbearable for Nurse Perry Saturn. 

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com



	74. Season 8 Finale Episode 12 Here There B...

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON EIGHT**

**EPISODE 12: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS**   
**PART ONE**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, Stardate 081220.00. We are in orbit around an un-named Class M planet. Lt. Commander Jericho, and Commander Stephanie are looking for alternative energy sources, Dr. Taker is looking for alternative medications, and Ensign Angle… well... he's with them to help carry supplies," Captain McMahon studied the planet out his window, "Hopefully this mission will be successful. There is only so long we can hold out with our current warp energy source," McMahon sighed, and briefly wondered if there was any life on the planet below them. 

"In other news, it appears we found the culprit to the recent disappearances of the former Degenerates items. Unfortunately, it was another degenerate..." McMahon frowned, "Just what we need... another _Ass_ aboard the ship!" he sighed, "End log," The Captain closed his log and headed onto the bridge. 

*** 

UN-NAMED CLASS M PLANET - MOUNTAIN CAVERN 

"So Mr. know-it-all... where is the energy source your wonderful tricorder found?" Commander Stephanie demanded. 

"It was SUPPOSED to be in here!" Jericho said. 

"All I see is rocks, rocks, and more rocks!" Stephanie snapped as she looked at the ground in the dim glow of the WrestleFleet issue flashlight. "_Weird_ rocks too..." she murmured. 

"If I didn't know better, Commander... I'd say these rocks looked somewhat scaly..." Ensign Angle spoke. 

"Oh Kurt, you can call me Stephanie! You know that..." Stephanie smiled. 

Jericho rolled his eyes, "I'm sure he can call you a lot of things..." 

"Are you being rude, Lt. Commander?" Angle asked. 

"I would never dream of being rude to Princess McMahon!" Jericho replied. 

The three walked on a bit more, until Jericho stopped in his tracks. "What?" Stephanie asked. 

He looked at his tricorder, "Wait a sec," He knelt down in front of a hole in the side of the cavern wall, and reached in. He emerged with a handful of gold jewels, then held them out to Stephanie, "HERE is the energy source, _Commander_!" he said. 

"MOVE!" Stephanie demanded, and shoved him out of the way as she reached into the hole, and found even MORE gold. "How the heck did these get here? Goblets! Necklaces! Bracelets! And ... what's this?" Stephanie pulled out a larger object, "This is ... it's a CROWN!" she gasped. 

"Let me see, Stephanie..." Angle said, "I'm very familiar with gold," he held his hands out for the objects and studied them. His eyes went wide, "They're real!" 

"Great! Put them in your bag! We need alternative energy sources other then the power belt. This should be good enough!" Stephanie said. The three turned around and headed back towards the entrance. 

A quiet rumbling sound stopped all three WrestleFleet officers dead in their tracks, "What was that?" Stephanie whispered. 

"Dr. Taker?!" Jericho called out to the emptiness. Had the doctor finished searching for his medical potions and joined them? Dr. Taker had _borrowed_ a motorcycle when the WrestleFleet offices had happened up on a planet called Makota. The Doctor claimed he needed it for away missions and... well, since McMahon didn't appreciate his precious Stephanie being used as a guinea pig in the Makotan's computer program, the Captain hadn't said a word about it. 

The rumbling grew a bit louder this time, "Geez, Taker's bike sure is noisy..." Stephanie said. 

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook, and Stephanie, Jericho, and Angle went flying. Jericho was the first to get to his feet, and noticed Stephanie had landed on top of Ensign Angle. The Olympic Ensign was smirking about it too! So much for integrity. 

Jericho went up behind Stephanie and quickly pulled her to her feet. Those negative energy surges were running through his body again. It always seemed to happen when he caught the preachy Ensign Angle being less then _virtuous_ with the Chief Engineer. Surely it wasn't emotion of any sort. That was impossible... 

Angle frowned at Lt. Commander Jericho for a moment, then smiled innocently as he stood up. Jericho glared at him, "Think of something funny, Ensign?" he asked, his voice cold. That alone was enough to wipe the goofy look off Angle's face. 

"No sir... sorry, sir..." Angle replied, then cleared his throat. 

"You can let go of me now, pervert!" Stephanie snapped. 

Jericho looked at Stephanie, then quickly let go of the chief engineer, "We should leave. This cavern is obviously unstable!" 

A loud sound... almost like a snort... echoed in the cave. Stephanie paled. Ensign Angle swallowed the lump in his throat, "What was that?" Angle whispered. 

The ground moved again. Lt. Commander Jericho looked behind him. Was the ground itself bending? How was that possible? 

The strange snort echoed once more, and a cloud of smoke could be seen a few feet in front of them. The smell of sulfur invaded the WrestleFleet Officers' noses as the ground continued to bend... until it took shape. 

Stephanie screamed as two large yellow orbs appeared in front of them. Each orb had a black slit... and they seemed to be watching the three WrestleFleet officers like eyes! Another snort... and smoke appeared from just below the orbs. 

Jericho held his tricorder out, perfectly steady in front of these... _eyes_! He scanned the object before him, "Life signs," he said, then slowly turned to Stephanie and Angle, "We should leave now..." he said quietly, "I mean... RIGHT now!" He slowly tiptoed over the strange, scaly rocks. _Scaly....??_

Stephanie's voice was quiet as she spoke, "That's not... that can't be... I mean... " she shook her head, at a loss. 

"We will sneak out of here like nothing happened. Like we didn't see anything..." Jericho replied, his voice a mere whisper. 

"Sir..." Angle spoke loudly. "May I ask what the heck is going on?" 

"SHUT UP, Ensign!" Jericho hissed. 

The low rumbling in the cavern turned into a loud roar. Lt. Commander Jericho quickly grabbed Commander Stephanie and ran for the entrance. Ensign Angle followed behind, slowed due to the equipment he was carrying. 

Finally, the group made their way out of the cavern into the open field. A horrible animal roar froze them in their tracks as a large object flew out from the mountain. The object was almost as big as the Titanprize, and covered in scales. It hovered in the air above them, it's large leather wings blowing up dirt and sand around the WrestleFleet officers, creating a massive whirlwind -- almost like a tornado! 

The creature opened its mouth, revealing numerous sharp fangs - each the size of Ensign Show. 

Stephanie's screams were drowned out under the thundering of the creature's wings. She was in shock as she stared at the thing before her, it's shadow almost swallowing them whole. 

The Y2J Unit threw Stephanie over one shoulder, and Ensign Angle and his supplies over the other then ran as fast as he could. 

The creature gave chase. 

*** 

SHUTTLECRAFT METAL1 

Dr. Taker arrived back at the shuttlecraft on his bike... and noticed the Engineers and Ensign Angle hadn't returned yet. 

He went into the shuttlecraft, "Taker to McMahon," he started into the comm, "Have you heard from Commander Stephanie, Lt. Commander Jericho, and Ensign Angle?" he asked. 

"No," Came McMahon's voice, "Haven't YOU?" the Captain sounded worried. 

What was Taker to do? He didn't want to alarm Captain McMahon. He took a deep breath, "I was merely wondering if they informed you that they found a rich source of energy and are currently collecting it," 

"Oh. No. Thank you for telling me..." McMahon said, "Is there anything else?" 

"No. Nothing else. Taker out..." the doctor cut the comm link. He wondered where his fellow officers could possibly be... then shrugged. Perhaps they HAD found a good source of warp energy and were busy collecting it. 

Taker shook his head. Why did he have this nagging feeling that WASN'T the case at all...? 

*** 

UNKNOWN FOREST 

Jericho, Stephanie, and Angle ran into the forest, all three continuously firing their phasers, set on kill, at the large creature hovering over them. The creature staggered and let out a painful roar. It hovered for another moment, then let out a loud scream as it turned around.... fluttered painfully... and fell from the sky with such a thump that the very ground shook. 

The three WrestleFleet officers caught their breaths as they stood under the cover of trees. The strange creature had collapsed just outside of the forest. It had seemed so much closer when it was chasing them... but it's size had only made it appear that way. 

"What the HELL was that?!" Stephanie screamed hysterically, "What WAS that! What WAS that!" 

"Calm down, Stephanie. Whatever it WAS, it's dead now... we're fine..." Ensign Angle said, and put a calming arm around her. 

Jericho glared daggers at him... then turned away. Why did he _feel _so annoyed with Angle's touchy/feely behaviour towards Commander Stephanie? The Y2J Unit was incapable of feeling _anything_! 

Jericho suddenly stiffened. He had the oddest sensation that someone was watching them. 

"Lt. Commander Jericho..." Stephanie started. He lifted a hand to hush her, and took a careful step forward. He narrowed his eyes, and scanned the area. Something was definitely there... behind the trees a few feet away. 

Jericho slowly pulled out his tricorder. The being's body structure was much like a human... but there was another signature coming off it that was very UN-human. Jericho tried to make sense of the signature, "Impossible..." he whispered. 

"What are you doing, Lt. Commander?" Stephanie asked. He held the tricorder out to her, and she looked at it, "What is this?" she asked, then grew silent as a wind whispered through the trees... or WAS it the wind? Stephanie raised her head, and shifted her eyes left and right. Something was wrong here, "Um... let's get back to the shuttlecraft..." she started. 

The whispering wind grew louder... and the trees shook. "Perhaps we should just ask Dr. Taker to beam us back..." Angle offered, "Surely he's there by now..." he tapped his comm badge... and received static. 

Stephanie hit her own comm badge, but received the same static. Jericho held the tricorder up and scanned the surrounding area, "Is there a dampening field around us?" Stephanie asked. 

"Not quite," Jericho replied, "But there is definitely something jamming our communicators... almost as if there's a shield over the forest!" 

More whispering. Now words could be heard, "slayers..." "could they be?" "we must   
talk to them..." "No! Father will punish us! They are HUMAN!" 

Stephanie, Jericho and Angle backed against each other and held their phasers ready, "Ok... get out here, whoever you are!" Stephanie demanded. 

The whispering stopped abruptly, "Excuse me, Commander... but since I'm a communications officer in training, perhaps I can help..." Angle spoke, and cleared his throat, "We come in peace... take us to your leader..." he started. 

"Oh shut up, Kirk!" Jericho snapped, then slowly walked to the tree he had scanned earlier. With super-fast android speed, he climbed the tree, and pulled something down. It let out a shriek. 

Jericho looked at what he grabbed. It was a boy... or ... something. He was no more then 5'0" with long silver hair. He looked up at Jericho with large golden eyes, and his ears were... _pointed_? "What the ....?!" 

"It's an ELF!" Stephanie screeched. Three more similar creatures dropped down from the tree Jericho was standing by. Two females, and one other male. The girls had golden hair and silver eyes, the other male looked much like the first one. 

"We are called ELVEN, m'lady!" one of the girls spoke. 

"You.... TALK?!" Ensign Angle sputtered, "You talk the Universal WrestleFleet language?!" 

"WrestleFleet? We are unfamiliar with that term," the boy Jericho had pulled down spoke, then crossed his arms and frowned, "Surely some fable or fairy tale?" 

"Fairy tale?" Stephanie started, "I wouldn't talk about fairy tales, elf-boy!" 

Jericho groaned. Stephanie was such a good diplomat... ugh! Jericho crouched down to be at eye level with the kids in front of him, "Where are we?" he asked. 

The second boy - the silent one - finally spoke, "You are on Arcadia, he said. 

"Hush, Parn!" the first boy said, and elbowed the other in the ribs. "He is aware of his surroundings!" 

"No he is not! Look at them, Taran! They are not FROM here!" The boy-elf identified as Parn shot back with his own elbow to the ribs. 

"Father is going to be upset we are even talking to them!" the first girl said. 

"But they slayed Goarnar the Gold Thief, Larna! We must, at least, thank them for that!" the second one spoke. 

"Do you think father would want to thank them, Kara? I do not think so! Father dislikes humans!" Larna replied. 

"Was Goarnar the Gold Thief that big flying lizard thing?" Jericho asked. 

"It is called a _dragon_, sir..." Kara said, "And he has been terrorizing our forest and stealing our valubles for quite a long time. There are more of his kind around... " 

"MORE?" Stephanie sputtered. 

"Yes... there are a fair number of them. We do not know where they came from... but they have tormented many different lands here on Arcadia..." Kara explained. 

Parn came up to Jericho, "Sir... we cannot take you to our father, but we can lead you into Etola. They shall help you there..." 

"No... that's ok. We need to get back to our..." Stephanie stopped. Did these Elven things even KNOW about spaceships? "We... need to get back home..." she said quickly, then looked at Jericho, "You know how to get back, right?" she said. 

Jericho turned to her, "Actually... while we were running from the... uh... _dragon_ was it?" he asked. Kara nodded, "I wasn't really paying attention to the terrain..." 

"WHAT?!" Stephanie shrieked, "So you're saying we're lost?" 

"If we can get out of the forest, we can contact Dr. Taker!" Jericho said, then looked at   
the kids in front of him, "Is there some sort of shield over this forest?" he asked. 

"The only thing over this forest is our magic protecting us against monsters..." Parn then looked down at his feet, "Though it has not been working well lately. Goarnar was able to get through it, he sighed, "My father said that was because there are less and less of us. We are dying ..." 

Stephanie looked at the little boy, "WHAT?! Don't your doctors know what's wrong?" 

"Our high elfs, you mean?" Parn asked, then shook his head, "They do not know what to do..." 

Stephanie took a deep breath. While she would love to stick around and find out what was wrong with his people, she didn't have time for it. It was something best left to Dr. Taker. "Listen... is there anywhere we can sleep?" Stephanie asked. "It's going to get dark soon..." 

"We shall take you into town. They will provide logging and food for you..." Larna said, "Follow us..." She motioned for them to follow as she lead them through the forest. 

*** 

UNKNOWN FOREST 

Dr. Taker stood before the forest on his bike, looking at the large THING that lay dead in front of him, blocking the entrance. The creature had multiple phaser burns. Obviously Jericho, Stephanie, and Angle had been here. 

Taker tapped his comm badge, "Taker to Jericho!" Nothing but static. 

If he didn't find his shipmates soon, he would have to explain to McMahon that his daughter was missing... and he really wasn't in the mood for another McMahon freak out right now. 

*** 

ETOLA 

"This is as far as we may go," Larna said, "You should be able to find lodgings. There are many inns in town," she smiled, "Good luck!" 

"Thank you, Larna..." Jericho said, then waved to the four Elven siblings as he, Stephanie, and Angle walked through the empty village. Jericho tapped his comm badge…and still received static. Perhaps they weren't far enough from the forest yet. Jericho began to walk on, then looked back at Angle, "What are you wearing?" he asked. 

"I was once King of the Titanprize Ring," Angle replied, "And we all know every King needs a crown!" he said. 

"That's the crown we got from the Dragon's cave!" Jericho replied, "We're supposed to use that to power the ship! Not to stroke your ego!" 

"It looks quite good on a man of my integrity, Jericho, and I would appreciate it if you would remain silent in my presence..." 

Jericho looked at Stephanie, but she just merely shrugged. 

The three WrestleFleet officers stood in the empty street, and looked around. A large white castle loomed on a hill a short distance away, "Amazing!" Stephanie gasped. 

Jericho watched her. Stephanie was, no doubt, dreaming of how the castle would look in pink! "Come on, Skankanie. We need to find an inn..." 

"What did you call Commander McMahon?" Angle asked. 

"What I always call her!" Jericho replied. 

"How dare you treat your superior officer with such disrespect!" Angle snapped, "You have absolutely NO integrity!" 

"You know what you can do with your integrity, Angle?" Jericho started, "You can stick it up your---" 

Suddenly the argument was interrupted by a scream. The three WrestleFleet officers jumped into action, and ran towards the sound. As they turned the corner, they saw a woman being accosted by three men. Jericho ran up to the one currently pinning the young woman against a wall and pulled him away. Stephanie and Angle went after his buddies before they could jump into the foray. 

The man spun to face Jericho, and held out a large dagger, "Stay out of this, Stranger, or you will be our next victim!" the man threatened, and sneered cruelly. 

Jericho said nothing as he quickly kicked the dagger out of the man's hands. 

The man looked at Jericho, then at his dagger lying on the ground. He quickly reached to get it, and was promptly clotheslined by the Y2J Unit. The man fell to the ground, unconscious, "Ooops... hit him a bit too hard," Jericho said, and turned to see how Angle and Stephanie were doing. Their opponents were lying unconscious as well thanks to the stun setting on their phasers. 

Stephanie turned to Jericho with a smug smile, "Easier then a clothesline..." she said. 

"A lot of good your phaser does when it runs out of energy," Jericho replied, "And right now, we need to CONSERVE that energy!" 

"Hey, I know how to fight one-on-one if I have to!" Stephanie said. 

"Really? Since when!" Jericho asked. 

"YOU'RE the one who's been teaching me! Or have you forgotten?" Stephanie replied. 

"You mean you've actually been paying attention?" Jericho replied, somewhat surprised. 

"Of COURSE! You think I LIKE getting my ass kicked by everyone?" 

"I don't know, Steph, what kind of kinky things are you into?" he asked. 

"Princess Arielle!" A voice called out. Everyone turned to the sound of the voice. 

"Oh!" the beautiful blonde girl gasped. 

A strange-looking man entered the alley, "There you are, Princess! Your parents are worried for you! You disappeared off the castle grounds! Why?" 

Stephanie gasped as she looked at the frighteningly beautiful man who was currently scolding… what did he call her? Princess Arielle? The man stood well over six feet, skin as white as snow, hair as black as night. He seemed about the same age as the princess… and looked angry. He reached out and took her arm with one black-clawed hand. CLAWS? The princess shrugged out of his grasp. He reached for her again, and Stephanie stepped in, holding her phaser up. "She obviously doesn't want you to touch her!" 

Jericho wondered if Stephanie was being brave, or merely stupid. 

The man turned to the Chief Engineer, "This is none of your concern, Stranger!" he hissed. Stephanie's eyes went wide. Did this … _man_… have fangs? 

"Jarren, hush!" The princess demanded. "This lady and her friends saved my life!" 

He turned back to her, his face and voice softening, "Why did you run away, Princess?" he asked again. 

"You know why, Jarren," she replied, her voice quiet. 

"You have no choice, Princess! Your parents demand---" 

"I don't CARE what my parents demand!" She snapped, then took a deep breath and turned to the WrestleFleet officers, somewhat embarrassed, "Forgive me for my outburst. It must seem quite rude!" then she smiled, and nodded to the pale creature beside her, "This is Jarren. He is my royal minder," she said. "And he is right… I DID run away. My parents demand I marry some prince whom I care nothing for," she shrugged, and smiled, "But I need not concern you with my problems. My protector has come to take me back to the castle." She frowned at him, "Though sometimes I wish he would not be SO protective!" 

"It is my duty! I cannot let anything happen to you, Arie---!" he stopped and quickly corrected himself with a low bow, "...your highness. Not with Goarnar the Gold Thief hovering about, looking for any maiden to feast on!" 

"Goarnar? The dragon we killed?" Jericho asked. 

The princess and her protector looked at the WrestleFleet officer, "You SLAYED him?" she gasped, "Well… this is WONDERFUL!" Arielle spoke. "You must come to the castle! My parents must meet you!" 

"We would be honoured, your highness..." Angle said politely, and bowed. 

Jericho sighed. So much for contacting the Titanprize now, "You even kiss up to STRANGERS, Angle!" he muttered. 

"She's royalty!" Angle snapped. 

Arielle brightened, "I've noticed that YOU are royalty too, sir! That is quite the crown!" she said. 

Angle's smile grew wider, as he touched the crown atop his head, "Yes... I am King Kurt of the Titanprize!" 

"Oh for--" Jericho muttered, then shook his head. Why bother? 

"Ah! This gallant Knight is your royal guard then?" Arielle asked as she looked at Jericho. She curtsied to Stephanie, "And I imagine you are King Kurt's QUEEN, yes?" 

Stephanie opened her mouth to protest, then stopped and smiled. Stephanie took Angle's arm, "Yes. I'm his Queen," she said. 

"Stephanie!" Jericho started. 

"That's QUEEN Stephanie to you, SIR Jericho!" Stephanie replied, "You will speak to me with the proper respect!" 

"I am not a SIR anything!!" Jericho snapped, "And you are DEFINITELY not a Queen... unless you consider Queen of the Skan---" 

"Come now, Sir Knight..." Arielle spoke as she wrapped her arm around his, "We must make haste! The castle is a good 20 minutes walk from here!" she tugged on Jericho's arm, and he reluctantly walked alongside her. 

"Princess, we know nothing about these strangers!" Jarren said as he walked on her other side. 

"Does it matter, Jarren? They saved me and slayed Goarnar!" She turned to Jericho, "So tell me, Sir Knight… where is this land of Titanprize?" 

"Oh, it's far from here, highness…" Jericho said quickly, "VERY far…" How could he explain? And how could he possibly contact the ship right now without frightening the locals? 

Stephanie watched Jericho chatting with his royal arm accessory. "_Obviously she has more beauty then brains to be showing any interest in that stupid jerk!" _Stephanie thought. 

"Stephanie?" Angle asked, "You seem upset..." 

"I'm FINE!" Stephanie snapped, "Now let's just follow the little blonde princess and see where she takes us!" 

*** 

STREETS OF ETOLA - later 

Taker came upon the three unconscious men in the alleyway. Two of them had been stunned by WrestleFleet issue phasers... and the other had been knocked unconscious by the Y2J Unit -- as could be seen from the boot imprint on the man's face. 

Dr. Taker had had to travel around the forest ... though on his bike it didn't take very long. He looked at the large castle atop the hill and tapped his commbadge, "Dr. Taker to Captain McMahon." 

"McMahon here," 

"Your daughter, Jericho and Angle are currently in contact with the locals. Do not make any attempts to hail them. It's unknown if these locals are even familiar with our technology. It could cause problems…" 

"Why are they talking to the locals…?" 

"I don't know, Vince. But I'm going to get in contact with them down here and report to you later," he said, "Taker out!" 

Before McMahon protested, Taker cut the communication. He turned back to the castle. 

That would be his next stop. 

*** 

CASTLE ETOLA - the next morning 

"Did you have a good sleep, QUEENIE?" Jericho whispered to Stephanie as she sat at the elegant breakfast table in the great hall of the castle. The moment the WrestleFleet group had arrived at the castle, they had been stripped of their ragged travel clothing (as Arielle so kindly called their uniforms) and been given proper royal attire. Luckily the servants had not taken their comm badges. 

Jericho had been in brief contact with the Titanprize the night before, informing McMahon of the current situation, but he had had to cut the conversation short when a servant came in to turn down his bed. 

"I slept like a Queen, thank you," Stephanie replied, nose in the air as she sat down. 

Stephanie was wearing a flowing pink gown and looked every inch a Queen. "Make sure you don't trip over your dress, your _highness_! We wouldn't want to make a scene now…" 

"YOU'RE more likely to make a scene them ME, Chrissie," Stephanie scowled at him, "Since you're obviously not behaving properly in royalty's presence!" 

"DO NOT call me _Chrissie_!" he hissed, "And you're no more royalty then _I_ am," 

"Your King is here!" Angle said as he made himself comfortable at the table... trying not to sit on his royal robes. He was still wearing the crown they had found in the Dragon's cave. 

"Well... King of the 30-year old virgins!" Jericho started, "Don't get too used to this! We still have to get back to the Titanprize! Taker is on his way here," Jericho said as he smoothed out his silver tunic and elegant black tights. 

Sitting regally with his hair tied back ever so neatly, Lt. Commander Jericho looked every bit like the royal Knight Arielle had mistaken him for. Stephanie frowned at him, "You look absolutely ridiculous, " she said. 

"ME? I'm not the one wearing a dunce cap on my head!" Jericho replied, and flicked her pink cone-hat with his fingers. Stephanie stuck her tongue out, "Oh yes. Quite the royal behaviour there, Steph...." Jericho replied dryly. 

In a few moments, Jericho, Stephanie, and Angle were joined by Arielle, her protector, and two older people who appeared to be the King and Queen. Jericho thought the man looked familiar... but... 

Arielle smiled, "I would like to introduce you to Queen Renita, and King Talmar..." she looked towards her parents, "Mother, father... this is Queen Stephanie, and King Kurt of... Titanprize!" 

"Titanprize...?" Queen Renita asked, "I do not believe I have heard of that land..." 

"This is Sir Knight Jericho!" Arielle continued, and went to sit on Jericho's other side, "He is a Dragon Slayer, mother!" she said with a smile, "He even slayed Goarnar the gold thief!" 

Jericho furrowed his brow.Well, he wasn't exactly a Dragon slayer… but fine. Let Stephanie and Kurt play their royalty roles. HE would play the role of the brave dragon slayer, "Yes... Goarnar was quite a tough dragon..." he said, "But there are others I have fought that are tougher. There was a most hideously ugly dragon called Skankanie of the McMahon Highlands..." 

Jericho winced as he received a swift kick from Stephanie under the table. He glared at her, "Yes... well..." Stephanie spoke, smiling smugly, "We don't need to hear that story. It's not suitable for breakfast conversation. We know Jericho is a brave knight. He would make quite a suitor for any deserving princess!" 

Jericho's eyes went wide as he stared at Stephanie, but he said nothing. Surely Stephanie wouldn't try and pawn him off on this princess... would she? 

A young girl brought breakfast to the table. Jericho studied her. She looked like the children in the forest. He shook his head, and turned back to King Talmar. The man's face STILL seemed so familiar to him. He searched his data banks... and realized why! 

A brilliant WrestleFleet geneticist named Dr. Kelvin Talmar had once claimed he could create new species if WrestleFleet would provide suitable grants for his research. The grants never came, and Dr. Kelvin Talmar was soon exiled by WrestleFleet for conducting unsanctioned experiments. 

However, that incident was over 100 years ago. The man Jericho seemed to be talking to right now HAD to be Talmar's descendant, and most likely knew nothing about his ancestor. 

Jericho glanced at Stephanie and Kurt. They seemed blissfully unaware of who it was they were happily chatting with. 

Suddenly a large roar silenced the royal conversation. 

"No!" Arielle gasped, then turned to Jericho, "Sir Knight, did you not kill the dragon?" 

"We… I mean… _I_ did!" Jericho replied. 

"Then it is his big brother! Ranagar the Metal Eater!" Arielle gasped. 

"BIG BROTHER?" Jericho, Stephanie, and Angle exclaimed in sync. They quickly ran to the nearest window, to see a large shadow over the village below them. Fires burned wild, and people ran out of their homes, holding their children… screaming for their lives. The three WrestleFleet officers stared up at the dragon – this one bigger then the earlier one they had slayed. 

Princess Arielle grabbed Jericho's arm, shaking fearfully. 

"BRING ME THE ONE WHO SLAYED MY BROTHER!" the dragon spoke. 

It SPOKE? Stephanie allowed a very un-Queen-like phrase escape from her lips, though only Jericho noticed. 

In a few moments, the Dragon had gone on its way, "It is asking for you…" Arielle began, "Surely you will slay it, Sir knight. Will you not?" 

Jericho turned to Angle and Stephanie, but their faces remained pale and frightened. The King, Queen, and Princess merely stared at him... expecting something... 

Lt. Commander Jericho cursed silently. He had unwillingly become the official dragon slayer of Arcadia … 

END OF SEASON 8 


	75. Season 9 Premiere Episode 1 Here There ...

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**   
  


**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 1: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS**   
**PART TWO**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"I have yet to hear from the surface of the planet we currently orbit, save for Dr. Taker and Lt. Commander Jericho late last night. We have been informed that Jericho, Angle, and Stephanie are currently in contact with the local royal family. We were hoping to avoid the primitive natives of the planet, but it seems my crew was unable to do so. Jericho also claimed the planet was home to many odd creatures… one being a lizard-like creature, almost as big as the Titanprize, that he had… _slayed_. We are scanning the surface for similar creatures and will inform Lt. Commander Jericho of their existence. End log." 

McMahon leaned back in his chair. Judging from the readouts on the padd before him, it seemed there were MANY creatures that fit the description Lt. Commander Jericho had given him... but they were currently hybernating. 

McMahon shook his head. Creatures like that just didn't exist in this century! 

He stood up, and headed onto his bridge. Perhaps a sense of normalcy would ease his mind. 

*** 

PLANET ARCADIA – CASTLE ETOLA 

"I spoke to Vinnie-mac while you and your King were huddled together in your royal little bed," Jericho started as he sat with Stephanie. King Kurt was too busy sucking up to Arcadia's royal family - for _diplomatic_ reasons, he claimed - to join the meeting 

Stephanie frowned, "We did NOT share a bed!" She snapped, then paused for a moment, "Though Kurt DID seem a little too into this 'King and Queen' thing. He suggested that perhaps we _should_... just to be convincing of course!" she added quickly, "Anyway, I said we didn't NEED to be that convincing. He was ok with it. Kurt isn't a pervert, unlike SOME people I know!" she glared at him. 

"Well that's a first!" Jericho spoke, "The ever-skankie Stephanie McMahon refusing an Ensign her bed!" 

"Shut up, Jerkicho!" she snapped, "Just tell me what daddy said!" 

"Not much. I told him what was happening. I haven't contacted him about the…_visitor_… this morning. I'm not sure what to tell him. Or even what weapons would work against a dragon THAT big!" 

"Well you're the big bad dragon slayer! Surely you know!" 

"Oh well, _your highness_…" he frowned, "Forgive me for not knowing exactly how to deal with big-ass flying reptiles!" 

"Hey... you made your bed, _dragon slayer_, you might as well lie in it! The Arcadian Royal family is depending on you... " Stephanie replied sarcastically. 

"Well we know YOU lay in EVERY bed..." Jericho muttered, but Stephanie didn't hear him. He turned to her, "Speaking of the Arcadian Royal family..." he began, "Did you notice anything familiar about King Talmar?" 

"Familiar how?" Stephanie asked. 

"Have you heard of Dr. Kelvin Talmar? A geneticist from way back in WrestleFleet history...?" 

"Yes. I've heard of him. He was exiled for experimenting on humans a long time ago..." 

"Exactly!" Jericho said, "And King Talmar bears more then a passing resemblance to him!" 

"What are you getting at?" 

"What I'm GETTING at is that we're in way too deep here! If Talmar is anything like his ancestor, we'd be safer getting OUT of here!" 

"But the dragon! What about THAT?" Stephanie asked, "You're supposed to be the dragon slayer! You can't just up and leave!" 

Jericho shook his head, "Listen... WrestleFleet protocol would dictate that we beam back to the shuttlecraft and..." 

"And leave the locals to fend for themselves..." a voice said. Jericho and Stephanie jumped at the unexpected intrusion, and turned to the door. Dr. Taker stared at them with his cold, grey eyes and walked into the room, "I told the King and Queen that I was an acquaintance of yours. They offered me a room last night. Trusting little fools didn't even think twice about letting me in!" Taker said, "Now about this reptile problem," he began, "... it's not your concern!" 

"Listen, Taker..." Stephanie started, "We can't just leave them like that!" 

Jericho looked at Stephanie, "I can't believe it... but for once I actually AGREE with you. HOW, exactly, do you plan to slay the dragon though?" 

"Who says _I'm_ slaying it. YOU'RE the Dragon Slayer here!" 

"Well aren't YOU just lil' Miss Helpful!" Jericho snapped, clearly annoyed. 

Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Must I think of EVERYTHING? Some brilliant computer _you_ turned out to be!" she replied, "What we're going to do is beam down weapons from the Titanprize! A large disruptor or two should be able to injure the dragon... maybe even kill it!" 

Jericho thought about that, "Then how would we explain the weapons to the royals?" 

Stephanie sighed, as if the answer should be obvious, "They think we're from some far-off land, right?" she asked, "We'll simply tell them it's some magic weapons native to our land!" 

"And you think they'll fall for that?" Jericho asked. 

"Well... considering they think you're a DRAGON SLAYER, it's pretty safe to say they'll believe ANYTHING!" 

Jericho frowned, "And considering they think you're ROYALTY, they can't be all that bright..." 

"And why COULDN'T I be royalty?" Stephanie asked angrily, "Never mind," she said quickly as Jericho was about to open his mouth to reply, "Just contact daddy and get the weapons! I have to go. Arielle promised to show me the market square today, and I'm already late!" Stephanie jumped to her feet and headed out to find her new friend. 

"Looks like Stephie found someone as shallow as HER to spend time with..." Jericho muttered, then stood up. "Hey..." he started, "While I arrange for the weapons, could you do me a favour?" 

Dr. Taker looked at him, "I ain't doing no favours for your stank ass!" he said. 

"Well... look at it as medical research then, ok?" Jericho said, "In the forest we ran into these Elven creatures. All the servants I've seen in this castle are Elven as well. Apparently they're dying out... so... I was just wondering if maybe you'd want to check out what's happening..." 

Dr. Taker narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, "Hmmm... a new species to play with..." 

"Oh... and another thing... about King Talmar --- he's a descendant of... " 

"I know about the good King's ancestry...!" Dr. Taker snapped, "Very little gets past me, Lt. Commander!" 

"Why am I not surprised... " Jericho said, "Any idea how he got here? I mean, I know he was exiled, but do you think he found a similar worm hole? Maybe landed here and continued his work? Because if he DID find another wormhole leading here, maybe he'd have the information in his navigational logs! Maybe we could find the wormhole... and it could lead us home!" 

"Wormhole? Home?" Taker repeated, then frowned, "You sound rather optimistic for an android without a functioning emotion chip..." 

Jericho looked up at him, "You KNOW?" he asked... but yet, it wasn't exactly a shock to him... 

"You have yet to tell Commander Stephanie," the dark doctor said. 

Jericho lost the pretense of displaying emotion as he spoke, "Informing Commander McMahon of her failure would only upset her..." 

"And just why is your stank ass worried you'll upset little Stephie?" Taker asked. 

Jericho couldn't think of a reply. He shook his head. His reasoning didn't compute... but then many things regarding his reactions to Commander Stephanie McMahon didn't compute. Jericho turned back to Dr. Taker, "That's not important..." he replied, "What _is_ important is the possible existence of another wormhole!" 

Dr. Taker decided to drop the subject of Stephanie and return to the task at hand, "The only way to find out about the wormhole is to find the remains of Talmar's ship, Lt. Commander..." 

*** 

ETOLA MARKET PLACE 

Stephanie and Arielle wandered the market place, Jarren following a few feet behind like a shadow, "Does he have to follow us EVERYWHERE?" Stephanie whispered. 

"Yes. It's his duty..." Arielle said, "He takes it very seriously," 

"Is he ever NOT serious?" Stephanie asked. 

Arielle smiled wistfully, "Sometimes he laughs," she said, "He has quite a beautiful laugh..." she quickly stopped, and looked away, "I am the only one who has heard it though... so he tells me..." 

"Back in MY land," Stephanie started, "We don't have creatures like him. What is he?" 

"An angel..." Arielle replied as she studied her protector. 

"That's the name of his species?" 

Arielle turned back to Stephanie, somewhat embarrassed, "OH!" she giggled, "Silly me. No ... but that is what I refer to him as. I jest that he is like a dark guardian angel..." Arielle replied, "He finds that humourous..." she then frowned prettily, "He finds much of what I say and do humourous..." 

"Then his species doesn't have a name?" Stephanie asked. 

Arielle thought about this for a moment, "Honestly, I have never asked him," she said, "I have never seen another like him, but I suppose as long as he does what my father commands him to do, it does not matter where he comes from, does it?" 

"But... don't you WANT to know?" Stephanie asked. 

"I am curious, yes... but... I am not sure HE even knows. He has never offered to tell me, and it would be cold of me to ask," Arielle shrugged gracefully, then smiled brightly, "But enough about Jarren. Tell me about Sir Jericho!" 

"Jericho?" Stephanie asked, "Why do you want to know about HIM?" 

"He is a brave, handsome knight! What lady would NOT want to know about him!" 

"Well..." Stephanie started, "let's just say he's as unique as your protector is..." 

"You mentioned he would make a good suitor for a princess," Arielle began, "And... since my parents wish me to marry soon ..." 

"NO!" Stephanie snapped quickly. 

Arielle was taken aback, "Pardon?" she asked. 

Stephanie quickly composed herself, "Forgive me," she said, then smiled, "I mean... surely you're not considering Chri--- uh... SIR JERICHO... as a possible suitor?" 

"Well, he IS a regal Knight! My parents are quite impressed that he is a dragon slayer... and they DID tell me that if I found another worthy suitor, I would not have to marry the one they have chosen for me..." 

"He's NOT worthy! Believe me!" Stephanie said. 

"But this morning at breakfast, you said he WAS..." 

"I was joking!" Stephanie replied. Good lord... Jericho couldn't marry this... this... PRINCESS! Imagine the shock when she found out exactly WHAT he was! 

"But surely he IS worthy! If you would grant me permission to marry your Knight, you will be free to chose from any other Knight in our land to replace him!" 

"I don't WANT any one else!" Stephanie snapped, then quickly closed her mouth, "I mean... I... well, Jericho is just... um..." she cleared her throat, "Kurt and I have been with him a long time. We can't replace him," 

Arielle nodded, "I know how you feel about him..." 

"WHAT?" Stephanie gasped, "How could you POSSIBLY..." 

"He is like part of the family, yes?" Arielle interrupted. 

Stephanie blinked for a moment, then finally spoke, "Yes. A part of the family.... right..." 

"I understand. Jarren is very important to me," Arielle spoke, then her voice became softer, "I do not know what I would do if he ever left my side..." 

Stephanie looked at Arielle, who was currently watching her royal minder as he guarded from a few feet away, "Why don't you just marry Jarren then? It's obvious you WANT to," She said. 

Arielle turned to Stephanie, face stricken as if someone had just spilled her greatest secret, "What... what are you talking about?" she sputtered, "He is just my protector! I could not... could not possibly... " she stopped and shook her head, her voice a mere whisper, "I ... I am forbidden..." 

"Forbidden?" Stephanie asked. 

"My father... he would forbid it. He claims Jarren is not worthy of being anything more then my protector. That Jarren was... a mistake..." 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "A mistake? What does he mean by that?" 

"I do not know," Arielle said, "My father... sometimes he says odd things. Often times I over-hear him talking to my mother about something called... genetics?" she looked at Stephanie, as if perhaps Stephanie had heard of that odd word. 

"Genetics?" Stephanie repeated. 

_Maybe Jerkicho was right after all._

*** 

KING KURT'S ROYAL CHAMBERS - the next day 

"Really, I don't see why _I_ have to carry your weapons, Jericho!" Angle replied. 

Jericho turned to him impatiently, "First of all, Kirk Angel, you will refer to me as LT. COMMANDER. Second of all... just do what I say, or I'll report your olympic ass to McMahon. Got it?" Jericho still couldn't figure out why he reacted so adversely to Ensign Angle. Perhaps Ensign Matt could run a diagnostics on him when they returned to the ship. 

Ensign Angle gulped, "Yes sir!" he said. 

"McMahon has scanned the area and found the remains of Talmar's ship. It also happens to be in the same place our friend Ranagar the Metal Eater lives! You and me are going to go there and destroy that dragon AND hack into the ship's logs to see if there's any information about another wormhole!" 

"What about Dr. Taker?" Angle asked. 

"Taker has his hands full trying to figure out what's wrong with the Elves. WE have other matters to attend to. Now MOVE it, Kirk!" With that, Jericho headed out of the room... Angle following carefully behind him. 

*** 

CASTLE ETOLA - CORRIDORS 

"Taker...!" Stephanie gasped as she walked down the corridors with Princess Arielle. Dr. Taker was standing in the hall, waiting. 

"We need to talk," he said. 

"You know this man?" The princess asked. 

"Uh.. yes... he's my royal medical practitioner..." Stephanie replied. 

"Oh dear... I do hope nothing is wrong," Arielle said. 

"We need to talk NOW," Taker said. 

Stephanie took that to mean that her small talk with the Princess was wasting Taker's time. She nodded to him, and the two walked a few feet away. "What is it?" 

"Jericho and Angle went off to hunt dragons and to see if they can find what's left of the original Talmar's ship," Taker replied, then noticed Arielle and Jarren talking a few feet away. He lowered his voice "What the hell is THAT?" he asked as he looked at the royal protector. 

"According to Arielle, her father said he was a mistake," 

Taker furrowed his brow, "A mistake... hmm?" 

"Yes," Stephanie replied, "And she also mentioned something about her father talking about genetics..." 

Taker nodded, "Then that means the current King is following his ancestor's research... which means that he MUST have found the ship belonging to Dr. Talmar..." 

"Which means," Stephanie continued, "That Jericho and Angle won't find anything! Those IDIOTS! Couldn't they wait until I got back? Oh... of course not! They're macho men, they have to go out and---" 

"Shut up, Stephanie," Taker interrupted. Stephanie quickly complied. 

"Queen Stephanie," Arielle called out, "Jarren and myself are going to go out into the gardens." 

Stephanie smiled and waved, "See you later then," she said, then turned back to Taker as Arielle and her protector left, "So, what are we supposed to do about Jericho and Angle?" 

"We are to head back to the shuttlecraft and wait for them. I've already told Jericho we'd meet him there," 

"But what about the people here? The Elves are..." Stephanie started. 

"I know about the Elves," he said. "But there is nothing I can do for them," he explained, "We cannot involve ourselves in the business of this planet." 

"Good advice," a voice spoke up behind Stephanie and Taker. They spun around to see King Talmar standing regally, staring at the two WrestleFleet officers, "He's right, you know," the King said, "You have no reason to interfere in what I do here! WrestleFleet exiled me, and still they can't leave me alone!" 

Stephanie's eyes went wide, "You know we're from WrestleFleet?" then she furrowed her brow, "What do you mean they exiled YOU?" 

"I am Dr. Kelvin Talmar," he said. 

"Impossible!" Stephanie gasped. "He was exiled 100 years ago!" 

"I came to this planet with my family and a small team of scientists who believed in my work," he said, then smiled, "We settled, and continued our research. I told those at WrestleFleet that I could expand the human life cycle... but they didn't believe me!" 

"Expand the human life cycle? How?" Stephanie asked, but Taker interrupted her. 

"What about the other creatures here?" the Titanprize doctor asked, "Where did they come from?" 

"I merely borrowed their DNA from various members of my team. The ELVEN, as they call themselves, were quite a unique mix... and Arielle's protector was the only mistake in the mix," he shrugged, "But he's been an adequate protector for my daughter," 

"But about this _expanding the human life cycle_ thing," Stephanie tried again, and was again ignored. 

"What about the Dragons?!" Taker asked. 

"I had nothing to do with the Dragons," Talmar said, "They were here long before _I_ was!" 

"You do realize your experiments are unethical and potentially dangerous to the subjects?" Taker pointed out. 

"Not any more!" he sighed, "LOOK at this planet! It was a barren wasteland before I got here, only inhabited by dragons and other wild animals. I brought LIFE to this planet!" he said, "My team has had children, and their children have had children. We've settled them all here peacefully. Why can't WrestleFleet just leave us alone?" 

"WrestleFleet HAS left you alone. WE, unfortunately, came into this quadrant in error..." 

Talmar nodded his head, "Much like us," he said. "A wormhole?" 

"Yeah... created by a war criminal," Stephanie replied. "Listen," she started, "We aren't in contact with WrestleFleet, ok, so we can't do anything to you ANYWAY!" she sighed, "But tell me something, are you going to help the Elves?" she asked, figuring her previous question would be ignored if she asked again. 

"Yes! Of course! They're my children - in a manner of speaking. I don't want to see them die! I've been able to help a few. I'm trying to help all of them, but they've spread so far across the planet that it's impossible to track them all down without a ship!" 

Stephanie looked at Dr. Taker, and Dr. Taker nodded. He tapped his commbadge, "Taker to Titanprize," he started, "We have a mission we may need your assistance with..." 

*** 

SHUTTLECRAFT METAL1 

Stephanie waited in the shuttlecraft patiently. Dr. Taker had since beamed back to the ship, and she was grateful. She really didn't want to be stuck alone on the shuttlecraft with him. 

Captain McMahon had sent some of the Titanprize and Nytron scientists down with runabouts to try and find the Elves and help them. The Titanprize had decided to stay in orbit for as long as it took to help the Elves-- since there really were no other pressing matters the ship needed to attend to being lost in space and all... 

In return, Talmar promised to download all his research into the Titanprize computers -- including how to expand the human lifecycle. Stephanie worried about that. With a genetic fountain of youth at the Titanprize's fingertips, would the chance to live long enough to get home be too tempting to resist? 

"Ensign Lita to Commander Stephanie..." a voice came through the shuttlecraft computer. 

"Commander Stephanie here...." Stephanie replied, "What it is, Lita?" 

"Are you ever going to come back aboard the ship?" Lita asked. 

"Yes. As soon as I hear from Lt. Commander Jericho," she said, then quickly added, "And Ensign Angle!" 

"They still haven't contacted you?" Lita asked. 

"No. I know the trip to Ranagar the Metal Eater's cave is a few days away by foot... but..." she paused, "Never mind..." 

"But... you're worried about them, aren't you?" Lita said. "Planning to camp out in the shuttlecraft for the next few days?" she asked. 

"Maybe," Stephanie replied. 

"Then I'm coming down to join you!" 

"WHAT?" 

"Slumber party!" Lita said happily, "I'll invite Chyna along." 

"You guys REALLY don't have to come down here..." Stephanie said. 

"Too late..." a voice said behind her. Stephanie spun around to see Chyna and Lita standing on the transporter pad at the back of the shuttlecraft . "We'll have our stuff beamed down to us..." 

*** 

RANAGAR'S CAVE 

The extraordinarily large Dragon glared at Jericho and Angle, "Why have you come here?" he asked. 

Jericho stepped forward as Angle cowered, mouth agape, "I am the one who killed your brother. You called me out, Jerky, remember?" 

The ground moved beneath Jericho and Angle. Well, technically it wasn't the ground. They were standing ON the Dragon... "So... YOU are the one who finally rid me of my annoying sibling!" 

Jericho blinked, "You sound happy about that," he started suspiciously. 

"I am!" The dragon replied. 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "So... are you going to kill me? Or what?" 

The dragon laughed, and it was like deafening thunder, "I FRIGHTEN humans. I BURN villages. But I do NOT kill as a rule. My brother killed and therefore did not endear us to the creatures who landed here all those years ago. No one could slay him, and it is against our ethics to kill our own," 

"So... you called me out because...??" 

"I wanted to thank you," Ranagar said. 

"HEY! I helped slay your brother as well!" Angle finally spoke up. 

_Opportunistic little... _"Shut up, Kirk," Jericho replied. 

The Dragon moved it's massive head to look at Angle, then turned back to Jericho, "Is he always like this?" 

"Unfortunately..." Jericho muttered. 

"Perhaps I can break the no-killing rule if you wish," the Dragon said. Angle paled, eyes wide. 

Jericho looked at Kurt. Was the Olympic wuss going to cry? It wouldn't be the first time. Jericho shook his head and turned his attention back to Ranagar, "There was a ship that landed here 100 years ago," 

"Much like the ship currently in orbit around this planet?" 

"You know about that?" 

"Yes. I can see it, in fact," Ranagar said. 

"How?!" Jericho asked. 

"It's not difficult with eyes like mine..." Ranagar replied. He snorted quietly, and Jericho could have sworn he saw a smile in that huge face, "But you should go now..." he said, "They will be waiting... " 

"Wait. About the ship that crashed here 100 years ago..." 

"It is gone. A Metal Eater grows quite hungry after a while. It made quite a fine meal," Ranagar explained, then nodded towards a pile of... scrap. There lay the remains of the ship. 

Jericho saw the scrap, and swore under his breath. After all that, the trip was for naught. He sighed, and turned to Angle, "Come on, Kirk, let's go," 

"He... wouldn't REALLY kill me, would he?" Angle asked. 

"Just MOVE, Kirk!" Jericho replied, and all but dragged the Olympic Ensign behind him. 

*** 

SHUTTLEBAY METAL1 

"So what's the sweetest thing Eddie has ever done for you?" Lita asked Chyna as she drank from a bottle of vintage wine. 

Chyna smiled, nursing her own drink, "We had a big argument one day... and that's when he gave me the puppy!" she said. "Eddie had this cute pout on his face when he handed the puppy to me... I just COULDN'T stay mad!" 

"Awww... ! That's so sweet!" Lita said, "You know, there was this time that Jeff---" 

"Guys..." Stephanie interrupted, "I just got a divorce. I really don't want to hear how wonderful your relationships are," she took a gulp of her synthehol, and sighed. 

Chyna and Lita looked at her, "Oh... sorry..." Lita said, then smiled, "What was the sweetest thing ANY man has ever done for you then? I mean... at any time in your life." 

Stephanie smiled as she remembered, "Well... a little while ago when Rock hurt my back with that stupid Nytron sharpshooter, Chris---" she stopped, then quickly shook her head. "Never mind," she said, and took another healthy gulp of her drink. 

Lita smiled, knowing the incident Stephanie was talking about, "Fine... what about Kurt?" Lita asked. 

Stephanie shrugged, "Kurt---" she let out a resigned sigh. 

"Can't think of anything to say about him?" Chyna asked. 

Stephanie quickly looked at her, and faked a smile, "Oh no.... Kurt is great... he's the sweetest guy..." 

Lita smiled knowingly at Chyna, and Chyna smiled back. 

"What's with the look?!" Stephanie asked. 

"We were just thinking that maybe it _wasn't_ Kurt that Triple H had to worry about," Lita said. 

"What are you two getting at?" Stephanie snapped. 

Chyna shook her head, "Nothing, Steph. Nothing at all," 

Stephanie looked at her empty glass, "Give me another," she said. 

"You've had three," Chyna said. 

Stephanie shrugged, "So? It's not like I plan on going anywhere until Angle and Jericho get back..." 

Lita shrugged and poured her a glass. There was a knock on the shuttle door, and the ladies jumped, "Who's there?" Lita asked. 

"Lita? It's us! Open up!" 

"Chris and Kurt," Lita said, and pressed the release lever. The two male crewmen crawled into the shuttle. 

Jericho looked at the ladies, who were wrapped in blankets and their pajamas, "Looks like we came just on time for the slumber party!" 

"Girls only!" Stephanie said, "You boys can sleep outside! And how'd you get here so quickly anyway?!" she asked. 

"We got a lift..." Jericho replied. Stephanie looked out the door, and finished her drink in one large gulp. 

Outside, hovering a good 50 feet off the ground was Ranagar the Metal Eater. 

Stephanie promptly passed out. 

*** 

Stephanie slowly awoke to find herself lying very comfortably on something soft and warm. Her head hurt too much to open her eyes and see exactly WHAT she was lying on. This was only the second time in Stephanie's life she had ever gotten drunk... and she decided it would be her last. 

"How DARE you steal Stephanie's integrity like that! What kind of WrestleFleet officer ARE you, Mr. Jericho?" she heard Angle shout. 

"Who the hell are YOU to talk about integrity, Angel? YOU'RE the one with the sleezy smirk on your face whenever you _accidentally_ cop a feel... and in case you didn't notice, she passed out on ME. What was I supposed to do, Jerky?" That was Jericho. 

"You were supposed to pilot this craft back to the Titanprize....!" Angle replied. 

"With the princess passed out on me, I couldn't very well DO that, now could I?" Jericho rebutted, "And every time I tried to move her, she whimpered like a little baby! Chyna and Lita told me to leave her... so I _did_!" 

"How improper!" Angle replied. 

"Oh... and I suppose claiming your _royal couple_ act would be more convincing if you slept in the same bed ISN'T?" Jericho snapped. Stephanie wished they would stop arguing. She was getting a headache... speaking of which, she was still lying on the soft thing. She reached her hand up, and felt a ... face?!! "AGH! Watch where you're sticking your fingers, Skankanie! I'd rather you NOT poke my beautiful baby blues out!" Jericho snapped. 

Stephanie's eyes flew open, and she bolted upright. Apparently she had used Lt. Commander Jericho as a pillow. "What the..? How DARE you!" 

"How dare I WHAT?" Jericho asked as he sat up. "I didn't TOUCH you!" 

"He's right," Lita spoke up as she looked at Stephanie with a smile, "He was a perfect gentleman. You passed out on him. We told him not to move you." 

"You two were SLEEPING!" Stephanie snapped, "How do YOU know what he did or didn't do?" She turned to Jericho and grabbed the front of his uniform, pulling him close, "If I find out you touched me in any way, shape, or form.... it'll be YOUR ass!" she hissed angrily. 

"Oh... so a few lessons in brawling, and you think you can take me on?" Jericho asked, "I'd like to see you try, Skankanie!" 

The two glared at each other, the tension so thick that even Chyna and Lita held their breaths.... waiting.... 

"McMahon to Shuttlecraft Metal1!" the Captain's voice came through the shuttle computer, interrupting the silence. 

"Angle here!" Ensign Angle replied, being closest to the computer, "How can I help you, sir...?" 

"Angle? Who's there with you?" McMahon asked. 

"The lovely Stephanie McMahon, Ensigns Lita and Chyna, and the Y2J Unit, sir..." Angle said. 

"Bring the shuttlecraft back to the Titanprize... we've been invited to a wedding!" 

"A wedding?" Jericho asked. 

"Yes. Between Princess Arielle, and someone named Jarren..." 

Stephanie raised her eyebrows, then realized she was still clenching Jericho's uniform in her hands. She quickly let go, and he fell backwards with a thump, "Ow! Damnit!" Jericho muttered as he rubbed the back of his head and sat up again. 

Stephanie got to her feet and looked at him with false concern, "Ooooh... gee... did that hurt, Chris?" 

Jericho muttered a rude reply under his breath and stood up. He frowned as he made his way to the pilot's chair. Stephanie and the others took the passenger seats and quickly buckled their safety harnesses. 

"Ok! Move this thing out!" Stephanie commanded. The Chief Engineer was eager to return to the Titanprize. After all, she had a wedding to get ready for! 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY 

Dr. Piro hacked into the ship's computer and quickly set about studying the research Talmar had so generously donated to the Titanprize. How to expand the length of the human life cycle particularly interested him. Piro skimmed through it... and frowned. 

Talmar had not expanded the human life cycle after all ... he had merely CLONED himself and transferred his thoughts and memories to the clone! 

Piro thought for a moment... then smiled coldly. Although it wasn't quite what he was looking for, Talmar's research COULD prove useful in the future... 


	76. Season 9 Episode 2 Virus

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 2 ****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON NINE

EPISODE 2: VIRUS

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 090220.00. We are currently in orbit around a Class M planet called Hitoma. There appears to be no life on this planet, but I am sending an away team down to see if there is anything of use to us down there..." McMahon said, then sighed. "In personal news, I'm somewhat concerned about the jokes Ensign Jeff Hardy has been making regarding my daughter and Lt. Commander Jericho..." Vince shook his head, "My daughter's ..." he paused, looking for a delicate way to phrase it, "... RUMOURED history with men ... has provided the young Hardy with a lot of ammo. I know my dear Stephanie detests the Y2J Unit. I am thinking of punishing young Hardy for his comments! End log." 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Commander Shane nursed a drink as he sat at the bar, "Hey, Trish?" he asked Terri's part time barkeep, "Have you seen my sister?" 

Trish shrugged, "Last I heard, she was practicing her self-defense with Lt. Commander Jericho in the Holodeck," 

Shane frowned. His sister always liked mechanical toys, but enough was enough, "Pops would be pissed to hear she's learning how to give and take bumps," he muttered. 

A voice spoke up beside Shane, "Commander McMahon... sir... I don't think that's all Jericho and Stephanie are doing in the holodeck," 

Shane turned towards the voice. A man sat on the stool to his left, "Excuse me?" he asked, "And who the hell are YOU?" 

The man introduced himself, "Joe, sir," 

Shane furrowed his brow, "Joe?" he repeated. He didn't recall seeing this guy before... 

"Yes sir. Just Joe." 

"Well, _Just Joe_, what the hell are you implying?!" 

Joe put up his hands defensively, "Hey, I'm not implying anything, but I overheard the Engineering crew saying some things about the Y2J Unit and the Chief Engineer…" 

Shane stood up, "What have they been saying?!" he snapped. 

Joe shrugged, "That maybe there's something going on between Jericho and Stephanie.   
Something more... _personal_..." Joe said. 

"How dare anyone even THINK my sister would EVER get _personal_ with a robot?" Shane snapped, his face red with anger. 

"But, I heard Ensign Jeff Hardy saying something about the two, and Ensign Lita, Ensign Matt, and a few others seemed to agree," Joe replied. "Of course, you know, Ensign Hardy may have just been making tasteless jokes... but ..." he shrugged, "If it wasn't a joke, then I just figured you should know, sir," 

Shane seethed, and tossed his drink against the mirror behind the bar, "Damnit! That stupid Y2J Unit! How DARE he sully my sister's reputation like that! " he grabbed Joe by the collar, "What else do you know?!" 

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger, Commander! That's all I heard, I swear," 

"Captain McMahon to Commander McMahon. Please report to my ready room," Vince McMahon's voice came through Shane's comm badge. 

Shane let go of Joe and tapped the badge, "Be right there, pops!" he replied. He gave Joe one last look, then marched out of the Smackdown. 

Commander Shane McMahon would have to have a few words with the Y2J Unit a bit later... 

***

MEETING ROOM 

"We've scanned Hitoma and have found no signs of life," McMahon started as he looked at the group before him: Benoit, Jericho, Shane, Edge, and Christian, "But I want to investigate it anyway. Perhaps bring back some vegetation and soil samples. I'm splitting the team into two groups." He turned to Lt. Benoit, "You will be assisted by Ensign Christian; Lt. Commander Jericho will be assisted by Ensign Edge. Shane will be in command of this mission so all findings must be reported to him." He explained, "You are to converge in Transporter bay 3 in 45 minutes! Dismissed," with that, he headed out to the bridge. 

The group began to leave, but Shane grabbed the Y2J Unit's arm, "You and me have to talk," he seethed. 

"About what, Commander?" Jericho asked. 

"Don't play dumb with me!" Shane snapped, then huffed past him and out into the corridors. 

Jericho furrowed his brow, then shrugged. He was sure whatever Shane had to tell him wouldn't be pleasant... 

***

PLANET HITOMA - CAVES 

"Lt. Commander Jericho, I have a complaint!" Ensign Edge started as he walked behind the Y2J Unit, "This cave is SO totally messing up my hair!" 

Jericho turned to Edge, "Ensign, if you complain one more time, I will beam you back aboard the Titanprize and tell Captain McMahon you're as much of a crybaby as Ensign Angle! Got it, Junior?!" 

Edge blinked, "Wow... you would SO do that too, wouldn't you, Lt. Commander?" he said, "That totally reeks of unfairitude!" he pouted. 

Jericho stopped as he felt something beneath his foot. He knelt down, and studied what he had stepped on, "Get over here, Edgeward," Jericho motioned to Ensign Edge, "Shine the flashlight on this..." 

Edge did so, and Jericho picked up the object, "Dude... that looks like metal..." Edge said. 

"Yes... it looks like a solar panel of some sort, but what is it doing on an uninhabited planet?" He tapped his comm badge, "Lt. Commander Jericho to Lt. Ben-oyt. We're at coordinates 39.93.93. I found something. See if you can beam your ass over here and check it out..." 

***

PLANET HITOMA - OPEN AREA 

Lt. Benoit studied the strange object in front of him. It was almost like a work of metallic art, "We've got our OWN things to look at here, Jericho," Benoit replied to the Y2J Unit, and closed the communication. He truly disliked that robot. 

Benoit stared up at the structure before him. It stood a good fifty feet high, the sunlight gleaming off its silver encasement. He studied the markings on the sides, but was at a loss to explain them. 

What was even stranger were the things his tricorder brought up. Inside the object were wires, siliconchips, microprocessors, and fiber optic cables. There was no doubt it was a computer! But... if the society was advanced enough to create something like this, then what happened to the society?! 

"Hey, Lt. Benoit, my beautiful skin is getting sunburned. Can you hurry up, dude? I don't wanna have ugly red blotches or..." Ensign Christian gasped in horror, "Or even peeling skin! Oh no!! That would look SO un-pretty!" 

Benoit turned to the prissy blonde beside him. He'd had about enough of the Ensign's whining. 

Before Christian knew what hit him, Benoit had him down on the ground, squealing like a little girl as he pulled back on the man's arm and neck. 

"Dude!!" Christian cried in pain, "I'm sorry, totally sorry!! I will totally keep quiet from here on!!" 

Benoit let go of the blonde Ensign and stood up, grinning wickedly, "Glad to hear it..." 

***

SHANE McMAHON'S OFFICE - the next day 

Shane finished up his away team report. The group had beamed back to the Titanprize empty-handed. The original plans to bring back vegetation and soil from the planet had quickly changed. Everything was DEAD! Ruined most likely by some odd crop disease. 

Shane sighed. Now it was time to get down to personal business. He tapped his comm badge, "Commander McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho. Report to my office.... NOW!" 

"Yes sir," Jericho replied. 

Shane rested his chin on steepled fingers. No stupid robot would sully his sister's reputation. And if Jericho didn't like that, then the Y2J Unit could very well find himself the victim of a horrible _accident_... 

Shane put his hands to his head. He wasn't feeling well... and he knew this confrontation with Lt. Commander Jericho would only make him feel worse. 

In fact, Shane hadn't been feeling well since he had returned to the Titanprize from Planet Hitoma the previous night. His head pounded, and his appetite had diminished. 

Commander McMahon took a deep breath, and suddenly found himself coughing violently. His chest hurt! 

Shane quickly caught his breath, and replicated himself a glass of water before the chimes on his door rang. Shane sipped the water and soothed his aching throat. The coughing seemed to be gone for now. 

The chimes rang again, and Commander Shane sat back down at his desk, "Come," he said, voice scratchy. 

Lt. Commander Jericho entered the room, "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked. 

Shane stood up, "Yes, I did. It's come to my attention that you've been spending a lot of time outside of Engineering with my sister..." 

Jericho furrowed his brow, wondering why Commander Shane bothered to even bring that up, "Well... I suppose... " 

"Stay away from her!" Shane snapped angrily. 

Jericho blinked, taken aback, "Pardon?" 

"You heard me! I dislike you, Lt. Commander," he started, "And I dislike you spending time with my sister outside of Engineering. STAY the HELL away from her!" 

"Excuse me, Commander... but are you ORDERING me?" 

"Yes, damnit! I'm ordering you! Now a good WrestleFleet officer wouldn't defy a direct order from his superior officer, Lt. Commander. And I know you're a good WrestleFleet officer..." 

"I AM, but this seems to be an order based on your personal hatred of me," Jericho replied. 

Shane quickly walked up to the Y2J Unit, "You WILL follow my order in this matter, or I will personally see that you lose your rank! Pops holds my opinion in high regard. If I tell him you should be demoted for insubordination, he WILL agree with me!" Shane glared at him, "Besides, how do you think my father would feel knowing his precious daughter was spending her off hours with a robot on the holodeck?" 

"Stephanie has asked me to teach her self-defense and fighting techniques. It's at HER request that she spends her off-hours on the holodeck with me. I'm helping her learn what she needs to know if she's ever confronted by a hostile life form. As her _loving _brother, you can't disagree with that!" 

"As her loving brother, I refuse to have rumours about my sister's perverted holodeck activities with a robot circulating around the ship!" Shane snapped. 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "Perverted holodeck activites? What are you getting at,   
Commander McMahon?" 

"I've heard it's more then just self-defense you're teaching her, Jericho!" 

Jericho looked at Commander McMahon, and the energy surges circulating throughout his body caused him to burst out laughing. "Do you think Commander Stephanie and I have something going on?!" he shook his head, still snickering, "Well if that's not just the most disgusting thing I've ever heard!" 

"SHUT UP, JERICHO!" Shane shouted angrily. "My original order still stands! You will STAY AWAY from my sister!" 

Jericho grew serious, "Your sister would wonder why I've suddenly cancelled her   
self-defense classes. When she finds out that you---" 

"You will NOT tell her who gave the order! That is _another_ order, by the way, Lt. Commander!" Shane snapped. 

Jericho narrowed his eyes, "Sir, I must protest...." 

"You don't have _permission_ to protest!!" Shane replied, "You are dismissed!" 

"But..." 

"Dismissed!!" Shane repeated. 

Jericho took a deep breath, but nodded briskly, "Yes sir!" he snapped, then quickly left the room. 

Shane watched him leave. As long as Jericho stayed away from Stephanie, everything would be fine. Besides, Ensign Angle had already expressed an interest in the newly divorced Chief Engineer, and Shane would me MORE then happy to see an officer of such integrity coupled with his little sister... 

***

SICKBAY 

Ensign Christian trudged into sickbay dragging a pale and sweating Ensign Edge with him, "Taker-dude!! You gotta help Edge! He's looking totally gross!! And both of us have been coughing up some SO not nice stuff all day!" 

Dr. Taker signaled for Nurse Saturn, who quickly took Edge from his brother and placed him on a diagnostic's table. "When did it start...?" Taker asked. 

"A couple days ago - after we came back from that Hitoma place. My totally gorgeous hair began to lose it's shine, and I was starting to look a bit pasty..." He covered his mouth with his hands as he began to cough violently. Edge's coughs soon joined his brother's. "Man, my chest hurts..." Christian groaned, then looked at his hands, and screamed. There were splashes of blood from his coughing. 

"That's SO nasty, dude," Edge replied weakly, then stared at his _own_ hands. The look on his face was that of shear terror, "Oh gawd... this is totally lacking coolness!!" 

"I don't want to die young!" Christian cried, "I want to die BEAUTIFUL, but not YOUNG!" He then looked at Dr. Taker, "If you don't fix us, dude... there are going to be some serious ramipercussions!" 

Dr. Taker sighed, and signaled for Nurse Bearer to lead Christian to the diagnostics table beside his brother. Dr. Taker tapped his comm badge, "Taker to Captain McMahon. I may have to put sickbay under quarantine. Ensigns Edge and Christian just came in here with nasty coughs and chest pains. They seem to be suffering from some weird-ass ailment..." 

"What's wrong with them?" Captain McMahon asked. 

"Damned if _I_ know! I'm going to run some tests and see what comes up. I'll get back to you. For now, no one is to come in here unless they're exhibiting similar symptoms," 

"I'll send the message throughout the ship then," McMahon replied. "I expect a full report at 1800 hours..." 

"I'll give your stank ass a report when I'm damn good and ready, McMahon..." Taker replied, then cut the communication. He went up to Edge's table and studied the readouts. He commanded Dr. Piro to tend to Christian. 

After a short while, two more people came through the door. Lt. Benoit, looking the worse for wear, was being dragged in by a man with long curly hair and a somewhat grungy WrestleFleet uniform. 

The strange man looked up at Dr. Taker, "I found him lying in the middle of the science lab," he said, indicating Benoit. 

"And who the hell are YOU?" Taker asked. 

"Ensign Raven," the man replied. 

Saturn spun around at the name, and stared at the new arrival. Damnit. He HAD found a way to worm himself into the Titanprize crew! 

Ensign Raven turned to Nurse Saturn, "What's wrong, Perry?" he asked, glaring coldly, "You look like you just saw a ghost..." 

"Saturn? You know this Ensign?" Taker asked. 

"Unfortunately..." Saturn muttered. He frowned. Well, might as well create a back story. It was better then pouring out his past history to Dr. Taker, "He was reassigned from the ECW Extremeship shortly before The Titanprize was taken over by the Nytrons..." 

Taker looked at Raven, "I don't recall seeing him on this ship," he frowned. Did Saturn really expect him to believe that story? Taker knew better. He sighed, "I don't give a damn. As of now, Sickbay is under quarantine. He's stuck here," he turned to Raven, "Put the science officer on the diagnostics table over there, and make yourself useful somehow..." 

"Yes sir," Raven replied, then offered Saturn another cold stare as he followed the doctor's orders. 

***

ENGINEERING 

Lt. Commander Jericho studied the readouts before him. Something caught his eye. Warp core fluctuations? 

Within seconds, it was gone. He furrowed his brow and tried to find the source of the fluctuations, but it was as if they had never existed. "_Odd..._" he thought. 

"Lt. Commander Jericho," Commander Stephanie began as she came up to him, "What time is our lesson tonight?" 

Jericho looked at her, "There will be no lesson tonight, Commander," he said. 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "What?! Why not? I think I got the hang of that insuguri kick thing you were teaching me. I just need you to show me once more and..." 

"I will not be showing you any more, Commander. You'll have to find someone else to teach you," Jericho replied, then turned back to his monitor, "I found some fluctuations in the warp core a moment ago. I'm attempting to trace them. If you'll excuse me..." 

Stephanie's jaw dropped, "What ...?!" she started, then crossed her arms, fuming. How DARE he brush her off like that! 

Stephanie frowned. She would talk to him later about his behaviour. For now, she might as well get on with her OWN work… 

***

COMMANDER SHANE MCMAHON'S OFFICE - the next day 

Shane's stomach hurt. His chest hurt. His head hurt. His throat hurt. It was an effort just to stand up. It didn't help that he had been unable to keep anything solid down all day either. 

Shane tapped his comm badge, "Commander McMahon to Ensign Angle…" 

"Angle here, sir!" 

"Ensign… My sister has expressed an interest in learning self-defense. I would appreciate it if you would be the one to teach her…" 

"I thought Lt. Commander Jericho was taking care of that, sir?" Angle said. 

"Yeah, well Jericho isn't teaching her any more. In fact, I've ordered him to stay away from her outside of Engineering. My sister is not to know that, though… you understand, Kurt?" 

"Yes sir. I understand. And I would be honoured to teach your sister how to defend herself, Commander!" Angle replied. 

"Good. Meet me in my office after your duty shift and we'll discuss the lessons. Shane out…" Commander McMahon said, then tapped his comm badge again, "Commander McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho…" 

"What is it, Commander Jerky?" Jericho replied through the comm. 

Shane frowned. How rude! "Ensign Angle will be taking over my sister's self-defense lessons, so you needn't worry your positronic brain about it!" 

"Angle," Jericho muttered, and Shane could hear the disapproval in his voice, "I don't think that would be wise, Commander," 

"_I _will decide what is wise and what is not! Your job is to follow my orders, got it?" Shane snapped. 

A pause, then barely contained anger, "Yes sir!" Jericho snapped, and rudely closed the comm link. 

Shane would have to do something about the Y2J Unit's attitude… but not right now. 

At the moment, Shane was too busy collapsing to care about _anything_. 

***

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

The Y2J Unit quickly got out of his uniform and pulled on a pair of pants. More specifically, the black leather ones he had worn on Planet Makota. He found them incredibly comfortable for some reason. 

He wondered why he was so annoyed with Commander Shane. Surely lacking an active emotion chip should prevent negative energy surges like that... though Jericho knew it never did. He had been having these energy surges for a while now. Most of the time they were directed towards Ensign Angle. 

Jericho sat down at his desk and tied his hair back, deciding instead to read over the pile of Engineering reports in front of him. 

He furrowed his brow at one of the reports. It seemed Ensign Jeff Hardy had found strange fluctuations in the warp cores much like Lt. Commander Jericho had. The fluctuations had not lasted long enough to trace. 

The Y2J Unit glanced out his window. The large brown planet loomed before him, its sun burning brightly, but everything else DEAD. It was a shame. It could have been a thriving planet full of life. It obviously had been inhabited at one time, but perhaps lack of rain, lack of good weather, and lack of healthy soil had caused a famine. He shrugged. He was no geologist by any means. Whatever had happened to the inhabitants had been bad, he figured that much. 

Lt. Commander Jericho went to his dresser and pulled out a WrestleFleet issue t-shirt. He was officially off duty, but he couldn't let these fluctuations pass him by. 

Suddenly the door chimed. He tossed the shirt on his bed and went to answer it. "Commander?" he started. Stephanie stood before him. 

Stephanie stared at him for a moment… my he did look good in those pants, especially with his hair tied back and----she quickly shook that thought out of her head, getting down to business, "Ok. What's the deal?!" 

"The deal, Commander?" he asked. 

She frowned, "Yes! Why did you back out of my lessons?" 

Jericho shrugged, "You can always find someone else to teach you," he said. 

"I don't WANT someone else!" Stephanie snapped, then quickly explained herself, "I mean, it's not as if I LIKE you or anything, but I'm already used to you as a teacher! How DARE you leave me high and dry?!" 

"Well, you'd better start getting used to Ensign Kirk Angel as your teacher," Jericho replied. "He's going to take over your lessons," 

"ANGLE?" Stephanie sputtered, then frowned. Angle was sweet and all, but that was besides the point! How DARE Lt. Commander Jericho hand her over to Ensign Angle without a second thought? "Listen you stupid bucket of bolts," Stephanie snapped, balling her hands into tiny fits, "You owe me an explanation, and I refuse to leave until I get one!" She pushed against his chest, attempting to get into his quarters. 

The Y2J Unit put both hands against the door, blocking her entrance, "I can't allow you in, Commander," 

"Oh give me a break! What is it, the typical 'oh my place is a mess' crap?" 

Jericho furrowed his brow and stepped away from the door to take in his quarters, "Well… no... my place ISN'T a mess," Stephanie took his moment of distraction to walk right in and sit herself down on his bed. Jericho looked at her and crossed his arms, "Commander! I didn't give you permission to enter!" 

"I'm your superior officer. I don't care!" she snapped, "Now tell me why you've suddenly passed my lessons off to Ensign Angle!" 

The Y2J Unit walked to the window and looked out at Hitoma. He turned back to her and leaned against the wall "It wasn't MY decision to pass you off to the Olympic Jackass, Commander. I've been ordered to keep my distance from you," he said. 

Stephanie jumped to her feet, "WHAT?!" she asked. "Who the hell decided THAT?" 

"I was ordered NOT to say," he replied. 

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Stephanie snapped. "Since you like following orders, how about I ORDER you to tell me who it was?!" 

Jericho blinked. First Shane orders him NOT to tell, now Stephanie orders him TO tell. Two conflicting orders from two superior officers. He searched through his programming to try and find a solution, but to no avail. 

He stepped away from the window and went to the bed, grabbing his t-shirt.. "Excuse me, Skankanie. I have to step out for a moment," he pulled the t-shirt over his head. "_Might as well check out those warp core fluctuations,"_

Stephanie jumped in front of him, "You are NOT leaving until you tell me what's going on! And if you don't tell me, I'll complain to daddy that you're being insubordinate…!!" 

"Whether by not following YOUR order, or not following the OTHER order, I will be acting insubordinate, Stephanie. I guess you can say I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. By the way, it's rude to point," he said as he grabbed the finger she was shoving in his face, "Didn't your father teach you any manners?" He pushed her hand away and walked towards the doors. They swooshed open, and he looked back at her, waiting for her to leave. 

Stephanie refused to budge, and sat down on his bed again, arms crossed, "I'm not leaving until I get an answer!" she said. 

The Y2J Unit studied her. She was acting very much the spoiled brat, "You'll be here a while then," he said, "Would you like me to get your suitcase?" 

"This isn't a joke!" she snapped. "I demand to know who ordered you to stay away from me, and you'd better tell me, or I swear I'll--" 

"You'll what? Beat me up?" he asked with a smug smirk. 

"Shut up!" Stephanie shouted, then grabbed a pillow off his bed and tossed it at him. 

Jericho caught the pillow and tossed it on a chair, "If you chose to stay, Commander, that is your prerogative. But I cannot comply with your demands at the moment," With that, Lt. Commander Jericho walked out of his quarters, leaving a fuming Stephanie staring after him. 

***

SICKBAY 

Dr. Taker looked over the readings on his monitor, and tapped his comm badge, "Dr. Taker to Captain McMahon," Taker began. 

"Report, Taker," McMahon replied. 

"I'm taking Sickbay off quarantine. I studied the disease currently affecting Benoit, Edge, and Christian. It not contagious and only affects those who were on Hitoma. Commander Shane should be exhibiting signs as well, but the stupid bastard hasn't bothered to report them. As for Lt. Commander Jericho, being what he is, his robotic ass should be fine and dandy," 

"What signs would my son be exhibiting, exactly?" Captain McMahon asked. 

"Trouble breathing, chest pains, violent coughing, nausea, abdominal pains," 

"Ok ok. Just… CURE it!" McMahon said. 

"I'm working on it, Vince! Apparently, this disease was picked up from the planet… which may explain why there are no inhabitants. The Hitomans may not have had access to the proper medication," 

"But the away team had no contact with anything that could carry disease on the planet!" McMahon replied. 

Taker frowned, "Perhaps not, but SOMETHING made them ill!" He didn't appreciate McMahon demanding answers from him, he really didn't, "Now if your stank ass up will stop bothering me, I may be able to get to work!" with that, Dr. Taker closed the communication. 

"Ensign Angle to Dr. Taker! We have a medical emergency in Commander Shane's Office!" Angle's voice called over Taker's comm badge. "I found the Commander collapsed on the floor, sir!" Angle replied. 

"Well bring him in here then, Ensign!" Taker replied. 

"I thought Sickbay was under quarantine?" Angle asked. 

"Not any more, now get your olympic ass in gear!" Taker demanded. 

"Yes sir!" 

***

ENGINEERING 

Jericho studied the monitor before him. The fluctuations appeared again! His fingers flew over the operating station lighting fast as he traced the origins of the strange energy surges. He furrowed his brow when he found where the fluctuations were emanating from, "Hitoma?" 

Ensign Jeff Hardy looked over his shoulder, "Did you find something, Chris?" 

"Yeah, the warp core fluctuations are from the planet! I'm trying to isolate exactly WHERE," he frowned, "What the..? It's from that strange structure Ben-oyt found!" 

"I heard it was a dead computer," Jeff said. 

"Well apparently it's not so dead after all…" 

***

LT. COMMADER JERICHO'S QUARTERS - later 

Jericho walked into his dark quarters, having told Captain McMahon about the so-called dead computer. He was ordered to go down and study it in the morning, since he seemed to be the only one unaffected by the disease that had overcome the rest of the away team. He reached into his closet to pull out a clean uniform for the next day… and heard soft muttering behind him. 

Lt. Commander Jericho froze. Had someone snuck into his quarters? He spun around, but it was too dark to see anything more then a petite feminine outline curled up on his bed. 

Wait a minute! 

"Steph?!" he started. Had she been here all this time? She DID say she wasn't going to leave until she found out who ordered him to stay away from her, but he didn't think she was SERIOUS! Jericho flicked on his beside light, and saw Stephanie sleeping ever so peacefully. "Oh, great…" he muttered, then kicked the bed, "Get up, Skankanie…" 

She merely muttered something in her sleep, and rolled over on her back. Jericho sighed. Well now… wouldn't THIS be quite the scene should anyone decide to pay him a visit. He was already in trouble as it was, what with Shane thinking he was disgracing his dear sister's reputation and all. 

If Commander McMahon found out Stephanie had fallen asleep in Lt. Commander Jericho's quarters, the Y2J Unit could very well find himself demoted to maintenance crew! 

Jericho reached over and shook Stephanie's shoulder, "Hey, Commander! Move your ass!" Still no response. Jericho sighed and sat down on the chair across from her. Did she purposely want to ruin his career? 

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Although he didn't sleep, he would often spend his nights calculating ways to increase warp core efficiency and running through theories to return the Titanprize back to WrestleFleet space. So far, he had been unsuccessful with the latter. "I'm not sleeping," he said aloud. 

"OH!" Stephanie gasped. 

Lt. Commander Jericho opened his eyes to see Stephanie standing beside him, studying him. He straightened up in his chair, "I don't sleep, remember?" 

"I knew that!" she snapped, "I just thought... for a second there..." she shook her head, "Never mind. What time is it?" 

"Ask the ship's computer," he said. 

Stephanie did so, "The time is 0600 hours," the computer's monotone voice replied. 

"Oh no!" Stephanie gasped. "What am I going to do? I fell asleep because you took so long to get back here, and now people are going to think you and I… EWWW!" 

"What's the matter, Steph? The crew already thinks you're a filthy, dirty, disgusting, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding, trashbag ho!" 

"Shut up, Jerkicho!" Stephanie snapped angrily, "You know what, maybe it's _better_ you were ordered to stay away from me!" 

"Good. Then we have no problem." he replied. 

"You still haven't told me who ordered you," she said. 

"And I don't PLAN on telling you," 

"Listen… The only superior officers you are required to follow over ME are daddy and Shane—" she stopped, and the realization came to her, "It was SHANE, wasn't it?" 

Jericho stood up, "I'm not at liberty to say," 

Stephanie quickly dropped to the ground and caught his ankle between her feet. He cursed as he fell to the floor face first. He rolled over on his back to see Stephanie kneeling beside him, her face determined, "Tell me, Y2Jerk!" 

"So... you learned something during our lessons after all," Jericho said, "But don't you eeeeeeeeeever do that to me again!" he snapped, and sat up. "Now I already said I CAN'T tell you who told me to stay away from you. Would you have me go against a direct order?" 

Stephanie let out a frustrated shout, "Fine then! _Don't _tell me! I know it was Shane! He hates you… not that I blame him! It's not surprising he'd give you an order like that." She jumped to her feet. "I think I'm going to have a word with my _loving_ big brother. If you'll excuse me!" she snapped, then marched out of his quarters with purpose. 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Kurt!" Stephanie called out as she saw the Olympic Ensign walking towards her, "Have you seen Shane?" 

"Haven't you heard?" Angle asked. "He's in sickbay! He's very ill, Stephanie," 

Stephanie gasped, worried, "Ill?? What's wrong?!" 

"He got a disease down on Hitoma. He's in a bad way, Steph. He… he may not make it," Angle replied, and put an arm around her. Poor Stephanie needed comfort. 

Stephanie took a step away from him, "I ... I need to see him, Kurt... excuse me." 

"I'll come with you," 

"No. No... I should see him alone. Besides, being that sick, he won't have enough energy for more then one visitor," 

"OH… wait… Steph… Before Commander Shane got ill, he told me to take over your self-defense classes. Apparently Lt. Commander Jericho decided he doesn't have the time or patience to teach you any more," Angle frowned, "He obviously doesn't care that an innocent woman like yourself could easily be made into a victim," 

Stephanie looked at Angle, surprised. She knew Jericho hadn't purposely cut the classes. Surely Kurt didn't just lie to her face about that! No... of course not! He was merely unaware of the real situation and Shane had been filling his head with ridiculous stories. 

Poor Kurt could be so naieve sometimes… 

***

PLANET HITOMA 

Jericho studied the metallic object before him. He could see symbols on the side. Probably directions of some sort. He put a hand to the symbols... then jumped back. 

The machine began to glow! There was a sound... like a motor starting up. A control panel opened before him. Jericho looked at the panel, and saw a port on the side. The Y2J Unit quickly pulled a wire out from his forearm, and plugged himself in. 

Suddenly, he was brought to his knees by a barrage of information that invaded his positronic net. Quick cut images pounded in his head. Images of a farming colony. Of families. Of a large computer that was created to help the colony crops. 

The images continued searing through his mind, practically overloading his positronic matrix: The computer malfunctioning. Parents screaming as their children succumbed to illness. Children crying as they suffered... 

The computer had poisoned the entire planet - The grass. The trees. The water. It had mixed chemicals it shouldn't have mixed, and fed it into the crops, causing a lethal mutation that resulted in the release of microscopic spores. The spores would be inhaled into the lungs, and lead to agonizingly painful deaths for the colonists. 

This computer had even recorded every minute of it ... almost like some sick horror movie. 

Jericho quickly ripped his wire out from the machine and backed away. He knew the only reason the rest of the crew hadn't been affected was because of the transporter's filtration of all alien particles on the person it was beaming. Unfortunately, even the transporter couldn't filter out poison that had already been ingested into the human body. 

Lt. Commander Jericho hadn't been affected by the spores simply because his systems were not organic. They were, in fact, much like the machine before him... wires, silicon, microchips, and fiber optics. 

Jericho tapped his comm badge, "Jericho to Captain McMahon... I know what's causing the warp fluctuations, and the current illness of Ben-oyt, your son, and the blondes," 

"Report, Lt. Commander," Captain McMahon ordered. 

"The computer Ben-oyt found is sending out energy signatures that are messing with our own warp core signatures. Luckily, it's harmless... but..." this was the hard part, "The disease that affected the away team killed all the inhabitants of this planet." 

"WHAT!" McMahon gasped. 

"However," Jericho added quickly, "This was a farming colony that only had access to farm rearing equipment , such as the solar panel I found, and the computer. Even the Titanprize sickbay is more advanced..." 

"It better damn well be!" McMahon said, "Get your ass back here, Jericho. Now!" 

"Yes sir," Jericho replied, and quickly beamed back to the Titanprize. 

***

SICKBAY - two days later 

"What are you doing!?" Stephanie demanded as Dr. Piro tended to her brother. "Get away from him!" 

"I'm following Taker's orders, little Stephie," Dr. Piro said. Stephanie shivered under his glare. She didn't know who creeped her out more: Dr. Taker, or Dr. Piro... although Dr. Piro DID try to kill her once... 

"Just don't touch him!!" Stephanie said, and shoved the skeletal doctor away from her brother. He smiled coldly, and walked to the other side of Sickbay, talking to Ensign... what was his name now? Raven? No matter. It wasn't important. Stephanie looked at Saturn, "How's he doing?" 

"The spore extraction is coming along, but he's not out of the woods yet. He took too long to report to us. It had more time to infect him," Saturn said as he studied the readouts on his monitor. 

"Oh man... being sick totally reeks of heinosity!" Ensign Edge muttered from his diagnostics table. He seemed to be better off then Shane, and was now sitting up staring at a hand-mirror. "I'm so chalky! UGH!" 

"And look at _this_!" Ensign Christian whined as he tugged at a lock of his hair, "It's so dull and lifeless!" 

Stephanie hadn't left Sickbay since she had first gone to her brother's side, and had had it up to here with the Cocky Kanatians, "SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU WHINY, PRISSY LITTLE BLONDE BIMBOS!" She shouted. 

Christian and Edge were taken aback, "Yikes," Christian started, "Are you, like... PMSing or something, Commander?" 

Stephanie pressed her lips together tightly, narrowing her eyes, "That does it!" 

"Woah... woah... Stephanie..." Ensign Angle said as he came through the sickbay doors, and quickly grabbed Stephanie's hands before she had a chance to wrap them around Christian's throat, "You've been here for two days straight. I think you need a break..." 

Stephanie sighed, "Yeah... you're probably right, Kurt," she said. 

He smiled, "How about if we head to the holodeck and I can start giving you your lessons?" 

Stephanie took a deep breath, and nodded. "Fine. Let's go. I'll come back later..." 

"Steph..." Saturn called out as he checked on Edge and Christian, "I suggest you take a break until tomorrow. You need the rest." 

Stephanie hesitated, though she knew Nurse Saturn was probably right, "Ok," she said reluctantly, "But let me know right away if ANYTHING changes with my brother." 

"No problem," Saturn replied. 

Kurt and Stephanie then left sickbay... Angle holding Stephanie's hand. 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Jericho watched Stephanie and Angle walk towards him, hand in hand. How disgusting! Stephanie offered him a quick glance, then her and Angle headed into Holodeck 6. 

Jericho fought the urge to go up to Stephanie and warn her that Kurt may have wandering hands. The Y2J Unit was prohibited from even TALKING to her outside of their Engineering duties, and knowing Angle, he'd report any contact to his good buddy Shane. 

The Y2J Unit shook his head, and stepped into the turbolift, "Engineering..." he commanded. 

***

HOLODECK 6 - later 

"This is called a takedown," Angle said as he grabbed Stephanie and tossed her to the mat. 

"KURT!" Stephanie snapped angrily, "Watch your hands!" 

"OH! I'm so sorry, Steph!" he looked at her apologetically, "You know I'd never do anything so disrespectful on purpose. I have integrity..." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just... be careful next time!" she replied. Even that pervert, Jericho_, _was more careful about where he grabbed her when he was giving her lessons! 

Stephanie shook her head and sighed. She found herself a little uncomfortable learning full-contact moves from Ensign Angle, yet Kurt seemed to prefer them above the various defense techniques Jericho had been teaching her. 

Well... she'd just have to get used to Angle's way of teaching, that was all. Besides, it wasn't as if Kurt had ulterior motives! He was every bit the gentleman! 

Stephanie stood up and brushed off her pants, "I think we're done for the day, Kurt..." Stephanie said. 

"But... we've only been in here for thirty minutes..." Angle said. Did he look annoyed? No. Kurt would never get annoyed with her! 

"I... I'm too worried about Shane to really get into the self-defense stuff right now... so... I think I'm going to pop into Engineering for a bit..." Stephanie said. 

"Well... if that would make you feel better..." Angle replied. 

"Yes. Yes, I think it would." Stephanie agreed, and headed off to Engineering. 

Maybe she could convince Lt. Commander Jericho to find a way around her idiotic brother's ridiculous order, and continue her self-defense lessons... somehow... 

   [1]: mailto:elektrawwf@yahoo.com



	77. Season 9 Episode 3 Sudden Impulses

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 3: SUDDEN IMPULSES**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 091720.00. We've entered the Esca Nebula. Our navigational systems declare that going through the nebula will take 12 months off our journey home. As it is, we do not want to be stuck in this unknown quadrant longer then we have to. It will take a week to pass through the nebula. Other then some turbulence, we have not encountered any other problems." 

Captain McMahon leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. Bleak. That was the best way to describe this nebula. Red gas clouds, and blackness. McMahon sighed, and continued his log, "Morale Commissioner Foley has informed me he is planning something that would cheer up the crew. Hopefully it won't end in disaster like last week's pie eating contest between Ensign Rikishi and Ensign Show. End log." 

*** 

DR. TAKER'S QUARTERS 

Dr. Taker felt it as he looked out the window. This dark cloud was no ordinary nebula. There was something about it that created an uneasy air within the ship. An air that would tear lovers apart. An air from which unprovoked hostilities would arise. An air which would cause some to act out of character... or perhaps, reveal a deep down personality they had tried so hard to keep hidden. 

Taker smiled coldly. He would be here to watch it all. 

One had to wonder how these mortals would react if their inhibitions were suddenly stripped away, and they were forced to act upon their true feelings - Anger. Passion. Lust. Obsession. Hatred. Jealousy. 

Sometimes, it was hard to tell them apart... 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Attention! Attention!" Morale Commissioner Foley started as he stood in front of the entire Titanprize crew, "Your commissioner has a new plan to boost morale aboard the ship!" 

"What… another Pay-Per-View?" Lt. Commander Rock called out, "The last one sucked a monkey's nipple!" 

"Lt. Commander Rock, your constant bestiality references are unacceptable," Etiquette Officer Richards spoke. 

"Forget unacceptable," Foley started, "They're just downright disturbing," he looked at Rock, "I don't suppose there's something you want to tell us, Rocky, is there?" 

"The Rock wants to tell you to get on with whatever the hell you were going to say!" Rocky replied. 

Foley shrugged, "Well, I was going to say that right here on the WWF Titanprize…" he waited for the cheers to die down before he continued, "We are going to have ourselves a little swimsuit contest!" 

More cheers erupted from the gang in the Smackdown. "How DARE you!" a voice spoke up. 

Foley looked towards the voice, "How dare I WHAT, Ensign Ivory?" he asked. 

"How DARE you look at women as merely sex objects! How DARE you lower us to that level! You're behaviour is completely UNPROFESSIONAL!" Ivory replied. 

"Well… that may be... but we're going to have fun, aren't we boys?" Foley replied. The men cheered. 

Ivory headed to the door in a huff and Mick waved to her with a smile. Ivory offered him an icy glare, then stormed out. 

"Listen Mick," Terri started as she stood at her bar, "I have no problem showing off my … _assets_… but I'd like to see some male assets too, if you don't mind…" 

Foley thought a moment, "Oh…" he looked around the Smackdown, "Any male volunteers?" 

"I have a few thongs," Culinary Officer Rikishi offered. "I'd be more then happy to enter the contest!" 

"NO!" The entire female crew shouted in sync. 

"It's ok," Terri began with a forced smile, "Forget I said anything!" 

"Well good," Foley said, "Then I'll start a list. Who wants to enter the contest?" 

"I protest!!" EO Richards spoke up, "I will not accept the blatant prostitution of scantily clad women!" 

"Who are you calling a prostitute?!" Ensign Jaqueline spoke up, hands on her hips. She glared angrily at Steven. 

"That's not what I meant," Steven began somewhat nervously. 

"The only prostitutes here are Mandy and Victoria," Nytron Stacey Kiebler (who decided to change her name from 'Hancock') added. 

"Excuse us," Victoria spoke up, "But we prefer to be called ladies-of-the-night!" 

"_Ladies_ my ass," Ensign Venis muttered from a stool at the bar. 

Everyone turned to look at him, "Val?" Foley started, "Since when have _you_ turned against scantily-clad women?" 

"Since one of these 'scantily-clad women' messed up my promotion!" Venis replied, and glared at Trish, who was mixing a drink behind the bar. 

Trish noticed his glare, "What? How did I mess up your promotion?" She asked. 

"Remember a few days ago, Trish? I was talking to Captain McMahon… and with your klutzy waitressing skills, you spilled hot coffee on him!" Val snapped, "He didn't feel much like giving ANYONE a promotion then!" 

"It was an accident!" Trish snapped, "And if you were worthy of a promotion, McMahon would have given it to you!" 

Val stood up, looking down at Trish, "I AM worthy of one! You're just jealous because you know that a bleached blonde, push-up bra wearing airhead like yourself will never be more then a waitress!" 

EO Richards came up behind Ensign Venis and put a hand on his shoulder, "My brother," he started, "Perhaps you should talk with Mr. Goodfather, Mr. Buchanan, and Myself," he looked at his followers, "And perhaps we can speak to Ensign Ivory as well," he smiled. 

"Ok… enough already!" Foley shouted. "Let's get back to more important matters," he smiled, "Like the swimsuit contest I have planned!" 

"I'll be in it!" Trish spoke up. 

"I will too," Victoria said. 

"Count me and Terri in," Kat replied from beside Terri. 

"I'll enter as well," Chyna spoke up from beside Eddie. 

"What?? No no… my Mamacita isn't going to be showing off herself for ANY Nytron or WrestleFleet officers!" Eddie spoke up. 

"She can do what she wants, Guerrero," The degenerate, Billy Gunn, said as he sat by himself nursing a drink. 

"You wanna start something with me, esse?" Eddie started. "You wanna gawk at my Mamacita? Is that it?" Gunn just shook his head and ignored him, "You look at me when I talk to you, esse!!" 

"Eddie!" Chyna started, "What's wrong with you today?" 

"Nothing is wrong! Let's go, Mamacita!" Eddie grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the Smackdown. 

Foley watched them leave, then shrugged, "Well… that was weird," he then turned back to the crew, "Any other ladies who want to join the contest, come see me in my office! Now you can all go back to… whatever you guys have to go back to…" he said, then left the bar. 

*** 

ENGINEERING - later 

"So, Lita's thinking of entering the contest," Ensign Jeff Hardy began as he studied the readouts at his station. "Can't say I'm not jealous," he smiled, "But maybe we can have our own private contest afterwards," 

"Yeah, like you and Lita have actually gotten that far," Ensign Matt Hardy replied, his voice muffled by the op station he was working under. 

"And how would YOU know?" Jeff asked. 

"Based on the fact you're as innocent as a newborn babe," Lt. Commander Jericho started, studying the padd in his hand, "Matt and I have decided that you and Lita haven't even reached second base," 

"Geez… do you guys always go into deep discussions about my love life when I'm not here?" Jeff asked, somewhat embarrassed. 

"Matt HAS no love life to talk about, and Jerkicho doesn't usually have anything intelligent to say," Commander Stephanie spoke as she came up to the three men, "Is it any wonder they discuss YOU?" she asked. 

"Is it any wonder we never eeeeeever discuss YOU, Commander?" Jericho replied. 

"Is it any wonder you're not a Commander yet?" Stephanie said. 

Jericho frowned, "You know, it's too bad I'm allowed to talk to you in Engineering. I could be quite happy without seeing or talking to you at ALL for the rest of my tenure aboard this ship," 

Stephanie opened her mouth in surprise. Why was he being so mean? Ever since he had been ordered to stay away from her, he'd been giving her the cold shoulder. Stephanie sighed inwardly. 

Maybe he was hoping she would hate him for it… 

"What do you mean, '_allowed to talk to her_'?" Matt asked. 

"Oh... you don't know? My darling brother, Shane, is being an idiot," Stephanie replied, then looked at Jericho, "I still don't know why he gave you that order!" 

Jericho knew… but he'd be damned if he was going to tell Stephanie her big brother's concerns, "Like you said… Shane is an idiot," 

"And here I thought _I_ was the only idiot aboard this ship," Jeff replied. 

"Anyway, never mind," Stephanie said quickly. "I'm guessing you heard about Foley's latest flash of brilliance?" 

"Yeah," Jeff pouted, "Lita is thinking of entering the swimsuit competition," 

"Really?" Stephanie replied, surprised. She thought a moment, then continued, "Maybe I should too," 

"I don't think your body is suitable for a swimsuit, Skankanie," Jericho replied. 

"Excuse me, Y2Jerk!" Stephanie started, "I have quite a NICE body, in case you haven't noticed!" 

Jericho glanced at her for a moment, then turned away quickly, "I haven't," he replied, and headed to the other side of Engineering to overlook Ensign Crash's work. 

Stephanie HAD wanted to ask Jericho if he could still sneak her some self-defense lessons, but did she really want lessons from a jerk like him? 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Mr. Venis," EO Richards called out as Ensign Venis headed towards his quarters, "Me and my associates would like to talk to you for a moment," 

"I don't want to talk to YOU," Venis replied. 

"Oh… I think you do…" Steven said. The Goodfather and Mr. Buchannan stood beside EO Richards, looking less then friendly. Richards snapped his fingers, and the two converged on Val. 

Val didn't know what hit him. 

*** 

OUTSIDE HOLODECK 2 – later 

Stephanie stared at the Officers walking up and down the corridors. Jericho was no where to be seen, "_Of course not,_" Stephanie thought, "_He's following his orders…_" 

Ensign Angle finally came down the hall and smiled. "Good evening, Commander," he said. 

"Good evening, Kurt," Stephanie replied, less then enthusiastically. 

"Are you ready for your lesson?" he asked. 

Stephanie sighed, "I suppose," 

"Shall we?" he asked, and opened the holodeck doors. 

Stephanie walked in… and a feeling of foreboding came over her. 

*** 

SICKBAY 

"You feel it too, don't you, Taker?" Dr. V. M. Piro began. 

Dr. Taker had almost forget he was stuck working with this fool in his Sickbay, "Feel what?" he asked. 

"The energy from the Esca nebula," Piro explained. "It's seeping over this ship. Soon, the nicest people will become the harshest people. The ones who try to hide their true feelings will reveal all. Inhibitions will fade away. The crew will act on impulse, and think about it later," he smiled coldly, "Won't that be fun?!" 

"No, Piro. _Fun_ would be tearing your heart out with my bare hands..." Taker replied. 

Piro's smiled wavered, then he composed himself, "I suspect we will be overrun by casualties soon. Anger and hatred are strong emotions, and the ones most people keep hidden the best. Tempers can run high in such cramped quarters..." 

"Yes... they CAN..." Taker answered coldly, glaring at the skeletal doctor. Piro's smile completely faded now, and he turned around and headed back to his little corner of sickbay. Taker watched him, "_One day,Vampy, MY temper will run so high that you will be lucky if you survive..._ " 

*** 

ENSIGN EDDIE GUERRERO AND ENSIGN CHYNA'S QUARTERS 

"So why was that _Ass _standing up for you earlier, Mamacita?" Eddie asked. 

"He wasn't really standing up for me, Eddie! He was just speaking the truth. It IS my decision if I want to show off my body!" Chyna replied. "Billy understands the pride I take in my body! I can't believe you _don't_, Eddie!" 

Eddie looked at her, eyes wide, "Billy understands, huh Chyna? So a degenerate understands my Mamacita better then me? I treat you with nothing but respect, and now… now this is how you treat _me_? I ask you NOT to enter the contest. Just ONE favour! But no… that's too much for Eddie to ask. Yet Eddie does whatever Chyna asks. Is that the way it is, mami? Is it?" 

"Eddie, you're acting silly!" 

"Oh, now I'm silly?" Eddie shook his head, "I would give up anything and everything for you, Mami! You know I would! Yet you can't do this one thing for me?" 

"Eddie…" Chyna sighed. 

"Don't EDDIE me, Mamacita!" he frowned, "You know… during that trip to the Kanatian Caves with little Crash, you kept saying how your wish was to become stronger! That was it! Nothing about Eddie. NOTHING!" Eddie raised his voice. "Did you know what MY wish was, Mamacita? It was to be with you forever!" 

"Oh… Eddie…" Chyna gasped. 

"But I guess that was a foolish wish," Eddie continued. "My wish now is to be with family -- like Chavo Jr. It's only family I can rely on after all, isn't it, Chyna?" Chyna looked away, "ISN'T IT?" he shouted, snapping her attention back. He went up to the door, "And since it's only family I can rely on, hit the door!" 

Tears fell down Chyna's cheeks, "Eddie… you're not… you can't be…" 

"I am… and I CAN!" Eddie replied, "Now go to your friend Billy, since he's the only one that seems to _understand_ you! GO ON!" he snapped. 

Chyna looked at Eddie, then quickly headed out to the door, eyes wet with unshed tears. She could feel her very heart breaking in two. 

*** 

HOLODECK 2 

"Uh…. Kurt?" Stephanie asked as she looked around the holodeck, "What is this?" She took in the dinner club before her, complete with a torch singer and band, "This doesn't look like a self-defense training hall…" 

"I thought I'd do something a little more interesting," Angle said, and lead her to a table. He pulled out the seat for her, and she reluctantly sat down. 

"Kurt… I thought we had a lesson," 

Ensign Angle sat across from her, "Yes… yes... we'll get to that… but first, I have to get something off my chest," 

"What is it, Kurt?" Stephanie asked. She squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. Why was he acting so strange? 

Kurt reached across the table and took her hand in his, "I like you, Stephanie…" he started, "I mean, I REALLY like you," 

"Listen Kurt… that's very sweet, but…" 

Suddenly, the torch singer began a slow, romantic song. Kurt stood up and came around to Stephanie's side of the table. He held a hand out to her, "Shall we?" he asked. 

Stephanie smiled. Well… it WAS sweet of him, "Sure, Kurt," she said, and stood up. 

Ensign Angle put his arms around her and held her close as they danced to the music, "You're very good," he spoke, his voice quiet. 

Stephanie still felt slightly uncomfortable, but she did so enjoy dancing, "Thanks. Daddy taught me how to dance a long time ago. All McMahon's had to be able to dance. We were invited to a lot of fancy parties." 

Kurt lifted her chin up to stare into her eyes, "You're very graceful on your feet, Stephanie," he said, and slowly brought his face closer to hers. Before Stephanie realized what he was trying to do, Ensign Angle kissed her. 

"KURT!" Stephanie quickly shoved him away. 

"Come on, Stephanie," Angle started, "I'm tired of playing Mr. Nice Guy!" 

"Mr. Nice Guy?" she furrowed her brow, "Listen, Kurt... It's really sweet that you're so fond of me… but... you're my friend... that's _all_, ok?" 

Ensign Angle frowned, "I could lie and say that yes, it WAS ok... but... it's NOT. It's NOT ok, Stephanie!" he stepped closer to her, "I've had to pretend while you were married to Triple H. But now you're a free woman!" he grabbed her shoulders gently, "I know you like me too, Stephanie. Just admit it!" 

"I DO like you, Kurt... but..." Stephanie shook head and sighed, "Kurt... Listen... I--" 

"I'm SICK of listening!" Kurt interrupted, "That's all I've been doing these past few months! Listening to you whine about how mean Triple H was. About what a jerk Lt. Commander Jericho is!" His grip on her shoulders tightened, "I'm perfect for you, Stephanie... can't you see that?" 

"Kurt, you're acting really weird," She started, "You're starting to creep me out a bit here," Stephanie pulled out of his grip. "Just give me some breathing space, Kurt," Ensign Angle stepped closer, "I SAID give me SPACE!" she snapped. Stephanie lifted a foot to kick him, but he caught it, and smirked. Stephanie then jumped and landed an insuguri kick to Ensign Angle's temple. 

She remembered when Lt. Commander Jericho had taught her that little move. It seemed so long ago now... 

Angle looked at her, eyes slightly glazed over as he tried to come back to his senses. Stephanie held herself in a ready position… in case the Olympic Ensign tried to get a little more friendly. 

Kurt finally focused again, "I don't recall teaching you that," he replied. 

"No. You didn't!" Stephanie answered, "I think our lesson is over for the day, Kurt…" 

Ensign Angle furrowed his brow, "Why?" he asked innocently. "What's wrong?" 

Stephanie looked at him, eyes wide, "What you just did, Kurt... it... um... made me a little uncomfortable!" 

Kurt looked at her, and smiled innocently, "It was part of the lesson!" he replied. 

Stephanie took a step back, and blinked, "Excuse me?" she asked. "THAT was part of the lesson?" 

"Of COURSE, Steph! I mean... you know I'd NEVER do something lacking such integrity! Besides, I have too much respect for you to treat you in such a vile manner! I just wanted to see what you would do in a situation like that," 

Stephanie eyed him suspiciously, then shook her head, "Kurt... don't ever do that again, ok?" 

"I'm sorry if it upset you," he replied. 

"Yeah, well... let's just stick with the usual lessons next time, alright?" 

Angle nodded, "Fair enough," he replied. 

"Fine. Good. I'm going for a walk, ok?" 

Angle nodded, "Sure. See you later then, Commander," 

"Yeah... see you," Stephanie said, and headed out of the holodeck. 

Angle watched her leave, then frowned. He was usually so much better at hiding his true feelings. How could he slip up like that? Stephanie seemed genuinely afraid. That was the last thing he wanted! 

Kurt smirked slightly. He had covered well. He was quite proud of that. 

"_Stephanie will realize I'm perfect for her all in due time..."_ Angle thought, "_I just have to wait... and make sure no one comes between us,._" 

*** 

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Captain McMahon went over some old logs. Most Russo had written during the Nytron occupation. In the logs were detailed accounts of the torture the High Commander had planned for the Captain's dear Stephanie. 

So... Russo liked torture, did he? Perhaps Russo deserved a taste of his own medicine. After kidnapping his baby and hunting her through the jefferies tubes, it was only what the bastard deserved. 

Normally, the Captain would never carry out such violent thoughts, but for some reason, he felt as if his inhibitions had been lifted. He felt free. Free to act on such thoughts. 

McMahon stood up, and headed to the Brig... 

*** 

THE GARDEN DECK 

Stephanie walked around and took in the colourful floral arrangements around her. She smiled to herself. It was so nice here... 

The Commander stopped in her tracks when she sensed something behind her. She spun to see Lt. Commander Jericho standing a mere ten feet away. 

The Y2J Unit looked at her, then quickly turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Stephanie headed after him, "Chris!" She called out. He didn't answer, "CHRIS!" she called again. He walked faster, ignoring her, "I have to talk to you," 

"What you HAVE to do, Commander, is stay away from me," he replied, and sped up even more. 

Stephanie had to break into a run, "Please, Chris... wait! I have to ask you something. It's about my self-defense classes..." 

"Ask Angle," he replied, "I'm not your teacher anymore!" He continued his fast walk, back still to her. Jericho quickly ducked into a small hedge maze, and Stephanie followed him in. 

"I can't talk to Angle. Let me tell you what happened on the holodeck today!" she called out, but saw nothing but hedge. "Damn... I hate mazes!" she muttered. She rounded a corner and came to a dead end. She turned around, and took a left. Another dead end, "JERICHO!" she shouted, "Where ARE you!" 

"Go away, Commander. I can't be seen with you!" Jericho replied from wherever he was hiding. 

"Don't you care about what happened with me and Angle in the holodeck?!" she asked. 

There was a pause, then, "I care about my _career_, Commander... which will be worthless if you don't leave me alone!" 

Stephanie turned another corner, and saw Lt. Commander Jericho sitting against a hedge wall, "No one will see us here. I have to talk to you, Chris!" 

"Sorry, Chris is unavailable right now. You can leave a message... but he won't get back to you," Jericho replied, his voice cold and robotic. Stephanie walked up to him, and Jericho got to his feet, trying to sink into the wall behind him. Dead ends truly did suck... 

"Come on! Don't do this to me!" 

"I believe YOU are the one doing something, Commander. You are jeopardizing my career," he spoke, his voice unemotional. 

"Listen to me, Jericho!" Stephanie demanded. 

"Sorry, Commander. You have to go now," Jericho replied. 

The Y2J Unit stepped away from the hedge wall to leave, and Stephanie pushed him back against it. Jericho was surprised. Stephanie had become stronger since he had started teaching her proper self-defense. It was enough to make him feel somewhat proud of his teaching skills... 

"You're not leaving until I tell you what happened!" Stephanie insisted. 

Jericho looked at her carefully. Stephanie had never been this forceful before. Odd. First Chyna informed him that Eddie was acting out of character, and now Stephanie was doing the same. "Commander," he began. Had the temperature on the Garden deck raised a few degrees? 

"Ensign Angle kissed me!" she blurted out. 

Lt. Commander Jericho stared at her, silent for a moment. Ensign Angle had kissed Stephanie? Jericho's hand clamped into a fist at his side. If Angle were there, he would have _used_ that fist! The Y2J Unit looked away, "_Everyone_ has kissed you, Commander..." 

"Well you don't have to act so damn nonchalant about it!" 

Jericho looked back at her, "You're standing a little too close to me right now, Commander..." he tried not to meet her eyes, "If someone happens to come along, they would think---" 

"Let them think it then!" Stephanie interrupted, then her voice grew quiet, "Sometimes, I wish Jeff's stories were true..." 

"I'm sorry, Commander... but--" a pause, then, "EXCUSE ME?" He couldn't help his surprise, useless emotion chip or not. 

Stephanie blinked, and backed away, "_What the hell did I just say?_" She quickly regained her composure, and smiled mischievously, "Too bad no one walked by just now, Chris. I would have loved to watch you squirm as you were demoted to toilet cleaning!" 

Jericho frowned, "You _would_ be so wenchy to revel in my misfortune!" he snapped angrily. Sometimes he was so good at feigning emotion, he even convinced _himself_. 

"Speaking of misfortune..." Stephanie started, "If you don't continue my self-defense lessons, I'll tell Shane that you've been hounding me outside of Engineering!" 

"WHAT? But I HAVEN'T! I..." Jericho stopped, and frowned, "Wait a minute... are you THREATENING me, Commander?" 

Stephanie looked up at him, defiant, "It seems to be the only way I can get through to your no-selling titanium skull! You HAVE to teach me," she insisted. 

"And why do I HAVE to teach you?" he asked. 

"Because I LIKE you!" she blurted out, then quickly explained herself, "I mean... uh... I liked your TEACHING that is. Angle sucks at it, ok?" 

Jericho shook his head, and sighed, "Just admit it, Stephanie... you think Angle is creepy!" 

"He is NOT. Kurt can be very sweet... well, when he's not trying to kiss me," she said, then smiled proudly, "Besides, can you blame him for having a crush on a beautiful woman like me?" 

"Well actually---" 

"Never mind!" Stephanie interrupted quickly, "Just teach me again, ok?" 

"You're not giving me a choice, are you?" he asked. 

"No." Stephanie said simply. 

"Fine. Fine. But NO ONE can know or it'll be my gorgeous head in a sling, got it? NO ONE!" 

"Like I want anyone to know that I'm actually spending time with you anyway..." Stephanie replied. 

The two looked at each other for a moment, and Jericho finally spoke again, "Well, now that THAT is settled... GO AWAY!" he made a shooing motion with his hands. 

Stephanie looked triumphant, "I knew I could convince you," She said. 

"_Convince_ me, my ass..." Jericho muttered, "You _threatened_ me!" 

"Well... whatever works!" Stephanie replied, then turned around and walked a few feet. She paused, and looked back at him, her triumphant air quickly dissipating, "Uh.... I don't suppose you know how to get out of here, do you?" 

"Oh for goodness sake!" The Y2J Unit sighed, "Follow me..." 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Val?" Victoria called out as Ensign Venis walked down the hallway, "What's with the outfit," 

Ensign Venis was dressed in a white dress shirt, white pants, and white shoes, "I have decided to change my ways," he started. 

Victoria looked at him, brow furrowed, "Wearing a stupid outfit?" She asked. 

Val looked at her, and what little _she_ was wearing, "I wouldn't talk about outfits. I disapprove of scantily-clad women!" 

"Since WHEN?" she asked. 

"Since Mr. Richards opened my eyes to the wrong I was doing. The wrong of my past behaviour," he hung his head in shame. 

"My god... he got to you!" she gasped. 

"No one got to me. I believe in what I'm saying. I believe that Mr. Richards, Mr. Goodfather, Mr. Buchanan, and myself have the right to censor what is acceptable in WrestleFleet and what is not... and YOU, lady... are NOT..." with that, he turned on his heel and walked away. 

She watched him go. Had EVERYONE lost their minds aboard the Titanprize? 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - the next night 

Dance night in the Smackdown. Terri had one every week. The music was loud and hard, and it seemed to be a great release of tension among the crew. 

"Now watch carefully..." Ensign Scotty began as he talked to Nytron Helms, "This is called the worm!" he began to hop on one foot, when suddenly he was knocked to the ground by a flying chair. 

"What the....?!" Helms started as he came to Scotty's aid. 

Scotty looked up from the ground, surprised as he realized who had hit him, "Eddie?!" 

"I'll tell you where you can stick your worm, esse!!" Ensign Eddie Guerrero shouted, "I hate your stupid dancing, I hate your stupid worm, and I hate YOU. So why don't you take your worm and----" 

"Eddie!!" Terri spoke up, "What's going on here?" 

"Nothing!" he snapped, then marched out of the Smackdown angrily. 

"Dude..." Ensign Christian whispered to Ensign Edge as the two sat in a quiet corner of the bar watching Eddie storm out, "People sure have been acting strange around here lately. First Val goes postal on Trish.... and now Eddie goes postal on Scottie..." 

"Well, the worm totally DOES suck, brother," Edge replied. 

Christian smiled, "Not only does it suck... it REEKS of suckitude!" 

"Dude... you say that a lot. Can't you think of any other awesome catchphrases?" Edge asked. 

"Oh... like what? Chairilicious?" Christian asked, getting somewhat annoyed, "And how many times have you said THAT, Edge?" 

"Hey... at least that's original..." 

"And suckitude ISN'T?" 

Edge stood up, "You got a problem with my totally cool speech patterns?" 

Christian stood up as well, "Only if you got a problem with MINE..." 

"Well maybe we should settle this problem then?" Edge replied. 

"Anytime, anywhere, brother...." 

"Guys, guys," Lt. Bradshaw spoke as he and Lt. Farooq came up to them, "You two pretty boys shouldn't be fighting each other! You should be fighting US!" 

"And what business is it of _yours_?" Christian snapped. 

Farooq was surprised at Christian's tone of voice, "Are you giving me _attitude_?" he asked. 

"Yeah, we ARE! We think you two are ... like... totally rude!" Edge replied. 

"And you need work on your oral hygene. You SO smell like beer!" Christian added. 

Bradshaw and Farooq looked at each other, "I think they're asking for a taste of our leather, Bradshaw," Farooq spoke. 

"I think you're right... but after I finish beating you at poker," Bradshaw said. 

"And who the hell says you're gonna beat ME?" Farooq replied. 

"I says!" Bradshaw answered. 

"Well I disagree! I ALWAYS kick your ass at Poker, Bradshaw! You know it!" 

"Yeah, well how about I just kick your ass, period!" 

Edge looked at Christian, "Man... we'd better get out of here, don't you think?" 

"I agree, brother. It seems EVERYONE is acting weird aboard this ship lately... even our usually perfect selves!" 

"I say we stay in our quarters... and don't come out until all this goes away..." 

With that, the two blondes quickly ran out of the bar, not looking back at the brawl that had just erupted in the Smackdown. 

*** 

SICKBAY - the next day 

Taker tended to his patients casually. A large number of crewmen had found themselves in sickbay. Piro had been right about one thing -- casualties would start coming in quickly. The Esca nebula had quite an effect on the crew of the Titanprize. It seemed any hidden anger they had towards their comrades was magnified ten-fold and acted out. Especially between the Nytron and WrestleFleet officers. 

Taker had even been called in to tend to Russo, who was locked away in the brig. Apparently, the Nytron had been severely beaten with a sledgehammer. He only knew two people with sledgehammers aboard the Titanprize -- Triple H... and Captain Vince McMahon. He guessed it was the latter of the two. 

In other instances, amorous feelings had been amplified, as could be seen from the way Nytrons David Flair and Stacey Kiebler were reportedly hanging all over each other in the Smackdown, and the way King Lawler and Kat were displaying their affections in the Titanprize corridors. It was enough to make the old dead man ill. 

Dr. Taker sighed. There was still Foley's swimsuit competition that night. He could only imagine what petty jealousies the female crew would reveal... 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN - that night 

"Welcome to the very first WWF Titanprize swimsuit competition!" Commissioner Foley began. The male crew members cheered while the females not in the competition sat with their arms crossed, frowning. "First off, Ensign Lita was supposed to be in this competition... but apparently she changed her mind. She had a date with Ensign Hardy that she was very adamant about keeping," he said, then shrugged, "Now on with the show! Let's introduce our contestants! First, hailing from security deck 5, Chyna!" 

Chyna sauntered out in a lacy robe, covering the swimsuit underneath. The crowd cheered, and Eddie could be heard above them all, cursing up a storm. 

"Next, hailing from right here in the Smackdown -- Terri and her assistant, Kitty!" 

"That's THE KAT!" Kat snapped as she walked out, purple hair matching her purple robe. 

"Yeah, whatever, Kitty..." Foley replied. He continued with the introductions until all the contestants were on stage. "Hit the music!" the Commish called out. The music began, and the ladies began to reveal their swimsuits one by one. 

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Terri called out as she stared at the Kat, "Bubblewrap is NOT a swimsuit!" 

"It's waterproof! That makes it a swimsuit!" Kat replied. 

"Why don't you just go naked, you little 'ho!" Trish said. 

" 'ho?" Victoria began as she glared at Trish, "Are you telling us you think Kitty can take over for me?"   
  
"She's close enough!" Trish replied. 

"Are you insulting me?" Kat asked. 

"Oh... excuse me, Miss high and mighty! Since WHEN is being a 'ho INSULTING? It's something I'm PROUD of!" Victoria snapped. 

"Of course you're proud of it!" Terri snapped back, "You have no morals!" 

"Are you calling me immoral now?" Victoria shouted angrily. 

"If the shoe fits..." Chyna finally spoke. 

Victoria turned to her, "Oh excuuuuuuuuuuse me," She began, "The great big security Ensign speaks! Well aren't YOU just special! Who did YOU have to sleep with to get back into WrestleFleet?" 

"I got back into WrestleFleet for my work ethic and my skills!" 

"Yeah... I'm pretty sure you have some great skills..." Trish muttered. 

Chyna went up to her, "Are you trying to insinuate something, Trish?" 

"You're no better then HER!" Trish snapped as she motioned to Victoria. 

"I am NOT a 'ho!" Chyna shouted. 

"And what the HELL is wrong with being a 'ho?!" Victoria repeated, "Without me, your men would be asking YOU to relieve their stress! You should be grateful!" 

Kat turned to Victoria, "Are you saying I can't satisfy my man like YOU can?" She asked, "Is THAT what you're trying to tell me?" she glared at King Lawler, who was sitting in the audience, "Have you been cheating on me with this slut?!" 

"What?!" Lawler spoke up, shocked at the accusation, "I'd NEVER do that!" 

Kat narrowed her eyes, "I've heard your snide comments, Jerry! Sure you say you're just kidding... but how do I know that for certain, huh?!" Kat started to cry, "You HAVE been cheating on me, haven't you?!" 

King Lawler quickly got up on stage, "C'mon now, Kitty! I never would!" 

Kat shoved him away, "You bastard!" she wailed as she slapped him across the face. Kat then ran out of the Smackdown, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"Kitty! Wait! KITTY! " Lawler chased after her.   
  
Chyna and Trish turned to Victoria, "I hope you're happy, you homewrecker!" Chyna snapped angrily. 

"Homewrecker? I'm just providing a service! Besides... YOU are the one who seemed to be all friendly with Billy the other day! Did you forget about Eddie?" Victoria said. 

"How DARE you? There is NOTHING going on between Billy and I!" Chyna replied. 

"What's this, Mamacita?" Eddie spoke up from the audience, "Something going on with you and that ASS I don't know about?" 

Chyna turned to him, "NOTHING is going on!" she repeated, then narrowed her eyes, voice growing angry, "Although with the way you've been treating me lately, maybe there SHOULD be!" 

"Hey Victoria... looks like you should add Chyna to your little slut group!" Terri spoke up. 

Chyna turned to Terri, and grabbed her by the hair, "I am NOT a slut, you bitch!" Chyna shouted. Terri screamed bloody murder as Chyna hoisted her up and powerbombed her on top of the bar. She then turned on her heel and marched out of the Smackdown.   
  
Eddie didn't follow. 

"This is YOUR fault!" Victoria started as she glared at Trish. "Not only did you ruin our competition, but you managed to piss off Chyna in the process!" Victoria then tackled Trish to the ground, and ripped off the top of her bikini. The men cheered, and no one made an effort to stop the melee. Not even commissioner Foley. Victoria grabbed Trish's hair, and slammed her head against the stage floor. 

Trish quickly shoved Victoria off her, and pinned her to the ground, "That HURT, wench!" she snapped, and slapped the lady-of-the-night across the face. 

"GET OFF HER!" Terri shouted, and grabbed Trish from behind, pulling her off Victoria. Victoria quickly got to her feet and tackled Trish to the ground again, accidentally hitting Terri in the process. 

"This is NO way for ladies to act!" Ensign Ivory spoke up. The crowd stared at her. She was looking awfully dowdy all of a sudden. She turned to the crew, "How DARE you ask a lady to lower herself like this?! I blame all of you for the events that have just transpired! If it weren't for perverts like you, this would never have happened!" She signaled to the back of the Smackdown   
  
Mr. Venis, Mr. Buchannan, and Mr. Goodfather acknowledged Ivory, and quickly took to the stage, pulling the ladies apart. 

"This behaviour is UNACCEPTABLE!" EO Richards said as he stood beside his followers, "Not only do we have scantily-clad women... but we have excess violence!" he nodded to Buchannan, Venis, and Goodfather, "Perhaps we should teach them acceptable behaviour, boys!" 

The three male RTC members smiled. Venis lifted Trish, Goodfather lifted Victoria, and Buchannan lifted Terri. The three ladies then found themselves powerbombed through three nearby Smackdown tables. 

The crowd booed, and glared at Richards, Buchannan, Goodfather, Ivory, and Venis with hostile intentions. 

The five stuffed shirts quickly high-tailed it out of the Smackdown. 

*** 

HOLODECK 2 - the next night 

"Woah woah woah!!" Jericho started as he ducked Stephanie's vicious punches, "You can't throw punches blindly! You'll end up missing the person you're trying to hit! I taught you better then that!" 

"I don't CARE!" Stephanie shouted, and continued her onslaught. 

"Geez, Skankanie! What crawled up YOUR uniform and died?" he asked. 

Stephanie glared at him, breathing heavily from exertion, "Nothing!" she snapped, then let out a shout and attacked him again. 

Jericho quickly clotheslined her, sending her crashing to the ground, "STOP IT!" he ordered. Stephanie lay flat on her back, Jericho crouching over her. She looked up at him, eyes wet with unshed tears. "What's wrong now?" he asked, "I didn't hurt you!" 

Stephanie sat up, "I'm fine!" she replied. 

"Do you always start crying when you're _fine_?" he asked sarcastically. 

"My brother hates me, ok?!" Stephanie started, "Just before I came in here, he was ranting and raving like a lunatic! It's like he totally LOST it!" she explained. "He started saying it was MY fault for getting us thrown through the worm hole...!" 

"OH? And how does he figure THAT?" 

"The fact that the whole plan you had with Kim backfired because of me. The fact that Piro felt he could use me as a pawn in his little experiment..." her voice grew quiet as she stared at the ground, "And... he said I was nothing but a cowardly little spoiled brat..." 

"Spoiled brat? Yes. Cowardly? No," Jericho replied, "And I'm going to kick myself for giving you that compliment," he muttered. 

She looked up at him, "You don't think I'm cowardly?" 

He lowered himself to the ground, "No. You're too damned headstrong to be considered cowardly. When you want something, Stephanie, your mind is dead-set on getting it, no matter what you have to go through to do it!" 

"You're right," she said, then her voice grew quiet, her eyes serious, "Even if Shane declares it prohibited," 

Jericho studied her for a moment, "What do you mean?" he asked. 

Stephanie looked at him, and climbed to her knees, "I'm determined not to let orders Shane hands out to certain android WrestleFleet officers stop me from getting what I want..." 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "Are you talking about the self-defense lessons?" 

Stephanie crawled over to him slowly, "That's _one_ thing I want, yes," 

Jericho slid back against the wall, the space between them becoming slightly too cramped for his liking, "Well you got your lessons," he said, "What ELSE do you want?" 

Stephanie looked at him, her eyes shining in the dim holodeck training hall, "I want to see what would happen..." she started, and put a hand on his cheek, "...if you and I..." her voice was no more then a whisper as she leaned in ever so closely, "Ever became---" 

Her words were interrupted as the ship suddenly jerked violently, tossing Stephanie and the Y2J Unit in separate directions. 

Stephanie's earlier impulse faded away as she sat up from her ungraceful landing, "_Now what was I about to say?_" She asked herself, then shook her head, "_Oh well. It must not have been very important..."_

"This is Captain Vince McMahon..." McMahon's voice came over the public address system, "The bump we just took was the Titanprize exiting the Esca nebula! We are continuing our journey home, crew! Good work!" 

Jericho and Stephanie could hear the cheers from outside the holodeck. It wasn't hard to understand the crew's happiness -- The Titanprize had just shaved a year off their journey and had run into practically no problems doing so. 

"Geez!" Stephanie spoke as got to her feet and brushed off her work-out tights, "Talk about a crappy exit!" 

"Well it's about time!" Jericho replied, "I swear people were starting to act weirder and weirder the longer we stayed in that thing!" 

"Oh nooooooo!!" Stephanie whined. 

"What?" Jericho asked. Stephanie held up a hand, showing off a broken nail. Jericho frowned as he got to his feet, "Gee, Commander. You'd better tend to that before it gets any worse! It must be absolutely horrible to suffer the agony of a broken nail!" 

Stephanie glared daggers at him, "Oh shut up, Y2Jerk! I'll have you know I spent two hours giving myself a manicure this morning! And now it's all ruined!" 

"Cry me a river, Steph..." he muttered dryly, and headed to the door. 

"WAIT!" Stephanie called out. 

"What?" he asked. 

"Same time tomorrow?" 

"What if I say NO?" 

"Then I'll have a little conversation with my big brother about how a certain Lt. Commander keeps hounding me against his orders!" 

"You're still threatening me?!" he asked, then shook his head, "You really ARE a wench!" 

"I know!" Commander Stephanie smiled proudly. 

Lt. Commander Jericho frowned at her, and quickly left the holodeck. 

*** 

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM - the next day 

McMahon looked over the crew logs. So many personal conflicts in just one week. Rumor had it that Edge and Christian had hidden away in their quarters, the ladies in the swimsuit competition had nearly torn each other apart, and Ensign Venis had done a 180. 

Tempers had sure been running high aboard the WWF Titanprize! McMahon couldn't blame his crew though. He himself had let his temper get the best of him... and now Russo was crying in the brig about broken ribs. McMahon took a hint of pride in that. Of course, it was something he would never do again. It wasn't the WrestleFleet way! 

At least none of incidents that had occurred within the last week were nebula-related. 

The Captain leaned back in his chair and smiled. Shaving off one year from the Titanprize's journey had raised the morale of the crew greatly. They had hope now that the ship would be able to find more bypasses like the Esca nebula, and cut the trip even shorter. 

McMahon breathed a sigh of relief. It felt so good when things worked out... 


	78. Season 9 Episode 4 Stunned

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 4

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra

****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON NINE

EPISODE 4: STUNNED

By: [X_C][2]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 103100.00. Happy Halloween to me! Waking up to this hellish holiday was about as much fun as finding razorblades in your trick or treat candy! That damn fool Foley wants to have a horror film festival in the Smackdown tonight to put everyone in a festive, ghoulish mood.....well I guess since being lost in space tends to suck morale like a black hole, I should make allowances." 

McMahon sighed and turned to the medical reports. Piro wanted private lab space? His own personal playground of terror? Hah! Vince snorted. _Like hell, freak!_

The captain whistled a merry tune as he tossed that padd in the trash and moved on to the pressing Security matters at hand. Well, well, well! Up jumped the devil again, and on the Day of the Dead too. How fitting that Austin would come to haunt him on this most morbid of holidays, but this time... this time the Rattlesnake had been bitten. 

Certainly not a lethal bite, not by anyone's standards. The crime was simple, straightforward. Lieutenant Commander "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Chief Tactical and Strategic officer, stunned by sniper fire from an illegally modified Nytron disruptor while draining the kegs in the Smackdown. Injury: a mild burn to the left arm. Witnesses: None. The deed had gone down after closing. Forensic evidence was miminal. 

"Seems that a real dumb s.o.b. with bad aim and wicked intentions shot blanks this time, but I'm concerned about a repeat performance. Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq are launching a full-scale investigation." 

A sip of strong black coffee couldn't snap the chill out of the air.   
  
"My only fear is that Austin will seek vigilante justice...."   


***

THE SMACKDOWN 

Joe smiled. The games were about to begin. 

Halloween. The Earth-style celebration of the dead and supernatural. Ghosts, demons, and other morbid creatures coming from the dark side to haunt the living. 

But why bother raising the dead when there was so much else haunting the crew? Secrets better left buried, terrifying memories resurrected, shameful sins drawn into the cold, hard light. 

Information and Linguistics-a beautiful job. Easy access to all the tricks so Joe could treat himself to the aftermath, the stunning emotional fallout. 

"So Joe..." The rough voice of Ensign Malenko was about as welcome as spit in his synthehol. "Just what the hell is so amusing today?" 

"Just soaking up the party atmosphere, Dean." Joe said casually. "Getting myself psyched for the Halloween film festival that Foley's putting on." 

"You work Info, right Joe?" Malenko leaned against the bar, eyes sweeping the place like surveillance satellites. "You hear things....see things..." 

"Sure." Joe nodded. "All confidential. Between me and the computer." Unless of course, dirty little secrets and tainted data accidentally slip out. 

"Here's the thing." Malenko licked his lips. "I was in the hot tub with Mandy and Victoria last night... just relaxing and enjoying a few martinis. Shaken, not stirred, of course." He edged closer to Joe. "No one ever takes a ho seriously for some odd reason, they don't think twice about having conversations of a sensitive nature around them." 

Joe said nothing. Always let your victim dig their own graves - one of the golden rules of troublemaking. Once they had made themselves six feet of space, you just gave em' that little push over the edge. 

"Mandy was in the ship's boutique, picking out some... evening wear." Dean smirked. "Daffney was there, arguing with her ex, David Flair. Seems Dr. Piro is very interested in getting his own lab and resuming his medical experiments. " 

Joe raised an eyebrow. "McMahon won't grant his request for lab space. I've seen Piro's rap sheet - not pretty, not pretty at all." He thoughtfully sipped his synthehol. You could actually make a pretty decent horror movie out of Vamp's life story. "If that Nytron ghoul crosses Dr. Taker, the only thing he'll be experimenting with is boot-removal techniques." 

"I didn't put much stock in it myself." Malenko agreed. "But it makes you wonder..." He lowered his voice. "If Piro wants to dissect the crew, what other Nytron schemes could be hatched? Russo has already escaped once. There could be a shipwide conspiracy brewing!" 

Joe laughed. "Whoa there, Dean! Ease up on the melodrama! Most of these Nytron losers are just grateful they're not rotting in the brig. They're not gonna screw over McMahon after he's showed them mercy." 

"Seems the Titanprize needs to be more vigilant." Malenko declared. "I know these Nytron rebels, was almost one of em myself. Turn your back on Russo's lackeys, they stick a knife in. Give them an inch, they take a mile. No, I can't just let them run wild on my watch." 

"I feel so much safer knowing you're on the job, Dean." Joe remarked dryly. His entire body tingled with anticipation as the lights in the Smackdown dimmed and softened. Laughter eased into quiet murmurs and whispers. _Prepare to be scared, boys and girls._

"Just between you and me..." Malenko seemed antsy, noticing a couple of scantily clad admirers making a beeline for the bar. "And I know I can confide in you, since discretion is your livelihood. My protege, Crash is developing some state of the art spy gadgets. Those Nytrons won't lose an eyelash without me knowing about it." 

Spying on people? Watching and not intefering? What a stifling bore! 

"This is on the...down low, you know what I'm saying?" Malenko gave him a sly look. 

Joe drained the rest of his synthehol. "Hey, who would even believe me?" 

****************************************************

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the first annual Halloween Film Festival!" Foley warmed to the cheap pop his special holiday event received. "How's about a special hand for Culinary Officer Rikishi, who provided all the free treats! Back that ass up for us, man!" 

The crowd clapped politely. Stephanie sighed, the empty seat next to her a glaring reminder of the loneliness she couldn't shake. Kirk Angel was in Sickbay, shuffling papers, and Chris....."Cut it out, Hardly!" 

"What?" Jeff steadied his lazer pen, a red dot glowing between her eyes. "Do you find that annoying?" 

"First, I'm gonna shine your new toy up real nice." Steph said through gritted teeth. "Then I'm gonna turn it sideways. Connect the dots, Jeffrey." 

"Just bring it, baby." He grinned at her. 

Foley cleared his throat. "And of course, a warm round of applause for Edgester and his little buddy, who will be operating the holoprojector for us tonight!" 

Christian nodded and smiled, sliding a glowing pink holocrystal out from under his glossy black trench coat. "This is so totally the pinnacle of coolosity, brother! Who do you think left these illegal videos in our quarters? The awesomeness fairy?" 

"Mind your heinosity, Christian." Edge frowned. "Jeff Hardly was never in our room. Attention, Smackdown patrons!" He whipped off his crazy ass sunglasses. "Christian and I are proud to present.....Terror on the Titanprize!" 

"Oh god!" Jeff groaned loudly. "Are we gonna be forced to watch you and Christian strike poses and comb each other's hair for six hours?" 

"Oh no, my chairalicious little friend." Christian smirked. "Introducing our first totally awesome feature - Stephanie does Engineering!" 

"What?" Stephanie gasped. 

"Did I miss anything?" Jericho spilled popcorn on her lap as he stumbled into the last empty seat available "Geez sweetie, you look terrible. Correct that. More terrible than usual." 

"Steph did some porn." Jeff said matter of factly. "And Edge and Christian have found the X-rated evidence." 

"Would it kill you to grow up?" Lita sighed. 

"Wanna make out?" 

"Oh yes, Jeff." Lita rolled her eyes. "If the movie doesn't scare me, your frightening inability to kiss _will_." 

"A simple yes or no would suffice, love muffin." 

"Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley." Edge intoned dramatically. "Nine months ago, you celebrated an extremely special birthday. No, no, no. Daddy didn't remember, as usual. Shane could've cared less. But there was one young stud on board who was more than willing to"give". 

"Let us hop into our totally awesome time machine, Edge, and step through the magical invisible portal that will allow us to partake in Stephanie's private, intimate birthday celebration." Christian's eyes gleamed. "Naturally, being a filthy, disgusting, dirty, brutal, nasty, bottom-feeding trash bag ho, she unwrapped her sparkling new ensign in the bedroom!" 

"Hey." Jericho frowned. "That's _my_ line." 

"No." Stephanie's face paled. "Oh no...they wouldn't.....I mean, there's no way they could even have...." 

"Hmmm, let's not be so hasty, Christian." Edge scolded his younger brother. "Perhaps our enterprising Lieutenant, oh - my bad, former Lieutentant Hardy was merely there to scan Commander McMahon-Helmsley's mattress. It's no doubt seen so many species that it's worthy of scientific study." 

"True, true." Christian nodded. "And Jeffrey, being such an industrious young officer, wanted to investigate the substructure of her mattress to see if there was some technical secret to its durability." 

"Please Chrissie... just kill me now." Stephanie whispered, and at that moment her heart ached so much she thought it might break in two. Maybe she could eat her phaser or a wonderful wormhole would open up in the middle of the Smackdown and swallow her. This wasn't right. This was just plain sick. The "slut" chant transformed her eyes into sparkling pools of tears, her stomach twisting as she watched herself melt in the lustful embrace of the ship's biggest idiot. "This is a nightmare, right? I'm _not_ a slut! We - we all had that virus that made our hormones crazy. I didn't know what I was doing!" 

"Neither did Jeff." Jericho shook his head in disbelief. "Damn, you weren't kidding when you said he was romantically challenged. You know, if his hands are really that clumsy, he should be nowhere _near_ a warp core." 

"Go to hell." But she cried like a baby, her tears warm against the cool fabric of his civilian hockey jersey. He couldn't push her away. 

"Hmmm, I suspect that looks very bad to the untrained eye." Jeff said innocently, slouching down in his chair. He felt his hair turning green, which was nice, since it would match his face. 

"I'm no expert in these matters..." Matt didn't crack a smile. "But I'd have to conclude that you and Commander Happy Pants are about to engage in a hot game of pillow tag." 

"You know what this looks like?" Lita asked evenly, while her finger ached to unholster the firearm at her side. "It looks like you lied to me. You said you never got past second base with Stephanie. It looks like you're rounding third and heading for home!" 

"That's it!" Jeff snapped, jumping to his feet. "I did _not_ score with Stephanie! I haven't even scored with my own _girlfriend_! Got it, everyone? I have _never_ scored with a woman in my whole entire life, and now I'll probably go without for all eternity! Satisfied?" 

Dead silence. Even Steven Richards, who'd been ready to seize the holoprojector, stood still as a statue. 

Christian cleared his throat. "That's an excellent question, my rainbowlicious friend. Obviously, Steph was _not_ satisfied, although now that we've all seen you in action, it's clear why." 

"Never let it be said that Commander McMahon-Helmsley wouldn't do a Hardy for anything." Edge blushed. "Excuse me. I mean, that she wouldn't do anything for a Hardy. In this feature, we see she's decided to move on to big brother Matt, who conveniently forgot that he was dating Lita at the time." 

"You guys have to share everything, don't you?" Lita's eyes shot jade-green daggers at her slimy ex-boyfriend. 

"Ummm Steph, weren't you supposed to be helping your ex-husband Triple H pull off a daring mutiny at this time?" Christian frowned at her. "But here we find you once again climbing the Hardy family tree, kissing Matthew in Shuttlebay 8 when you're supposed to be killing him!" 

Hunter raised an eyebrow in her direction, smirking. _God, what a slut. Why do I miss her so much anyway?_

Joe chuckled softly in the shadows. Perfect. Especially now that Boy Wonder had tucked himself into a dark corner of the Smackdown, eyes slipping between the screen and his sister with a flat, dangerous coldness burning in their depths. 

Shane took several deep breaths to steady himself. He should've been mad at Edge and Christian for humiliating his sister, but she'd done it to herself. No one had put a phaser to her head and forced her to make out with Jeff on the bed she was supposed to be sharing with Hunter. Stephanie hadn't even been ill when she'd locked lips with Matt. 

Note to self. The next time you attempt to murder the Hardy brothers, make it stick. 

Although if he was too busy disassembling Chris Jericho, Jeff and Matt might be granted a reprieve. Heck, Shane would rather enjoy forcing those dumbass Aerialians to perform that dirty job. How dare that titanium toad publicly console his baby sister! How dare some toy robot touch her and whisper comforting words in her ear! 

Note to self. Crush Jericho's career, effective immediately. 

************************************

"Holy heinosity batman!" Edge exclaimed, as the screen flickered. "Those are... ho's, but - but not a single one of them resembles Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley!" 

"Whoa!" Christian exclaimed. "But that looks like Senor Sucktitude approaching, money in hand. Latino Heat is shopping for some late night pervosity!" 

"Eddie!" Chyna reeled back in shock. "What the hell is this? While the cat's away, the rat will play? You like trash Eddie? Is that what I am to you? Cheap, meaningless trash?" 

"No Mamacita!" Ensign Guerrero cried, dropping to his knees. "Please, please listen to me! Si, those are ladies of the night, mommy, and yes I had many credits in my hands, but I was not paying for those kinds of services! I was buying-!" 

"Oh my god, Eddie!" Tears splashed down Chyna's pretty face. "You disgust me! I don't want to know what you're trying to buy! I give you my forgiveness and you make a damn fool out of me! Take your stupid flowers back!" The thorns lashed at his skin in a blur of silken red petals. 

"Mommy, don't walk away!" Eddie wailed. "If you would only hear me out! If you walk out on me now, you take my heart, and I die! You're my whole life! Mamacita!" 

"Latino Heat." She spat the words at him, feeling something break inside her heart. It used to be they were so close that there was nothing between where she began and Eddie ended. Now the distance was as cold and infinite as the universe itself. "You wanna be hot stuff? Why don't you burn in hell forever?" 

"You dumb bastard!" A Texas-sized boot was buried in Eddie's gut as his neck twisted around like a good-old fashioned southern tornado. 

"Stunner! Stunner!" Jim Ross yelled from the back of the lounge. 

Tears sparkled in Chyna's big dark eyes as she fled, but somewhere in those sad depths also lay a glimmer of laughter...... 

*********************************************

"Love totally sucks." Christian shook his head. "Especially unrequited love. I like to call this montage.... The Olympic Flame!" 

Stephanie wiped her eyes on her sleeve as the image of Kirk Angel in Foley's office blazed across the screen. The All-American wimp was obviously agitated, the cause becoming crystal clear. 

"I can't just make any old match that any old crew member wants, Kurt." Mick was saying apologetically. "My rulings are final. And by the way....my rulings rule! Have a nice day!" 

"Have a nice day?" Kurt was spluttering, his face red. "Perhaps you didn't hear me! I want Triple H's ass!" 

"Wait!" Edge held up a hand. "Perhaps none of _us_ heard that either! Let us rewind." 

"I want Triple H's ass!" 

Christian smiled and nodded. "Dude, we better test the time travel abilities of our machine again. Let's go ten seconds into the past and review that footage!" 

"I want Triple H's ass!" 

"That is enough!" Angle cried from the back of the room. "That's not what I-" 

"The holocrystal is caught in a temporal loop!" Christian cried in mock alarm. "I can't stop it!" 

"I want Triple H's ass! I want Triple H's as-" 

"Bradshaw!" Hunter waved at the poker-playing, beer-swilling security lieutenant. "I want coded locks installed on my bedroom door now! Dammit Kurt, all this time I thought you were after my hot, sexy wife and now the ugly truth.... comes out! I always wondered why you had to brighten our quarters with flowers and always begged to fold my laundry. I'm gonna lose my lunch right now, swear to God!" 

"That ex of yours is alright, Princess." Jericho was grinning. 

"Oh well pardon me for trying to bring a little neatness and decorum to our quarters, Ensign Helmsley!" Kurt cried out indignantly. "We are Wrestlefleet officers and should have enough integrity not to live in filth! Stop it!" The crowd wasn't chanting slut anymore. "I am _not_ a sissy!" 

"Take it easy, fellow ensign." Edge said pleasantly. "We don't care if you engage in pansyosity. You're so steeped in goldage that you totally reek of awesomeness." 

"But seriously dude." Christian frowned. "If you ever...like...try and sample _our_ merchandise, we'll go medieval on your Olympic ass!" 

"Little buddy!"' Edge hissed. "Don't get him all excited!" 

"Would a pansy have Olympic gold medals?" Kurt demanded, holding his precious awards up for all to see. 

"That depends, Kirk." Jeff piped up, relieved that no one was staring at _him_ anymore. "Are virginity, pansyosity, and being a sissy athletic events?" 

"You would dare call me a sissy?" Angle demanded, eyes flashing. "Look at you! You're wearing your girlfriend's shirt and pants!" 

"Perhaps." Jeff shrugged. "But there's still video of me playing kissy face with your hot little honey. The only thing you've starred in tonight is that classic epic, "_I want Triple H's ass_" and it's sequel, "_I want Triple H's ass_" 

"Would a sissy do _this_?" Stephanie squealed with shock and surprise as Angle yanked her out of her chair, fingers twined through her silky dark ringlets, lips bruising her mouth in a way that sent shivers of repulsion down her spine. She froze, the instinct to fight paralyzed. Her breath came in startled gasps as Kurt was thrown to the floor with superhuman force. 

"Don't _ever_ do that again, Angle." Jericho leaned over him, his voice a thin whisper of ice, menacing in its lethal calm. "I will cut your throat if you even so much as look at her the wrong way. I'll kill you in your sleep. Do we have an understanding?" 

Kurt blinked. He knew the android was mildly unstable, probably a glitch in his emotions program. But this...this was real. And it was scary. "Aye sir." 

"What did you say to him?" Stephanie was gulping down a cup of cold, clear water, desperate to wash down the horrible taste of Angle's kiss. "He looks like he's seen a ghost." 

Jericho could feel the synthetic blood drain from his face. Shane was watching them together, a nasty smile playing at his lips. "I told him that you and Jeff went all the way." 

"You bastard." Stephanie flung the water in his face. 

Shane's smile grew all the more wicked. He knew a cover-up when he saw it. _You're good Jericho, but not **that** good._

***

COUNSELOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

"Stunning people at random will not yield the culprit or aid in his apprehension, Steven." 

Austin's fingers stabbed at his beer, jagged nails nearly tearing a hole through the cheap aluminum. He'd been called a lot of things in his rough, nasty life, but not _that_. Never _that_! 

"Maybe your twisted mind doesn't process English so well, son." The Rattlesnake wiped frothy foam from his lips. "Listen good, cause I'm only gonna lay the law down once, Stone Cold style. Until the dumb son of a bitch who shot me comes to face his judge, jury, and executioner like a man, I'm taking it out of everyone's ass. And that's the bottom line!" 

"I see." Snow tapped a few words into his padd. RCD-Repetitive Catchphrase Disorder. "Agreed H.E.A.D, Lt Commander Austin was sent to anger management therapy in the nick of time. We're lucky no crew members were murdered considering the levels of hostility and-" 

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Austin swaggered to his feet. "No quack in a dress is gonna tell me that I'm a psycho, I don't care how many damn fancy words you use to pretty it up!" 

"Dress?" Al blinked. "Why excuse me, this is a kilt made from genuine Scottish wool. See, I've recently gotten in touch with my European roots and-" 

"Get in touch with _this_, ya silly bastard!" Given the proper respect in the form of a Stone Cold Salute, Snow was summarily kicked in the stomach and felled by a mind-numbing neckbreaker. 

Al's new personal assistant, a jobber secretary known simply as Michael Cole, shook his head. 

"That was a tremendous maneuver!" 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Gonna have to cut you off at the pass, honey." Trish's sincerity in refusing Commander Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley another hot Kanatian brandy was about as real as her surgically enhanced figure. "There's only so much hurling on the bar the other patrons can take." 

"Trish, you ignorant slut." Stephie slurred her insults, the delicate McMahon princess hiding inside her tough shell unable to handle the liquor. "I ain't quittin' until the heinous images of Hardly on me like white on rice are blotted out. I've been traumatized." 

"Anyone who has to watch Ensign Jeff fumble his way around a woman is bound to be scarred." Trish agreed in that honeyed voice. "I suppose it's worse for a cheap trollop like yourself who's use to quality passion." 

The commander's eyes darkened like storm clouds, tears falling lightly like a spring rain. "It's bad enough to be assaulted by Kirk Angel, but did you hear me on that video from hell....ohhhh Jeff that feels sooo good. You've got such amazing hands, Jeff. Oh god." She paled. "I'm gonna be sick again." 

Trish frowned. "So am I." 

"Don't you have some cowboy hat you need to stick your fat, bleached head into, Trishy?" 

"Pardon me." Trish haughtily pulled Stephanie's empty glass away. "I didn't realize we were holding a meeting of the Jeff Hardy fan club in here tonight. You two are pathetic." 

"I guess I must now face my dark and deadly fate." Commander McMahon-Helmsley was too sloshed to find the balance and coordination required to stand upright, so she was kissing carpet in two seconds flat. Lita sighed and helped her inebriated superior back to her seat. "What's it gonna be, Red? Twist of Fate? Moonsault? Just make it quick." 

"I'm not gonna kick your ass, Steph." The Aerialian ensign gestured at X-Pac to bring her a synthehol and some Houdinian coffee for the drunken McMahon. "Well I'm not being completely honest. I was gonna tear you up, but Jeff tossing his cookies all night convinced me that neither of you are proud of your actions" 

"I made him throw up?" Stephanie smiled weakly. 

"Jeff was disturbed." Lita explained. "You don't personally turn his stomach or anything but... he _does_ love you like a sister and that was sickening to watch, total heinosity to remember. I guess I needed to see him puke to realize I've been acting like a jealous jerk." 

"What are you trying to say?" 

"Are you deaf?" Lita scowled. "That was an apology. I suggest you accept it." 

"Oh." Hmmm, must have learned that brand of apology from her new hero Shane. "Alrighty then. You better marry the poor idiot now. I'll feel like I've ruined everything if you don't." 

The redhead flashed a radiant blue gem at Steph; it looked like an icy sapphire gone supernova on a band of gold. Lita was sooo lucky...what did the men in her life ever give the Princess besides heartache and regret? "How could I say no to a man who proposes while losing his supper on my shoes?" 

Stephanie giggled. "You and Jeff will never be Romeo and Juliet, that's for sure." 

Lita rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? He's such an idiot, he'd survive our star-crossed love affair and I'd be alone in offing myself for passion." 

"Did I hear someone mention Shakespeare?" Etiquette cadet William Regal smiled and straightened his bow tie, his tea cooling as he eavesdropped. 

"Excuse me ladies." Lt Commander Austin stuck a steel toe in Regal's ribcage, spun his neck around, grabbed a mug of beer, and strolled to a dark corner to sip his brew. 

"Anyways..." Lita nudged the Brit's crumpled form with a foot. William groaned, so no need to alert Sickbay. "I uhhhh don't have many girlfriends aboard the ship, sooo...that's made the search for a maid of honor mission impossible." 

"Ahhh." Stephanie bit down on her lip. She didn't have many girlfriends either, but for different reasons. Lita was just an adult tomboy and intimidated the more feminine crew. Steph happened to be a catty witch who offended crew of both genders. "What does this silly little maid of honor thing involve?" 

"It's very simple." Lita said casually. They were never going to be warm, ooey-gooey, sisterly, huggy, touchy feely friends with their emotions pouring out like a flood, were they? No bonding over chick flicks and designer coffee for them. "Wear a fancy dress, smile like all that romantic drivel makes you warm and fuzzy inside, and poke Jeff with a cattle prod when he gets that idiotic gleam in his eye. If that moron ruins my big day, he's dead meat." 

Stephanie nodded. "I can do that. High or low voltage?" 

"High." Lita polished off her synthehol. "Little bugger is very resistant to pain." 

"Considering the amount of torture you'll be enduring on your honeymoon, I sincerely hope you are too." Stephanie squeezed her eyes shut - the blinding pain of a classic hangover headache was creeping up on her brain. "Scariest thing about Jeff is that he genuinely believes he's a great kisser." 

"I caught him practicing on his pillow once." Lita whispered with a devilish smile. "Begged me not to tell you or Matt." 

"I'll inform Matt immediately." Stephanie managed to smile herself, despite the sparks of agony flaring behind her eyes. "Oh god... my shift in Engineering! That titanium toad will have my backside in a sling if I breeze into work stoked on liquor." The oval mirror behind the bar mocked her cruelly, glistening with the image of a drowned rat instead of a dignified commander. "Congratulations on bagging yourself an idiot." 

"Thanks." Lita smiled. Steph'd be alright. Jericho would forgive all her sins, even though he was blind to the soft spot in his mechanical heart. "Oh two things before you hit the warp core, Commander. One, Jericho will be Jeff's best man. Two, there's a tiny technicality that could prevent you from being my maid of honor and that's having a creepy Olympic stalker escort you to the ceremony." 

"Understood." Stephanie exhaled, happy not to bear that cross anymore. She could say no, but it was nice having a legit excuse to lay on the freakazoid. 

Freakazoid? Note to self... stop hanging out with Shane's loser friends so much! 

***

THE BRIG 

"Well, well, well." Jeff grinned. "Who's the jack-ass now?" 

"Ummmm." Edge carefully holstered his diamond alloy, shatterproof mirror. The glare from the silvery-blue force field deflected light at an unflattering angle anyway, dulling the natural luster of his hair. "Taking into consideration the sheer and overwhelming heinosity of that ridiculous headband..." He smiled. "Well I guess that would still be you, Jeffrey." 

"Chill out, dude." Christian patted his brother on the shoulder. "Perhaps this is young Hardly's Halloween costume. He's dressed as the pinnacle of dorktitude!" 

"Dorktitude to the max!" Edge high-fived his little buddy. 

"And being in the brig totally rules, I suppose?" Matt shook his head in disbelief. "McMahon has charged you both with insubordination, invasion of privacy, spying... by the time you get out of here your perfect skin will be dried up like a raisin and your pretty hair will be gray." 

Edge and Christian gasped. "How dare you!" 

"Vinnie Mac is so totally down with us." Christian said defensively. "Once he gets that stick out of his you know what and takes a chill pill he'll set us free. What kind of square gets uppity over tonsil hockey highlights where his daughter scores a hat trick?" 

"That was sooo not coolosity guys." Jeff sighed. "Unfortunately, the sucktitude has come back to bite you on the ass. See, Lita didn't ditch me. We're engaged now." 

"You're marrying a chick?" Edge cursed under his breath. "I guess I owe you five credits, little buddy." 

"So Lita's wearing your ring now?" Christian asked pleasantly. 

"That's right." 

"Why didn't you just buy her a leash instead?" Edge asked with a smile. "No offense, my chairalicious friend, but....woof! I mean a face like that could reverse the orbit of the entire Resian Galaxy." 

"And dude, underwear is so totally meant to be worn under your pants...hello?" Christian shook his head. "I don't mind her kicking my ass for you sissies during matches, but should I have to look at the full moon while she's doing it?" 

"Repeat after me guys." Edge said solemnly. "Thongs are wrong." 

"Jeff!" Matt held the squirming hyper brat back by the scruff of his neck. "Letting these jerks get under your skin is a good way to get zapped by the pretty blue forcefield, 'kay? Now get out of here before I sic Nurse Saturn on you with a long-range tranquilizer dart gun again." 

"I couldn't sit down without a cushion for two weeks." Jeff whined. "And I'm not done taunting them yet. I want to poke them with a stick and mess up their hair." 

"You can feed the animals later, junior." Matt tousled his hair and then gave kid brother a hard shove out the door. "Okay you nitwits. What the hell do you want?" 

"Listen and listen good you redneck computer freak." Christian glared at him. The laid back valley boy facade faded into thin air. "This is how it's gonna be. You will hack the lock on this cell and weaken the force field so we can escape during the shift change. Do it. Now." 

"Let me think about that." Matt laughed. "Uhhh....no." 

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, Hardly." Edge smiled coldly. "That footage of you playing kissy face with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley is only scraping the surface of sucktitude. See this?" He moved his black coat ever so slightly to reveal a flash of bright, glowing pink. "That's right, Matthew. A holocrystal." 

"Blackmail?" Matt raised an eyebrow. "What could you possibly-" 

"Garden Deck, three weeks ago." Christian's tone grew nostalgic. "A troubled, heartbroken Matt Hardly....a miserable, confused Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Drawn together by the flames of unrequited love." 

Matt shrugged. "Great, you morons. That steamy **_platonic_** conversation will so totally scandalize the Smackdown crowd! Say, which one of you is using the brain today?" 

"Would we be this arrogant if we weren't absolutely certain you were now our own personal bitch, Matthew?" Edge demanded. "You know, your confessions of love for that Aerialian tart Lita are so beyond pathetic and disgusting that I almost hurled watching this! Grow up and get bent, Hardly!" 

"You wouldn't." 

"Who in the heck do you think you're talking to, Matty?" Christian sneered. "A couple of saints? If we're not out of here in four freakin' hours, Jeff and Lita will get their own personal copies of the twisted soap opera that is your life." 

"Little buddy, how do you think Vinnie Mac would react to Stephanie's wrenching emotional conflict over that android?" 

"Well Edgester, I suspect the backlash might be quite violent. Something about a pretty girl loving a computer makes me personally want to toss my cookies." 

"Ensigns Buh Buh and Devon will relieve Lieutenant Bradshaw and Ensign Chyna in two hours and forty-five minutes." Matt said quietly. He felt like backbiting slime, but deceiving his brother and selling out Stephanie seemed so much worse. . . "Just to be safe, I'll rig a major malfunction in the security mainframe, a virus or something. It won't actually hurt anything, but it'll look like a disaster." 

Edge and Christian smirked. Didn't the Hardyz realize the score would always be in the Cocky Kanatians favor? 

"You'll have thirty seconds to slip through the weakened field." Matt went on. "After time expires, you'll fry." 

"You don't want that to happen, Matty. Guess what we leave Jeff and Lita in our wills?" 

"Excuse me, has anyone seen Ensign Helmsley?" Angle was glancing about nervously. 

"No, we haven't seen your girlfriend, Kirk." Christian snickered cruelly. "Matt's free though." 

"Shut up." Matt didn't need this. Extortion was bad enough. "My, my, Angle, why does it not surprise me that you're now suddenly drawn to the men's prison wing?" 

Angle bit down a nasty reply as Matt wandered off. They'd all pay, every last one of those mocking, sarcastic, evil, vicious, rotten, immature...... He took a deep breath, knowing he had to keep his intensity in check. 

"Is that a tear rolling down your face, you Olympic jack-ass?" Austin demanded. "Crying like a little girl?" 

Kurt blinked. _It's true, it's true. You don't hear the Rattlesnake coming until it's ready to bite you on the a- no I don't really want to go there._ "Er...good evening Lt Commander Austin. I think I may have dust or a lash in my eye that Dr. Piro needs to look at and-" 

"Oh yeah, I see something in your eye, son." Stone Cold smiled, treating the Olympic ribs to a vicious kick while using Angle's prized golden discs to wrench his neck 180 degrees. "And it sure as hell ain't mercy! Now pick your crying ass up, go get a Kleenex, and blow it out your-" 

"Pansyosity rules!" Edge and Christian high-fived each other. "That was totally stunnerlicious!" 

***

DECK 38-INFORMATION AND LINGUISTICS 

Cold steel melted and wires liquified into gleaming toxic puddles beneath the blue fire of a plasma torch. Holocams worth their precious weight in gold dying for such a noble cause.... 

Pink crystals became rivers of memory, terrible secrets vaporized for all eternity. Oh but the damage had been done, fiery emotions in the darkest hearts stoked into raging infernos of hate..... 

Ahhhh Commander Shane McMahon had to be the best. Granted, he resented Matt, Jeff, and Jericho, but surely the little slideshow had whipped his sick, evil mind into a frenzy of murderous fury? Joe wondered which one would take the bullet first. 

Kirk Angel....well, maybe he'd get the therapy he so desperately needed - creepy predator that he was. Then again, maybe that insanely jealous Y2J Unit would give the Olympic twit the kind of shock treatment only a disruptor could provide.... 

Speaking of which....Joe grinned maliciously as he spun the dials on the sophisticated, high-encryption cyberlocks that sealed the sleek black case on his desk. The titanium hinges whispered nothing but silence as the cover popped and the glittering barrel of an illegally modified Nytron disruptor winked at him. 

He chuckled softly in the dark. Anything for a laugh..... 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	79. Season 9 Episode 5 Marriage is What Bri...

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 5 ****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON NINE

EPISODE 5: MARRIAGE IS WHAT BRINGS US TOGETHER...

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

ENSIGNS JEFF AND MATT HARDY'S QUARTERS - Monday 

"Ensign's log, stardate 100120.00. Friday is the big day. I finally managed to get Lita to marry me! What a feat! I'm particularly proud of myself. I've weakened her to my charms. I've tamed her fires. I've calmed her heart, I've…" 

"Come on, Jeff Hardy!" Matt called out, "We have to put the finishing touches on your tux!" 

Jeff let out a sigh and closed his log. He looked at the tuxedo his brother was currently hovered over. Jeff had designed it himself, but Matt had prohibited him from deviating too much from the norm. Jeff didn't mind. He knew his hair would more then make up for the lack of colour in the outfit. 

"Nervous, bro?" Matt asked. 

Jeff smiled, "A bit," 

Matt took a deep breath. HE was nervous too… at least, according to the sinking feeling in his chest. 

Either that, or he wasn't taking Jeff's upcoming nuptials to Lita all that well. Sometimes he even felt a little bit jealous. Lita HAD been his girlfriend first. 

Oh well. Matt would get over her… 

Eventually… 

***

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS - Tuesday 

Stephanie frowned as she took in her extra large walk-in closet. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. Why couldn't she find an outfit for Jeff and Lita's wedding? She had been seen in EVERY evening gown in her closet. If only there was a designer aboard the ship. She sighed quietly. The Maid of Honour had to wear SOMETHING spectacular, didn't she?

"Come," Stephanie called out as her door chimes rang. The door swooshed open to reveal a rather nervous Ensign Jeff Hardy, "What is it, Hardly?" 

"Um, can I talk to you for a sec?" Jeff asked. 

Stephanie looked at her watch, "A sec is up," 

"C'mon, Steph!" Jeff said. 

Stephanie sighed, "Come in," He walked in, but said nothing, "Well?" 

"You know I'm marrying Lita on Friday..." 

"Yes. And?" 

Jeff's nervousness was soon replaced with a mischievous smile, "Well, I was hoping you'd tell me what NOT to do in a marriage..." 

"JEFF!" Stephanie shouted, annoyed. She threw a pillow at him. It hit him in the face. 

"Ouch!" he whined as he rubbed his nose. 

"Serves you right, dork!" 

"Hey, I just asked an innocent question!" 

"Innocent, my butt!" Stephanie replied. 

Jeff laughed, "I love you, Steph! You're so much fun to tease!" 

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun at my expense. Now go away before I throw the entire bed at you!" 

"That's not the way to get me to sleep with you, Steph," Jeff replied, and ducked another pillow with a laugh, "I get the feeling you're a tad stressed …" 

"Yes I am! I don't know what to wear to your wedding!" Stephanie whined. 

"Clothes would be good," Jeff replied. 

"Stop being such a smart ass!" Stephanie replied, then turned back to her closet, "Look at this! I've worn EVERYTHING in this closet already! I need to go shopping…" 

"I doubt there are a whole lot of shopping malls in this sector of space," 

Stephanie sat down on her bed despairingly, "I need new clothes!" 

"Well, since you're busy lamenting about your wardrobe, I'd better head off to Engineering," Jeff smiled, "It'll give me something to do rather then sit in my quarters growing nervous about my wedding," he said, then gave Stephanie a mock salute and headed out. 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Joe watched Ensign Hardy leave Commander Stephanie McMahon's quarters. Had Jeff told Stephanie he loved her a few moments ago? Did he insinuate she wanted to sleep with him?? How very interesting… 

Joe would just have to inform Lita about this new development. Now wouldn't THAT create some fireworks aboard the WWF Titanprize! 

***

THE SMACKDOWN – Wednesday night 

"Hey Chyna. Glad you're here! I have to ask you something," Lt. Commander Jericho started as he saw the security Ensign sitting at the bar. 

"What is it, Chris?" she asked. 

"I need your help," Jericho said as he sat on the stool beside her, "Jeff's wedding is in a few days. I've been reading up on expected behaviour during weddings. There was something about dancing…" 

"You're asking the wrong person about dancing, Chris," Chyna said, "The only dancing I know is the kind where you stand in one place and sway back and forth. Oh… and a few moves Ensigns Scotty and Grandmaster taught me," 

"Uhhhh… that's the kind of dancing I must avoid at all costs!" 

"I know," Chyna smiled, "Which is why I'm the wrong person to ask," 

"I guess I'll just have to find another way to emulate human behvaiour," 

"Hey, sweetie…" Victoria slithered up to Lt. Commander Jericho, "I can teach you how to dance," 

Jericho brightened, "Really?!" he asked. 

"Of course! And I'll give you a reasonable price too…" 

Jericho allowed an amused smile, "That's not exactly the kind of dancing I was thinking of, Victoria… but thanks anyway…" 

Victoria winked, "I can be your private dancer if that's what you like. We can start right now in my quarters," 

Jericho turned to Chyna and raised his eyebrows. The security Ensign covered her mouth, trying to hide her snickers from the ex lady-of-the-night. Jericho turned back to Victoria, "That's ok. I'll go without the dancing lessons today," 

"Ok, sweetie. But if you ever change your mind, Mandy and I would be MORE then happy to help you out!" Victoria said, then headed off. 

Chyna burst out laughing the moment the brunette was gone, "That girl only knows ONE kind of dancing… !" 

Jericho smirked, "She's just trying to drum up some business," he replied, "This still doesn't help me though. I need to learn how to dance," 

"Ask Trish," Chyna offered. 

Jericho shrugged. It was worth a shot, "Trish?" he called out to the blonde currently wiping down glasses behind the bar. 

Trish came up to him, "What can I get you, Lt. Commander?" 

"Actually, I was just wondering if you know how to dance," he said. 

"Well… I know how to do a lot of things," she smiled slyly, "Why?" 

"I want to fit in at Jeff and Lita's wedding," he explained, "And to do that, I need to learn how to dance…" 

Trish let out a laugh, "I COULD teach you how to dance at a wedding, but right now I'm tied up trying to teach Commander Kane how to BEHAVE at a wedding," she replied, then rolled her eyes, "Talk about an effort!" she looked back at Jericho, "Sorry, Lt. Commander. Wish I could help…" 

"That's ok, Trish," he said. Trish then went back to her glasses, and Jericho sighed, "Well, guess I'll just be sitting and watching at the wedding," 

"That's what I'LL be doing… except during those 'stand and sway' songs. You could always ask Lita," Chyna offered. 

"Kinda ruins the whole idea if I ask the bride to teach me how to dance at her wedding," Jericho said with a smile. 

"There's always Stephanie…" Chyna said. 

Jericho's smile quickly faded, "No. Not Stephanie," 

Chyna sighed, "Listen, I know you two don't always get along, but----" 

"I'm forbidden from talking to her outside of Engineering," Jericho interrupted. 

Chyna paused, "What?" 

"Orders from on high are: Stay the hell away from Stephanie McMahon!" 

"Well who's dumb idea---" she stopped, then nodded, "Shane…" it wasn't a question. 

Jericho shrugged, "Oh well. No big loss," he stood up, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get on duty." With that, he headed out of the bar. 

***

HOLODECK 4 - Thursday 

"What is this?" Stephanie asked Lt. Commander Jericho blasted music through the holodeck speakers. It was loud, frantic, and energetic. She kind of liked it... not that she'd admit it to the Y2J Unit. 

"It's my favourite 20th Century band! I thought it would inspire you to move your ass a bit more and start learning some new moves!" Jericho replied. 

Stephanie furrowed her brow as she listened to the song booming through the holodeck. There was something about the lead singer's voice... it sounded _familiar_ somehow. Stephanie turned to the Y2J Unit, her mouth opened in a little 'O'. 

"What?!" Jericho asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?!" 

Stephanie pointed to the speakers, still focused on Lt. Commander Jericho, "That voice," she started. 

"Great, isn't it?" Lt. Commander Jericho replied, "Now THAT is true talent!" 

"But..." Stephanie started, then focused on the singer's voice again. She offered Jericho another look, then shook her head, "Naaaaaw..." she said, "It can't be..." 

Jericho shrugged, "Well, I don't know what you're going on about, but we'd better get on with the lesson." 

Stephanie decided to forget about the singer for the moment, "All right then..." She clapped her hands together, "Let's go!" 

"Ok... I'm going to teach you something called a flying headscissors. It's a great take down, and allows you to get up before your opponent comes to his senses. But it takes athleticism. A LOT of athleticism!" 

"I've seen it! I should have no sweat learning it. I DID take gymnastics for five years! I loved it too," Stephanie replied. 

"Why did you stop?" 

Stephanie sighed, "Daddy made me take ballroom dancing lessons instead. He said it was expected of a McMahon woman to dance properly," 

"Dancing lessons?" Jericho replied, then shook his head. No. Not from her. He wouldn't even ask. 

"Well not everyone can be _programmed_ with dance lessons, unlike some android officers I can mention!" 

"I wasn't programmed with ANY dance lessons. Irvine Inc didn't exactly consider it an important aspect of my makeup," he replied. 

Stephanie seemed surprised, "Then what are you going to do at Jeff and Lita's wedding? Stand there and watch?" 

Lt. Commander Jericho shrugged, "Works for me!" 

"Oh come ON, Chris! You're one of Lita and Jeff's commanding officers, and the best man! You HAVE to dance at their wedding!!" 

"I don't recall reading '_all commanding officers must be able to dance_' in the official WrestleFleet rule book!" he replied. "Besdies, if I wanted to learn, Victoria DID offer----" 

Stephanie was sure Victoria would teach Jericho a few moves that had NOTHING to do with dancing! "Forget that! _I'll _teach you!" She said. "Computer - Load up program Steph-598-x," The black and yellow hologrid was replaced with a large ballroom. 

"Listen, Skankanie. I don't need dancing lessons, ok? This is supposed to '_Stephanie learns how to kick ass_' time, not '_let's teach Jericho how to dance_' time!" Stephanie ignored him and went to the holodeck controls, "Hey!" he complained as his favourite band was quickly silenced and replaced by a ballad, "What's THIS crap?" 

"Sorry, but rock 'n' roll isn't exactly danceable music," she said, and went back to the Y2J Unit. "Now hold my hand like this, and put your other hand on my waist," she commanded as her chosen song played softly in the background... 

__

There is never any mention, though it isn't my intention not to say... 

Jericho sighed. It was pointless to argue. He reluctantly did what Stephanie suggested, "Now what?" he asked. 

_In my silent desperation, I can't change the situation anyway..._

"I lead, that's what!" she said. The two began to dance, until... "OUCH! Watch where you're stepping, Y2Jerk!" Stephanie snapped. 

"It's not MY fault you have incredibly large feet for a woman!" he replied, "Amongst _other_ things ..." he muttered. Pretending to be a smart-ass was just getting easier and easier for him. He began to wonder... 

Stephanie shoved him away angrily, "You know what? Maybe you SHOULD get someone else to teach you how to dance!" she snapped. 

"YOU started it! Might as well follow through. Come on, Professor Skankanie - teach me! Or are you not up for it?" he replied smugly. 

Stephanie frowned. Damn him! He just HAD to challenge her! Fine then! She'd TAKE that challenge! Stephanie took his hand again, "Just match my feet... WITHOUT breaking my toes!" 

"Whatever," Jericho replied as he put a hand on her waist. He watched her feet carefully and began to copy her movements. Soon, the two Engineers were gliding across the dance floor with ease. 

_ And doesn't it seem strange how everything can change..._

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?!" she replied. 

"I'm a fast learner," he answered. 

Stephanie looked up at him. There was no smugness or arrogance in his voice this time. Just the truth. 

The Chief Engineer let out a surprised shout as Jericho twirled her around. He quickly pulled her against him, and Stephanie was surprised at how... WARM... he was. 

_ I've never even told you..._

Jericho tightened his arms around her, and Stephanie wondered if he could hear how loud her heart was pounding. 

_I have to keep my feelings locked away. I can't whisper, no I can't say..._

Jericho smirked, "Well, teacher?" he started, "Is my first lesson successful so far?" 

"Yes..." Stephanie replied quietly. Why did her pulse race? Why did her stomach jump? And why did she close her eyes, raising her face up almost as if she wanted to... 

_I've never even told you..._

"Steph? You in there?" Shane's voice came through the holodeck speakers like thunder. 

Stephanie quickly jumped away from the Y2J Unit, and secretly thanked the heavens for Shane! 

If her brother hadn't interrupted when he did, she would have--- Stephanie shook her head. Best not think of what COULD have happened... 

Shane banged on the holodeck doors, "Steph?" 

She looked at Jericho, and the Y2J Unit nodded as he made his way towards a panel in the wall, "Shane," Stephanie started, "I... uh... I'll be right there!" she said. 

"If weasel-boy sees me, I have a feeling it would be extremely detrimental to my career," Jericho said, "..._and _my LIFE..." he added dryly, then pulled the jefferies tube panel away from the wall. 

"Do... um... do you want me to give you another lesson?" Stephanie asked. 

"No. Too many..." he paused, "... _problems_... could arise from it. It's bad enough I'm giving you self-defense lessons against my orders," he said, "Now if you'll excuse me..." The Y2J Unit quickly crawled inside the jefferies tube and pulled the panel shut behind him. 

"_Problems_... " Stephanie thought. Yes. They almost had a _problem_ a few moments ago. Stephanie still couldn't understand why she had wanted to-- "_Never mind,_" she told herself. 

Stephanie quickly went to the holodeck doors, and unlocked them. Shane walked in quickly, "What are you doing in here and who are you doing it WITH?" he demanded. 

"I'm practicing my dancing for Jeff and Lita's wedding... WITH a holo-partner!" Stephanie replied, annoyed at her big brother's accusatory tone. 

"Really...?" Shane replied, then frowned, "And I suppose you have NO idea where the Y2J Unit is," 

"How would _I_ know?" she asked quickly, "Why don't you just hail him on the comm?!" Stephanie snapped. 

"Because he SHOULD be in Engineering!" Shane snapped. 

"He's not on duty now!" Stephanie replied. 

"And how would YOU know the bot's duty schedule?" Shane asked. 

Stephanie put her hands on her hips, "Because I get a schedule for ALL the crew in Engineering! It's one of those 'Chief Engineer' things!" She shook he head, "Geez, Shane. What's your problem?!" 

"I don't HAVE a problem!" he snapped, then tapped his comm badge, "Commander McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho!" 

"What do you want, Commander Jerky?" the Y2J Unit replied. 

Shane fumed. He would have to talk to the Y2J Unit about his disrespectful behaviour later, "Where the hell are you?!" 

"Currently making my way towards Holodeck 1 at Morale Commissioner Foley's request. He booked a match between myself and Lt. Ben-oyt a few minutes ago," Jericho replied. Shane looked at Stephanie, who raised her eyebrows, as if to say _I told you so..._ "Is there something you wanted, Commander?" Jericho asked. 

"No, that's all. Shane out!" he said, and closed the communication. 

"What was the point of that?" Stephanie asked. 

"Nothing... I just... wanted to know where the Y2J Unit was!" 

"Why?" Stephanie asked, playing dumb. Shane didn't need to know that Stephanie could answer that question herself. He was such a typically over-protective older brother. 

"Never mind. We're having dinner with pops at 19:00 hours! Be in his quarters before then!" 

"Yeah yeah. I'll be there!" Stephanie replied, not liking to be ordered around, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to _my_ quarters!" She turned her attention back to the holodeck, "Computer, end program!" The ballroom was replaced with the yellow and black holo-grid. Stephanie offered her brother an angry look, then spun on her heel and left. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - Friday 

A nervous Jeff Hardy stood in front of Captain McMahon as the bride's music echoed throughout the room. Jeff turned to see Lita coming down the aisle, and almost forgot to breathe. She was so beautiful... 

Finally, Lita made her way to Jeff's side. 

Captain McMahon smiled, and began, "From the days when ships first sailed the seas, the Captain has presided over many a ceremony. Once we took to the stars, the tradition continued. And now today, witnessed by all aboard the WWF Titanprize, the Captain is once again honoured to preside over a ceremony. In this case, a wedding..." McMahon waited until the cheering died down, and continued, "We are gathered here today to bring this man and this woman together in matrimony. If there is anyone here who sees why these two should not be joined in marriage, please speak now or forever hold your peace!" 

McMahon looked over his crew, and waited. He then turned back to the couple... 

"I speak," a voice called out. All eyes turned to see a man clad in a black shirt and black jeans. The unknown crew member stood, "Oh... by the way, my name is Joe," he said. Shouts of '_Joe who_' arose from the crowd gathered in the Smackdown, "Just Joe," he replied, "And I speak now because of what I overhead on Monday..." Mumbles of interest echoed throughout the room from the crew and the Nytrons, "I was walking past Stephanie McMahon's quarters when I head Jeff Hardy tell the Commander he loved her..." 

"WHAT?!" Stephanie sputtered at Lita's side. 

Lita spun around and glared at Stephanie, eyes like fire. 

"That's not all," Joe continued. "I heard Jeff mention something about sleeping with the Commander..." 

Now Lita turned to Jeff, "Is that so?!" she asked, then clenched her jaw and backed away from him as if he had the plague, "I can't believe it! Our wedding day... and I find this out NOW!" 

"Find WHAT out? NOTHING is going on with me and Stephanie!" Jeff started, "I have NO idea what Joe's talking about!" 

Lita began taking deep angry breaths, "So you want to sleep with Stephanie, is that it?!" she shouted, ignoring him. She hiked up her bridal skirt and pulled the garter off her leg, "Maybe you should give THIS to her then!" She threw it at Jeff. He ducked, and the lacy material was caught by Lt. Commander Jericho instead, who was not quite sure what to make of it. 

"Lita... please..." Stephanie began, holding a hand out to her, "Joe is such a BS artist! You can't POSSIBLY believe that Jeff and I are---" 

"SHUT UP!" Lita screamed, and whipped her bouquet at the Chief Engineer. Stephanie quickly put her hands up and caught the bundle of flowers before it hit her in the face. Lita glared at her, "I thought you were my friend! I thought we had gotten over our previous misunderstandings! I thought... I thought..." Lita stopped, "Never mind what I thought. You obviously didn't care!" she snapped, then spun on her heel and headed towards the doors. Jeff began to follow, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Lita shouted, "Don't you EVER come near me again! JUST STAY THE HELL AWAY!" With that, Lita headed out of the bar. 

After the initial shock wore off, Jeff bolted through the doors to search for Lita. Stephanie began to follow, until a hand gripped her shoulder gently, "Stay here, Steph..." Ensign Angle spoke. "Leave him to find Lita on his own," 

Stephanie turned to Joe and scowled at him, "YOU!" she marched up to him, a small bundle of anger, "How DARE you! If you overheard everything in my quarters on Monday, you'd know Jeff is like a brother to me! Nothing more!" 

Joe put his hands up defensively, "Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I only heard him say he loved you and make a comment about sleeping with you. I ... I just thought Lita needed to be told. How was I supposed to know it was completely innocent...?" 

Stephanie slapped Joe across the face, "You're SUPPOSED to find out the whole story before you start telling it!" 

Angle pulled Stephanie against him, restraining her flailing arms, "It's ok, Steph... I'm sure Lita and Jeff will work it out. Why don't we take a seat and..." Angle began. 

"Why don't you shut up, Kurt?!" Stephanie snapped, then pulled out of his grip and sat herself down at a chair in the back. She slammed the bouquet on the table angrily. 

Angle quickly went to join her and enlighten her with some olympic stories, trying to calm her anger. 

"Well..." Captain McMahon spoke up, his voice loud enough to be heard over the laughter and comments, "It seems the wedding has been postponed until further notice. Everyone head back to work. Dismissed," with that, he headed out of the bar. 

The crew of the WWF Titanprize who were still on duty followed the Captain's lead. 

Jericho sighed and sat down beside Chyna at the bar, "Well... that was quite interesting," he said, then stared at the garter in his hands, "By the way... what, exactly, is this supposed to represent?" 

"It's an old tradition," Chyna replied, "The man who catches the garter will marry the woman who catches the bouquet---" Chyna paused, then looked at where Stephanie was sitting... with Lita's ruined bouquet, "Um, Chris," she started. 

"Think I could use this as a slingshot?" he asked, still studying the lacy fabric. 

Chyna was about to point out Stephanie and her bouquet again, but realized it would be a wasted effort. She would enlighten the Y2J Unit later. 

***

ENSIGN LITA'S QUARTERS 

Lita threw her bridal gown in the nearest disposal chute. Damn Jeff! How could he do this to her? Didn't he realize how much this day meant? Didn't he realize how much it hurt to hear about his liason with Stephanie? What was wrong with him! Why did he even ask for her hand if he was busy drooling over Commander Skankanie McTramp? 

Lita sat on her bed and stared at the wall. The chimes on her door rang, "Lita?" it was Jeff. Lita remained quiet. She didn't feel like talking to him. Not now. Maybe not ever again. "Lita? Please, if you're in there, open up!" 

Was he pleading? It wouldn't work! Let him think she wasn't around. "_Just go away, Jeff..."_ she thought, "_Just go away!"_

He banged on her door, begging her to let him in. She wouldn't relent. After ten minutes, Jeff left. 

Lita grabbed her pillow, and tossed it angrily at the door, allowing a few colourful phrases to escape her lips. 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - later 

The Titanprize bar was exceptionally quiet, though the fact that it was past 0300 hours could have had something to do with it. 

Lt. Bradshaw and Lt. Farooq had taken over Terri's bartending duties as she had turned in for the night. 

Of course, the two security officers were helping _themselves_ more then the patrons. 

"Why does my life suck?" Jeff asked Jericho as he sat at the bar, sipping a synthehol after his search for Lita had been unsuccessful. 

"Because, Jeff..." Jericho replied, "You're an idiot." 

"Thank you, Chris... thank you so much," he groaned, and took a gulp of his drink. 

Jericho looked at the garter still in his hands, and grabbed a peanut out of the dish on the bar. He studied Ensign Angle sitting a few feet away. The Ensign was busy trying to impress Stephanie with some mindless talk of his WrestleFleet accomplishments. 

Jericho pulled back the stretchy lace garter, and slingshot the peanut right at Kurt's bowling-ball head. 

Kurt quickly turned around, and Jericho looked away innocently. The Y2J Unit turned his auditory sensors up as he listened in on Angle's conversation with the Chief Engineer. 

"Kurt?" Stephanie asked. "What are you looking for?" 

Angle turned back to Stephanie, "Nothing. Nothing at all. I ... uh... just felt something weird hit the back of my head," 

"I'm sure it was just your imagination," Stephanie said, then studied Ensign Hardy at the bar, "Poor Jeff. He's really heartbroken. I don't think I've ever seen him drink like that. He's on his fouth synthehol!" 

Jericho turned back to Ensign Hardy, "You're girlfriend is worried about you..." he said. 

Jeff brightened, "Lita? Where is she?" 

"Not Lita. Stephanie..." 

Jeff frowned, "Not funny, Chris." 

Jericho shrugged, and grabbed another peanut. He aimed it at Angle once more, and let it fly. 

Angle spun around again, and again Jericho looked away. 

"Whatcha' doin'?" Jeff asked, words slightly slurred. 

"Tormenting Kirk," Jericho replied. 

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "Can I try?" 

"Sure!" Jericho handed the garter to Jeff. Jeff put a peanut in it, and let it rip. When Angle spun around, both Jericho and Jeff pretended to be engrossed in their own conversation. 

Jeff smiled, and did it again, "Thisssss' is kinda fun," he said. 

"And you're kinda drunk. Nice aim for a drunk guy, though..." Jericho replied, then grabbed the garter back. He reached into the bowl and took a handful of peanuts, slingshoting all of them AND the garter itself at Angle, his hands moving so incredibly fast that Jeff got dizzy just _watching_ the Y2J Unit. 

__

Jeff blinked quickly. _"Dizzy isn't good... why is the room spinning?"_

Angle jumped to his feet, "So YOU'RE the one doing it!" Kurt glared accusingly at Jericho. "Stop it!" 

"And what are you going to do if I don't, Kirk?" Jericho asked. 

Kurt stormed up to the Y2J Unit, "Maybe I'll teach you some manners! You have no respect nor any integrity, Mr. Jericho! You're engaging in a childish game and I don't think Miss Stephanie McMahon is impressed!" 

Jericho looked at Stephanie, who was busy covering her face. He could have sworn she was trying not to laugh, "Why don't you ask her, Kirk?" 

"Chris..." Jeff started as he stood up. Boy... he was REALLY dizzy now. 

"I don't NEED to ask her! I know she is a lady of class! She would not approve of your little game!" 

"Chris..." Jeff repeated, swaying on his feet. 

Jericho ignored him and smiled smugly at Angle, "Or maybe she DOES approve. I think Steph _likes_ a guy who isn't afraid to kick back and have fun once in a while... unlike an Olympic dork like yourself," 

"Chris..." Jeff said for the third time. 

Jericho looked at him, "What is it already?" he asked. 

"I think I'm going to be---" Jeff suddenly pitched forward, and decorated Angle's gold medals with his supper. 

Jericho made a face, "Umm... well... that was mighty disgusting, Jeff," he said, then looked at Angle -- who had suddenly turned an interesting shade of green. 

Angle studied his soiled gold medals, then covered his mouth and ran out of the Smackdown. 

"Man, Jeff... that is SO nasty!" Edge spoke up from a nearby table in the otherwise quiet bar. 

"Like, totally reeking of grossitude," Christian added. 

Jericho rolled his eyes, and turned to Jeff, "Come on... let's clean you up and get you back to your quarters..." 

"I feel a whole lot better now...." Jeff said with a drunk smile, then promptly passed out at Jericho's feet. 

Jericho stared down at Jeff, shaking his head in pity, "Must suck to have emotions, huh Jeff?" 

Bradshaw leaned over the bar, "Poor bastard can't hold his beer!" Then he frowned, "Is the kid gonna be ok?" 

"He will... if his true love ever speaks to him again..." Jericho replied, and bent down to lift Jeff into his arms. He then carried the passed-out Ensign out of the Smackdown with inhuman ease. 

***

LITA'S QUARTERS 

"What?!" Lita's voice was hoarse from crying as she replied to the annoying chimes at her door. She sat on her bed and hugged her pillow close. 

"Lita? It's Chris. Can I come in?" Lt. Commander Jericho asked through the door. 

Lita paused, then replied, "Yeah, come in," Jericho did so. "If you're here to talk about Jeff, don't waste your breath!" 

"I'm actually here to talk about YOU and Jeff," he started as he sat on the bed beside her. 

"I don't want to hear it!" 

"You don't want to hear what a mess he was after you dumped him at the alter?" Jericho asked. 

"Let his love, Stephanie, tend to him!" 

"There's nothing going on between Steph and Jeff...." Jericho replied. 

"Steph and Jeff. How cute. Their names even rhyme!" Lita replied, disgusted. 

Jericho sighed. What was he doing trying to patch things up between Lita and Jeff? He knew nothing about human relationships! 

He did, however, know about the truth, "Jeff is NOT in love with Stephanie. And I know for a fact that Stephanie is NOT in love with Jeff!" 

"And how do you know that '_for a fact',_ Chris?" Lita asked. 

Because..." Jericho paused, and thought back to his dance lesson on the holodeck, and the way Stephanie had looked at him as the song ended. 

"Well?" Lita asked, waiting for an answer. 

"Just trust me, " he replied quickly, "Steph has no romantic feelings for Jeff, ok?" The Y2J Unit was slowly beginning to understand the reason behind Commander Shane McMahon's order... 

"And what about Jeff, huh Chris? Can you assure me that he has no feelings for Stephanie?" Lita replied, then lowered her head, trying to hide her tears. 

Jericho was at a loss. How does one deal with a weepy woman? Perhaps if his emotion chip was functional, he would know. 

He took a deep breath, and grabbed a tissue from her night table, "Here," he said. Lita wiped her face, "I know very little about human relationships," Jericho started, "But I've seen Jeff and Stephanie interact with each other on a daily basis. Jeff treats her like a big sister. Nothing more." 

"But..." 

"But WHAT, Lita?" Jericho asked, "Tell me... despite what Joe said, can you honestly claim that Jeff and Stephanie act like they have romantic feelings for one another?" 

"Well..." Lita was hesitant, "I guess not..." 

"What's going on?" a voice asked from the door. 

Lita and Jericho turned to see Jeff looking extremely confused, "Good! You're here. Listen, I think you and Lita need to talk and---" 

"What are you doing in Lita's quarters?" Jeff interrupted, "I thought you were my friend!" Jeff's voice was quiet, and he looked downright heartbroken. 

The Y2J Unit frowned, "Give me a break, Jeff!" 

Jeff looked a bit angry... and still slightly plastered, "I'll give you a break all right!" he replied, making a fist. 

Jericho got to his feet and threw his hands in the air, "OK.... that's it! I give up! You're jealous over _her_, she's jealous over _you_," he shook his head, "I'm glad I'm an android. I don't have to worry about stupid things like love and relationships. I'm out of here!" With that, Jericho quickly walked out the door. 

"Jeff?" Lita started, smiling slightly, "I didn't know you got jealous over me!" 

Jeff looked at her, "Well... I guess there's a lot you don't know about me yet..." 

Lita walked up to Jeff, "How about we hold off on the wedding for a bit?" she asked. "We still have a lot to learn about each other..." 

Jeff nodded, "You're right..." he said, then smiled, "But can we pretend like it's our wedding night still?" 

"Jeff?" Lita began, voice a sexy whisper. 

"Yes, Lita?" he replied quietly. 

Lita brought her face close to his. He could feel her warm breath on his cheek, and she spoke the next three words so sweetly, "You're an idiot..." 

   [1]: mailto:elektrawwf@yahoo.com



	80. Season 9 Episode 6 Personal Log

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 6

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 6: PERSONAL LOG**

By: [Elektra][1]

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

Welcome to Titanprize IS Jericho! This is the ayatollah of rock 'n' rolla's personal log! Your party host, and WrestleFleet's very own paragon of virtue -- Just coming up with some new catchphrases. 

Lt. Commander Rock and I had a little contest going. Crocky won. He had more catchphrases then I could dream of! Oh, before I forget: Now playing --- the BEST 20th century metal band eeeeeeeeeever! Fozzy! 

I was stuck on double duty shift in Engineering today. Lucky me. Apparently Chief Engineer Stephanie McMahon failed to appear. Maybe she had a young Ensign to cheer up. 

Hopefully it wasn't Ensign Angle. I mean, not that I care... it's just that---- 

"Captain McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho. Report to my ready room..." 

Interruptions, interruptions. I'll write up my meeting with the Cap. as soon as I find out what the hell he wants. 

*** 

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Lt. Commander Jericho, we are currently orbiting a planet made up mostly of caves. I imagine there will be some good resources in those caves!" 

An away mission! Things were looking up. I would finally get a break from Engineering. 

Where the hell was Stephanie anyway? 

As if he could read my gorgeous positronic mind, the Captain answered my question, "Commander Shane McMahon and Commander Stephanie McMahon are on the planet already. They are studying the caves and have informed me they need more equipment. Rope, flashlights, and so on. Here's the list..." Captain McMahon handed me a padd. 

I read it. Why was I suddenly equipment boy? Well, might as well ask, "Doesn't Ensign Angle usually look after away team equipment?" 

"Well, yes he does... but I would need two officers to carry everything. Whereas if I send you, I only need ONE officer thanks to your strength. Now go, Lt. Commander. Help them down there and remind them to report back to the ship as soon as they can!" 

I stood up, "You got it, Junior!" I replied, then headed out. 

Apparently, Vince didn't know about Shane's order for me to stay away from Stephanie. 

Oh well... McMahon wanted me down on the planet... within speaking distance of his little girl. I couldn't defy an order from my Captain now, could I? 

*** 

PLANET SURFACE 

"What are you doing here, Lt. Commander?!" Commander Shane McMahon asked as he came into view through the transporter beam. 

"Your father sent me down here with your equipment!" I replied, and dropped the bags and tool belts on the cave floor. 

"Why did my father send YOU! _Angle_ is the bag boy!" 

"Apparently, Captain McMahon didn't seem to think Angle could handle it!" Shane really grated on my nerves sometimes. Hell... ALL the time! 

"I don't want you anywhere near my sister! I thought I made that perfectly clear?" Shane demanded. 

"Apparently you didn't inform your father of your order to me, Commander Jerky, did you?" I asked. 

"How DARE you speak to me that way?! I am First Officer aboard the WWF Titanprize, I don't need attitude from arrogant androids!" Shane replied, "Now LEAVE!" 

"I can't do that. I'm here on Vinnie-mac's orders. Until _he_ tells me otherwise, you're stuck with me," I smiled. See, I could be annoying too! 

"I may have to take drastic action if you don't leave, Lt. Commander," Commander McMahon threatened. 

"And what would that be? Talk me to death?" 

"Perhaps you need to be reprogrammed?" Say WHAT? Would Shane really do that to ME? "I SAID leave... unless you want to face off against WrestleFleet's very own Giant Killer!" 

I had to laugh. "Giant killer?" 

Shane didn't take too kindly to my laughter, and decided he would tell me so by shoving me, "You want to start up with me, 'bot? " 

Not very mature for a Commander... but unfortunately, my reaction was just as immature. 

"I'll start up with you ANY day, Commander Jerky!" I snapped, then shoved Commander McMahon right back. 

Stephanie came around a cave corner and saw our shoving match. She came up to both of us, finger wagging angrily, "Will you two behave yourselves?" She asked. "This is TOTALLY unprofessional!" 

Shane glared at me with a vengeance, then quickly speared my beautiful no-selling titanium body. 

Unable to control my fall, I felt my body hit something soft. I reached behind me, but for the first time in my android life, I just wasn't fast enough! All my programming, all my speed.... for nothing! 

Commander Stephanie's screams echoed throughout the cavern as she fell into the large black chasm behind us. 

Time seemed to stop... and if I had a heart, I'm sure _it_ would have stopped as well. 

"STEPH!" I threw weasel boy off me and went to the edge of the chasm, "Stephanie?" I called down, but only heard my own voice echo back at me. 

"STEPHANIE!" Shane cried out, and pushed me out of the way as he stepped dangerously close to the precipice. 

I grabbed Shane and threw him to the ground. He may have considered that insubordination. I considered it the only way to prevent HIM from joining his sister. 

"I'm going down there!" I informed him, "There's rope in the backpacks. Get it out, tie it around a stalagmite, and lower it to me. I'll be too far down to hail the Titanprize for a beam out!" 

Commanders don't like being told what to do by inferior officers... especially androids. Shane made his displeasure known, "How DARE you order me around. I'M the superior officer!" 

"I don't give a DAMN what you are!" I told him. And, to borrow a phrase from Ensign Angle, it was true. I didn't. He could write me up for all I cared. "Just DO IT... or your sister is as good as dead!" With that, I jumped over the edge... and hoped my landing would be as exact as I had calculated. 

I landed on the lower ledge of the chasm and quietly thanked Irvine Inc for my acrobatic skills. 

"Steph?" I whispered. In the darkness, I could make out the slightest outline of Stephanie's body. She was lying precariously close to the edge, unmoving. I knelt beside her, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my empty chest. I found myself pleading to whatever would listen to let her be all right. 

She HAD to be all right. If not... 

I felt warm liquid seeping through the knees of my uniform. There was no mistaking what it was... but I had to see. I had to make sure. 

I pulled a flashlight out of my WrestleFleet tool belt, and flicked it on. The ledge was soaked with Stephanie's blood. A large deep gash zig-zagged violently across her forehead -- the ugly proof she had hit the jagged rocks on her way down. 

My survival programming kicked in. I quickly took off my uniform top and tied it around Stephanie's head tightly, hoping it would at least slow the bleeding. She was breathing... but barely. 

I ripped the comm badge off the now bloody top and tapped it. I received only static. 

Finally, weasel boy flung the rope down to me. I tugged on it to make sure it was secure. Despite the situation, I still wouldn't trust Shane. What does that say about Shane that I would think he'd let his own sister fall to her death? 

I carefully threw Stephanie over one shoulder, and climbed the rope back to the top. 

"How is she?" Shane asked desperately as I lifted Stephanie over the ledge. 

"Out of my way!" I hissed. The negative energy surges were pulsing through my systems like wildfire. 

I never thought I could fall victim to pretend emotions... but then again... perhaps I wasn't pretending anymore... 

I gently put Stephanie down on the floor of the cave, but not before Shane took one more verbal shot at me, "I will fry your circuits if she's dead, Lt. Commander! I swear I will! I have never despised anyone as much as I despise YOU!" 

"If you have a problem with me, then go whine to your daddy! While you're at it, you can explain how Stephanie ended up falling over the edge of that chasm in the first place!" I snapped, then pulled back and punched Commander McMahon. HARD. 

My patience had run out with wonderboy. 

"I'll have your rank!" Shane hissed as he put a hand to his aching jaw. 

I ignored him and tapped my comm badge, "Lt. Commander Jericho to the WWF Titanprize. We have a medical emergency! Beam two to sickbay immediately!" 

Stephanie and I disappeared in a glitter of light. I could only imagine how Shane fumed as he tapped his own comm badge, and returned to the ship. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN McMAHON'S READY ROOM - later 

"How did it happen?" McMahon demanded as he glared at his son and myself. "Tell me how the hell my daughter ended up in a coma in Sickbay?!" 

Shane spoke first, "It was the Y2J Unit's fault, pops! He misjudged the stability of the cave. The rocks gave way as Steph neared the ledge, and she fell! He was sloppy with his scans! He should be demoted!" 

Captain McMahon looked towards me, "Is this true?" he asked. 

Shane offered me a sidelong glare. What was I supposed to do? Let Captain McMahon think Stephanie was hurt because Shane and I started a fight? Or agree to Shane's lie, and tell the Captain that it was a fault in my programming? 

"Of course it's true!" Shane answered for me, "Slopiness costing a fellow crewmember harm is worthy of a demotion, pops!" 

He was really pushing for that demotion, wasn't he? 

"Damnit!" McMahon shouted, then hit his desk with a fist, "Damnit damnit!" McMahon paused, then looked at me, eyes narrowed. "You are supposed to be a flawless machine, yet you go and make a mistake like this? How could you misjudge the stability of a cave floor?" he asked. 

"Forgive me, sir," I replied. "Being so far underground affected my sensors. I will have Ensign Matt check my programming immediately," Wow... I was a good liar. 

McMahon glared at me. I knew what he would say next wouldn't be good, "If my daughter doesn't come out of her coma, you will have no need to check ANYTHING! You, Lt. Commander Jericho, will be taken offline until further notice!" 

I nodded humbly, "Understood, sir..." 

"DISMISSED!" McMahon snapped. I walked out, but stood in the hallway as the doors slid shut. I heard Captain McMahon sigh, "Let's pray your sister comes out of this ok... and keep that damn Y2J Unit away from her! He's caused her enough problems already..." 

I could hear the coldness in Shane's voice as he replied, "Already taken care of, Pops..." 

Yes. He HAD taken care of it, hadn't he? He had even gone to so far as to threaten to reprogram me if I refused to stay away from Stephanie. 

So why didn't I just stay away? 

Strike one for Lt. Commander Jericho. 

*** 

SICKBAY - three days later 

I stood beside the diagnostics table staring at Stephanie. She lay there pale, and unmoving. I was determined to stand there until she woke up, Shane's orders be damned. "Commander?" I started. Would she hear me? "Skankanie?" I waited. Nothing. I ran a hand through my hair, exasperated, "Please wake up, Steph," I whispered, though if I were to analyze my voice patterns, there were probably hints of desperation. 

I wanted Stephanie to be all right. The fact that I could be taken offline if she wasn't was only a secondary concern. Ironic. Here I was facing what humans would consider _death_, and yet that wasn't my main reason for wanting Stephanie to awaken. 

I studied Stephanie's face, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Bruises blossomed over the Commander's eyes, and the white gauze wrapped around her head was already stained through with blood. 

"Staring at her isn't going to wake her up any faster, Lt. Commander," Nurse Saturn said as he came up to me. 

I shook my head. I should have been able to catch Stephanie before she went over that cliff! In fact, I shouldn't have even started up with Shane! It was MY fault. 

"I heard you climbed down and pulled her up before she went over the lower ledge. You saved her, Lt. Commander," Saturn said. 

I looked at Saturn. His consoling wasn't working. "Did I really save her?" I asked bitterly. This bitterness wasn't pretend. Something had to be wrong with my systems... "Look at her! Did I just delay the inevitable?" 

Saturn looked over the readouts on the diagnostic table, "Well, if it helps any," he said, "Her life signs are pretty stable…" 

"Her body may be fine," I replied, "But what about her head? How long until she wakes up?" 

Nurse Saturn sighed, "That's something I can't answer," he was regretful, "All anyone can do is wait and see," Saturn replied, "I have to dress her wound. Excuse me a moment," Saturn said, and proceeded to dispose of the dirty gauze on Stephanie's head and replace it with a clean one. He then excused himself and headed off to his other Sickbay duties. 

I turned back to Stephanie. "I'm sorry, Steph," I knew she couldn't hear me. Besides, it didn't matter how many times I apologized. It wouldn't do any good if she never woke up. 

_Guilt?_ This was a new one for me. 

Saturn had told me earlier that neither Commander McMahon, nor Captain McMahon had bothered to visit the Chief Engineer yet. Shane and Vince had, however, paged Dr. Taker constantly to ask about Stephanie's progress, but saw no point in visiting unless there was a change in her condition. They had ship's duties to tend to. 

Logically, I couldn't disagree with that… but even though Stephanie was in a coma, I knew she could at least TELL whether someone was with her or not. I had my OWN duties to tend to, but I always seemed to find time. 

Ensign Jeff Hardy and myself had previously been informed by Nurse Bearer that we were Stephanie's only consistent visitors, although Angle would show up occasionally and then bolt the moment Dr. Taker looked at him... that olympic wimp. 

Angle was another matter all together. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I didn't want him near Stephanie. Ever! 

Of course, MY only reason for visiting Stephanie so much was merely because it was MY fault she was there in the first place. 

To borrow from Ensigns Edge and Christian - this whole guilt thing totally reeked of suckitude. 

Ok... so the guilt thing wasn't my _only_ reason for visiting her... 

"Hey, Skankanie," I started, "Jeff is going to come by as soon as he's off duty, but I thought I should tell you the latest gossip before he makes up his own stories. Seems Lita is mad at him for dancing in the Smackdown again. She compared him to some 20th Century 'King of Pop', Michael…. something…" I shook my head, "Jeff really IS an idiot. You'd think he'd learn from the LAST time he tried to bust a move!" I tried to smile, but I knew she wouldn't see, "Speaking of the Smackdown and dancing … I think Bradshaw had too many drinks the other night. He decided to dance on the Smackdown bar with Ensign Scotty. It was rather disturbing, let me tell you. He tried to do some old form of dance called Breakdancing. Let's just say Bradshaw can't dance worth shi—" 

"LT. COMMANDER JERICHO!" I heard an angry Shane McMahon burst through the Sickbay doors. 

I turned to him. The Olympic jackass stood beside the Commander. Oh joy... both in the same place at the same time. What a lucky guy I was today! 

"How DARE you defy my orders!" Shane ranted, "I told you to STAY AWAY from my sister!" 

It's kind of funny to see Shane rant... seeing that little vein in his temple pulse like mad. Just like dear old dad! 

Of course, I really wasn't in the mood to be yelled at, "Commander Jerky, why don't you just shut the hell up?" 

"You are THIS close to cleaning the toilets in the Smackdown, Lt. Commander!" Commander McMahon seethed, "You are an insubordinate, arrogant officer and I have had it up to here with you!" 

I smirked. Couldn't help it, really, "So… what's your point?" 

"My point is … that I am writing up your insubordination and reporting it to my father!" Shane replied. 

"How can you write up my insubordination on an order your father knows nothing about?" I asked, then raised an eyebrow at Shane's suddenly pale complexion. I was willing to bet there were a LOT of things going on aboard the Titanprize that Vinnie-mac knew nothing about. 

"Get out of here, Lt. Commander!" Angle finally spoke up. "Or I'll drag you out myself!" 

"Oh… am I being threatened by the Olympic wimp?" I asked. It was sort of sad, really, to see Ensign Angle trying to act like a bad boy. 

"What the hell is going on in my Sickbay!" Dr. Taker's voice boomed angrily as he came up to us. He glared at each of us in turn, "All three of you, get your stank asses OUT of here!" 

"Dr. Taker… as a man of integrity, surely you should realize that it's this Y2J Unit causing all the ruckus, not your Wrestlefleet Olympic hero!" Angle spoke. 

"Do you want me to TOSS your stank ass out?!" Taker asked as he glared at Angle, "LEAVE!" he snapped, "Now!" 

Dr. Taker literally shoved all three of us out of Sickbay. 

I took a moment to look back at Stephanie. Was that a tear sliding down her cheek? I couldn't tell, as Taker slid closed the doors so quickly I had to jump not get my perfect nose caught. 

I turned to Angle and Shane, made a fist, and punched the Olympic Ensign hard, knocking him to the floor. 

Angle held his jaw, "What was THAT for?" he asked. 

"I had to hit SOMEONE," I replied, then smirked and turned to Shane, "And far be it from _me_ to hit a superior officer!" With that, I pushed past the two buddies and headed to Engineering. 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN - four days later - 0300h 

I sipped my synthehol slowly. I really didn't feel like being here, but I didn't want to sit in my quarters all night either. 

"How's Stephanie?" Terri asked as she leaned on the bar across from me. 

"I don't know. I'm prohibited from visiting Sickbay. I haven't seen her for a few days now. From what Jeff tells me, there's been no change." 

"You're really worried about her, aren't you?" 

I shrugged, but before I could respond, the horrible sound of Commander Pat Patterson singing at the Karaoke machine sliced through the bar like a knife. 

Patterson's voice was like nails on a chalkboard. No. That's not entirely fair. Nails on a chalkboard sounded BETTER, "_I see trees of green........ red roses too. I watch 'em bloom..... for me and for you. And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world..._" 

"Oh man..." I groaned. This was the worst rendition I had ever heard! 

Terri rolled her eyes, "He sings that EVERY karaoke night! He doesn't get any better either..." she looked at me, and smiled, "Why don't YOU go up there and sing?" 

"ME?" I asked. I WAS tempted to jumped on stage and sing one of MY favourite songs, but, "I'm not in the mood," I told her, then put my drink down, "However, I _will_ do THIS..." I climbed up to the stage and yanked the mic out of Patterson's hands mid-song, "Will you please SHUT the HELL UP?" 

Patterson looked at me as if I had just taken away his favourite toy. And maybe I had. 

I could have sworn the crowd in The Smackdown were chanting for me, though that could have just been wishful thinking. 

Either way, I needed something to cheer me up. Grabbing Patterson's legs out from under him and wrenching his back seemed to do the trick. 

The Smackdown crowd seemed rather appreciative of my actions... until Bradshaw came up and took the mic from my hands, "Move, boy, it's MY turn to sing!" 

Great. Just what I needed. I decided that NOW would be a good time to leave the Smackdown... and maybe sneak into Sickbay for a few minutes. 

*** 

SICKBAY 

I looked down both sides of the hall carefully, then quickly snuck through the Sickbay doors. I went up to Stephanie's diagnostics bed and saw the wound on her head had begun to heal. She now only required a large bandage pad. At least it looked better then the gauze. 

Regardless of how nicely her head was healing, Stephanie had yet to show any signs of waking. 

I gently ran my fingers over the ugly bruises on her face, as if I could make them go away. 

"Weasel boy hasn't come to visit since that day Taker kicked you, him, and Angle out of here," a voice spoke up. I turned to see Ensign Jeff Hardy leaning against a wall, his hair the only burst of colour in the otherwise drab sickbay. 

"You heard about that?" I asked. 

Jeff nodded, "Who hasn't? Everyone knows Shane's a dumbass anyway," he said, then nodded to my hand, which I had yet to remove from Stephanie's face, "She needs that, you know. She needs the feel of a human touch..." 

"I hardly have a _human_ touch..." I replied. In fact, some would say my touch was downright robotic. I can't imagine why.. 

I took Stephanie's hand instead. 

"I've been talking to her while you've been banned from Sickbay. Holding her hand and stuff too. For once, Lita isn't mad at me for touching Steph," Jeff smiled, then grew serious, "But I think Steph would rather have YOU here..." 

"Why? I'M the one who let her fall!" 

Jeff sighed, "And they say I'M the idiot!" 

"But you ARE an idiot, Jeff..." I replied, then raised an eyebrow, "Why are you here so late anyway? Isn't it past your bedtime?" 

"Oh ha ha... funny, Chris!" 

"Well Lita oughta pull that leash in a bit more. She's actually allowing her sugar muffin to visit another woman in the middle of the night," I shook my head in mock disappointment, "Shame on you..." 

Jeff smirked, "Lita and I use chains, not leashes," 

"Yeah... sure you do... and Commander Kane is really my dentist!" 

"He could be! I don't know what dental plan androids use!" Jeff answered. Jeff had a funny way of trying to lift people's spirits. 

I looked down at Stephanie. What was that? "Jeff? Look..." 

Jeff quickly came over to me and studied Stephanie's face. "Is that a smile?" he whispered back. 

"I think so!" 

"Maybe if we keep talking---" Jeff started. 

"We... as in... you too? We want to wake her UP, not put her back to sleep," 

Jeff furrowed his brow, "Hey!" 

"Take her other hand, Jeff. Maybe if she knows that there are TWO people here... even if she can't hear us..." 

"How could anyone NOT hear you, Chris?" Jeff replied, "You're so damn loud!" 

"You're mighty snotty tonight, little Jeffery. I'm proud of you!" And I was. I almost felt as if Jeff was a chip off the old block. He had picked up my attitude so well... though he would never eeeeeeeeeeeeever be as good as the original! 

"I had a great teacher," Jeff answered. 

Stephanie moaned slightly. The rainbow-haired one and myself grew quiet. Unfortunately, Stephanie made no other sound. 

"Do you think she's coming to?" Jeff asked hopefully. 

"I don't know," I replied, then shook my head. "I should leave... just in case Commander McJerky decides to visit," I began to pull my hand away, but felt a tug. I looked down and saw that Stephanie's hand had closed around my own. 

"Don't go..." the voice was so quiet. Barely even a whisper. 

I stood still, "What?!" 

Stephanie's dim eyes fluttered open, and she looked directly at me, "Don't go..." she repeated. 

"Skankanie!" I replied, relief flooding through every wire in my body, "You're finally awake!" 

Jeff quickly waved to Nurse Bearer, who was busy on the other side of the room, "She's awake!" he shouted happily, "Quick! Get Dr. Taker!" 

"Ooooh yes..." Nurse Bearer replied, then tapped his comm badge, "Bearer to Taker. Our patient has awaken!" 

*** 

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS – three days later 

I wondered how Stephanie was doing. I hadn't seen her since she had woken up. I had heard that Shane and Vince had graciously found time to visit her. How nice of them. 

Dr. Taker demanded Stephanie stay in Sickbay for a few days to be sure she didn't relapse. 

I was startled by the chimes on my door. Now who would be visiting me this late? Only one way to find out. I opened the door to see Stephanie standing there, looking pale and bruised, but alive. 

"Steph!" I started, then quickly pulled her in and hugged her. Why? Damned if I knew! "Listen, I'm sorry about that whole 'almost falling to your death' thing," 

Stephanie seemed rather surprised at my strange display of affection. Heck, _I_ was surprised myself! Stephanie closed her eyes. I don't know why. She seemed to be enjoying the hug... maybe a little too much. I quickly let go of her. Wouldn't want her thinking that I--well, it didn't matter what she thought. I wasn't looking forward to being reprogrammed by Commander Jerky. 

She looked up at me, "Why did you cover for Shane?" she demanded. 

"Would your dad really believe it was SHANE who started the fight?" I asked. "I'd rather him think I made a mistake in my scans then think I became victim to some strange anger-induced malfunction... even though I DID, I suppose..." 

"But you're incapable of getting angry... aren't you?" she asked, "I mean, you usually turn your emotion chip _off _when--" she paused, then grew concerned, "Wait a minute... is your emotion chip malfunctioning?" 

I studied her for a moment. Should I come clean? I may never have another chance, but how to go about telling Stephanie that her little chip was a failure? I guess bluntness was as good a way as any, "Speaking of my emotion chip... funny thing about that. It never worked in the first place,." 

"WHAT?!" she gasped. 

I flicked back my fingernail and popped the chip out. I held it out to her, "It was sabotaged," 

Stephanie studied the sliver of silicon in my hand, "But... your personality... the snide comments... the jokes...! How---" 

"I pretended," 

Stephanie took the chip and looked at it, "No..." she whispered, "All my hard work!" she stared up at me, looking rather sad and pathetic, "It was all for nothing! You'll never feel anything again!" 

"Well... I pretended AT FIRST..." 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "At first? What do you mean?" 

Hell, if _I_ couldn't understand it, how should I expect HER to? "Somehow that whole personality thing became ingrained into my programming. I didn't need to PRETEND any more. It was just… THERE… " I tried to explain, "But I still can't feel what humans feel. My programming will never evolve THAT much! Good thing too. I really don't want to become all weepy and emotional like YOU do all the time..." 

Stephanie did not look amused, "Why didn't you TELL me?" she asked angrily. 

A pissed off Stephanie was never a good thing, "And what would that have accomplished? I wouldn't have had reason to _pretend_. It was the _pretending _that caused my programming to change and adapt!" I replied. And I had no doubt it was true. 

Stephanie raised an eyebrow, "And why, may I ask, did you feel the need to _pretend_ it worked?" 

"Because if I didn't, you'd be crying a river, whining about how hard you worked... like now!" And why did I care about that? Good question. Wish I had an answer. 

Stephanie frowned, "Well excuuuuuuuuuuse me for being HUMAN! Yes, I worked hard on that thing! If it didn't work, I would have liked to know! I could have FIXED it!" 

"But I don't NEED it now!" I tried to explain. Steph could be slow on the uptake sometimes. "So in a way, it DID work!" 

Stephanie opened her mouth to protest, then realized I was right. Well of COURSE I was right! I was very rarely wrong! "Fine. Fine..." she muttered. 

Well I was glad we were in agreement. But now, one more thing had to be settled, "This stays between you and me. If Captain McMahon found out, or Shane even----" 

"TRUST me," Stephanie started, "The LAST person I would tell would be Shane!" 

"Good. Now that we have THAT settled... you'd better leave before the hallways get busy and people notice who's quarters you're coming out of," Stephanie seemed hesistant... but she headed to the door. "One more thing," Stephanie turned back to me. I allowed her a slight smile, "Glad to see you awake, Commander Skankanie..." 

Stephanie nodded, "Glad to see you NOT taken offline, Lt. Commander Jerkicho," she replied, then headed out. 

Well... I guess that was nice of her to say... 

Now if only I could figure out how my programming had developed this far... 

_"Your heart's desire is to HAVE a heart! You're like the tin man…"_

Chyna's words came back to haunt me. I remembered the trip to the Kanatian mountains. I remembered the wish Crash had made as the Houdinian held a dusty old book in his hands -- a wish for everyone deserving to get their heart's desire. It had come true for Crash, Chyna, and even those Cocky Kanatians Edge and Christian… 

So why did I find it so difficult to accept? 

End log. 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

Chief Engineer's personal log, stardate 100820.00. 

It seems the Y2J Unit has developed a personality without his emotion chip. How is that possible? It's a wonder of Engineering! Irvine Inc. would never have expected one of their AI Units to surpass its programming. Of course, Irvine Inc. would never have expected one of their units would be on a ship overrun by rebellious Nytrons – including one that would try to reprogram the Y2J Unit to be her own personal plaything – and then have that ship later lost in an uncharted region of space. 

I will have to study Lt. Commander Jericho a bit closer. Perhaps I'll find some OTHER emotions to bring to the surface... 

End log 

   [1]: mailto:elektrawwf@yahoo.com



	81. Season 9 Episode 7 Message in a Holly

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 9 ****

TITANPRIZE: 

Voyagers

SEASON NINE

EPISODE 7: MESSAGE IN A HOLLY

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - CHIEF OF CHIEF'S OFFICE 

"Commander Linda McMahon's log, stardate 111020.00. After many months, WrestleFleet may have finally found a way to contact Captain McMahon's ship, which is currently lost in space. We have found a young WrestleFleet officer with a connection to two of the officers aboard the Titanprize, and a talent that may just allow us to keep in touch with the ship intermittently. Our last attempts have failed, but that has only made the young officer more determined then ever. It is refreshing to see that even after all the failures, she still keeps a positive attitude. End log…" 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 111020.00. We are currently in orbit around a planet called Bookerman. The Bookermans have contacted us to offer a sharing of information. I have agreed to it. The more allies we make in this quadrant, the better. We have scanned the planet and have come to the conclusion that the Bookermans are quite an advanced race, though not nearly as advanced as us. However, we believe we will be able to share some of our minor technology with them as they will share starmaps and information about this quadrant. Our meeting is to take place in two days. End log." 

Captain McMahon closed his log book, and headed out onto his bridge. 

***

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - LABORATORY - the next day 

"Are you ready, Cadet?" Linda asked as she stood beside a small, blonde pig-tailed girl. 

"You bet!" the cadet replied happily, then quickly saluted, "I mean... uh... yes ma'am!" 

Linda smiled, "Alright then. Have a seat..." Linda nodded to the Wrestlefleet scientist behind her. He quickly set about hooking the young girl up to the computer. It would monitor her brain waves and inform them if she over exerted herself in any way. 

"Any time you're ready," the scientist said. 

The girl nodded and closed her eyes. Her hand tightened around the data chips she held, "I know you're out there," she whispered, "Let me find you, cousins... please let me find you!" 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - JEFFERIES TUBES 

Crash sealed the leak in the gel-pack, and froze in his tracks. He quickly looked behind him. No one was there. Crash frowned. Why did he sense someone nearby? 

There was a startled scream ahead of him. Crash crawled as fast as his hands and knees could carry him, "Who's there?" he asked. 

"Crash?!" a voice called out. 

Crash's eyes went wide, "No way!" he gasped, then turned a corner, and almost smashed into the young WrestleFleet cadet calling him, "MOLLY?!" 

"COUSIN CRASH!" the girl cried, and hugged him tightly, "I found you! Finally!" She looked around the jefferies tube, "Uh... this is your ship?!" 

"OH! NO! I mean... YES... but this is the jefferies tubes..." he smiled, "Gosh Molly! How'd ya get here?!" he asked, "Cousin Hardcore will be so happy!" 

"I can't wait to see him!! WrestleFleet's been trying to contact the ship since _forever_! I figured if I could find a way to teleport myself to you, then maybe they COULD!" She smiled brightly, "I did it! I actually found the Titanprize!!" She paused, "Oh gosh! I gotta find your Captain! I got some stuff to give him!" she held a handful of data chips out to Crash. 

"OH! Of course! Come on... this way..." Crash said, and quickly led her out of the jefferies tubes. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

"So, Steph... what's going on with you and Ensign Angle?" Jericho asked as they worked at their stations waiting for Crash to emerge from the jefferies tube. 

"None of your business! But if you must know, he's asked me for some professional advice!" 

"Professional advice, huh? " Jericho bit his tongue, resisting the urge to say any more. 

"Yes! Why... are you jealous of all the time I'm spending with him or something?" 

He looked at her, then turned back to his monitor, voice quiet, "I can't be jealous. I don't have an emotion chip, remember?" 

Stephanie lowered her voice as well, "Emotion chip or not... you said yourself it's now ingrained in your programming to be a big, stupid---" 

"So what's taking Elroy so long?" Jericho interrupted before Stephanie could finish her rant. 

As if on cue, Crash popped his head out of the jefferies tube, "Hey guys! I'm done!" 

"About time!" Stephanie started, and stepped away from her station, "Report..." 

"The leak wasn't a big one. I fixed it easily..." Crash replied as he stood up, "but... um... I found something in there..." he turned back to the jefferies tube. Molly slowly crawled out. 

Jericho blinked and took a step back, "What the...? Where'd the Powder Puff girl come from?!" 

"This is my cousin, Molly. She's a Houdinian like me!" Crash said with a smile. 

"Your cousin?" Jericho asked, "So that would make her MOLLY Holly?" Crash nodded. Jericho chose not to comment. 

Stephanie studied the girl's uniform. She looked fresh out of WrestleFleet academy. A cadet. "And where did you come from, Cadet Molly?" 

"She teleported herself all the way from WrestleFleet Headquarters!" Crash answered. 

"Teleported herself?" Jericho asked, "_This_ far?!" 

"Female Houdinians are pretty powerful, sir. More powerful then the males," 

Stephanie beamed with female pride, "As it should be..." 

"I've been trying to teleport here for such a long time!" Molly interjected cheerily, "I finally did it after months and months! I'm so happy!" 

Stephanie raised her eyebrows, "_Bubbly little thing..._" she thought. 

"We gotta take her to Captain McMahon, ma'am!" Crash said, "She's got some important stuff to give him!" he looked at his cousin, "OH! I forgot to introduce you! This is Commander Stephanie McMahon, Chief Engineer aboard the Titanprize!" 

Molly's jaw dropped, and she grabbed Stephanie's hand, shaking it excitedly, "I look forward to working with you, ma'am! Your mom always tells me stories about you!" 

Stephanie looked at Molly. Was the young cadet staring up at the Chief Engineer with admiration? "So... my mom talks about me?" Stephanie asked. 

"Yes ma'am!" Molly saluted politely, "She's real proud of you. And I have to say, you're a great idol for female WrestleFleet officers everywhere..." 

"The LAST thing female WrestleFleet officers need is Stephanie McMahon as a role model," Jericho muttered. 

"And what, exactly, do you mean by that, Lt. Commander Jericho?" Stephanie asked. 

"YOU'RE the Y2J Unit?" Molly gasped, "Oh gosh! I read about you at school! You're WrestleFleet's only android officer!" she saluted again, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir! I didn't realize you were so... uh..." 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "So... _what_, Molly?" he asked. 

"So HUMAN looking..." she sputtered, "I mean… uh... forgive me, sir..." she hung her head, "That didn't come out right..." 

"WrestleFleet Academy doesn't have any pictures of me?!" he asked. 

"No sir... they don't..." 

Stephanie looked at Jericho, feigning pity, "Awww... is your ego bruised a little bit, Chris?" she asked. 

Jericho offered Stephanie a scowl, then quickly turned back to Cadet Molly, "Come on, I'll take you to see the Captain, Molly," 

"Thank you, sir!" Molly said, and walked in step beside Lt. Commander Jericho as he headed out of Engineering. 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Well... this is good news indeed!" Captain McMahon said as Jericho and Molly explained the latest situation. He placed a data chip in his padd, and studied it, "There's mail from family members back home to the officers aboard the Titanprize, and instructions regarding YOU, Molly..." 

"Really, sir?! Gosh, I can't imagine what they'd be..." Molly said. 

"Apparently, I'm to grant you the rank of Ensign during your tenure on board this ship. You are to teleport yourself in two days back to WrestleFleet with a copy of the ship's logs and various starmaps to pinpoint our location, then return back here with more instructions," McMahon explained, "Which shouldn't be a problem. We currently made a deal with the Bookermans regarding the availability of starmaps..." 

"I get to be an Ensign!?" Molly gasped happily, "This is great!!" She looked up at Lt. Commander Jericho, "Isn't this great, sir?!" 

"Uh... yeah... it's great..." he replied, then looked back at the Captain, "Well, if you don't need me any more, sir, may I be--" 

"Yes yes," McMahon interrupted, "You are dismissed, Unit Y2J..." 

The way McMahon had dismissed Jericho made the Y2J Unit cringe, "_Guess Vinnie-mac is still upset over that whole 'Stephanie in a coma' thing..._" 

Molly was still looking at Lt. Commander Jericho, smiling sweetly. Jericho allowed her a small smile in return, and quickly headed out of the Captain's ready room, feeling a sudden urge to brush his teeth. 

***

TITANPRIZE MEETING ROOM - the next day 

The Bookerman Ambassador handed Captain McMahon a collection of datachips, "In there, you will find starmaps, information on every planet in the galaxy, and various places where your ship can gain valuable resources and allies..." 

Captain McMahon smiled graciously, "Thank you, sir. These will be very useful on our journey!" 

"That's good..." the man replied, "Now... we made a deal, yes?" 

"Yes, we did," Captain McMahon handed the Ambassador three data chips, "In here, you will find information regarding our replicators, holodecks, and medical advances," 

The Ambassador looked at the data chips, then turned to Captain McMahon, "Thank you. I'm sure these will be very useful… but..." he sighed, "We also came to ask for your help. You see, we are under attack from another planet in this quadrant. The Markians. They have weakened us greatly. They have oppressed our citizens, tormented our villages..." he shook his head, "I can give you complete reports on their crimes against my people if you wish..." 

McMahon thought a moment, "Very well, send me the report. I will go through it, and contact you at the end of the week. We MAY be able to aid you somehow..." 

The Ambassador smiled, "That is very gracious of you, Captain. I shall return at the end of the week then..." 

The deal was sealed with a handshake, and the Ambassador was transported back to his ship. 

***

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - CHIEF OF CHIEFS OFFICE - two days later 

"How do you like your new rank, Molly?" Commander Linda McMahon asked. 

"It's great, ma'am! The officers aboard the Titanprize seem pretty cool... especially your daughter Commander Stephanie McMahon, and Lt. Commander Jericho..." 

"How IS my daughter?" Linda asked. 

"Oh she's very well, ma'am. I was watching her in Engineering yesterday. She's really great at her job. I only hope I become as good as her. She's got everything under control, and she's so smart...!" 

"Well, of course she's smart. She's a McMahon..." Linda replied, "Now... let's see these starmaps and ship's logs Vince sent us..." 

"Here you go, ma'am," Molly handed Linda the data chips she had been given. "I'm kind of tired, ma'am. Actually... REALLY tired. D'ya mind if I take a nap?" 

"Not at all, Molly. We'll inform you when we need you again..." 

"Thanks ma'am. I'm not feeling very good," Molly said. She stood up, and swayed on her feet... 

"Are you ok, Molly?" 

"Uh... yeah.... yeah.... I think I'll be fine...." Molly took a step, and collapsed. 

***

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - SICKBAY 

"It seems this constant teleporting has taken its toll on Molly. Such a long distance in less then a week," Dr. Pritchard shook his head, "She can't do this all the time..." he explained as he looked over at the sleeping Cadet.... 

"What do you mean, doctor?" Linda asked. "We need her to help us stay in contact with the Titanprize," 

"That won't be a problem... but she can't do it more then once a month - from the Titanprize to here, and back again. Any more then that, and all the wear and tear on her body will catch up to her..." 

"Will she be able to get back this week?" Linda asked. 

"Probably. But I suggest letting her stay there and work out a date a month from now for her return..." 

Linda nodded, "So she'll be living on the Titanprize then, away from home..." 

"That's ok, ma'am," a quiet voice spoke from the diagnostics table behind Linda. The Chief of Chiefs turned to see Molly waking up, "I can learn stuff there... I'll be a good officer! I promise I will! I'll make Captain McMahon proud! I'll make YOU proud..." 

"I don't doubt that, Molly," Linda began, "But this is your very first assignment straight out of WrestleFleet academy. Are you prepared to leave your family so early in your career?" 

Molly smiled, "I got family aboard the Titanprize too, ma'am. Cousins Crash and Hardcore are there..." 

The girl seemed so determined. Linda smiled at her, "Very well. At the end of the week, we'll send you back to the ship with instructions for the month, and decide a date for you to report back to us..." 

Molly nodded. If she had been strong enough, she would have jumped for joy. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - MEETING ROOM – end of the week 

"Well?" The Bookerman Ambassador asked as McMahon entered the room, "You said you would have some information that would help us with our enemies..." 

"Yes..." McMahon began, and handed the Ambassador another data chip, "In there you will find WrestleFleet's top techniques on hand-to-hand combat. We pride ourselves on the fact that all our officers can best almost any enemy in a one-on-one fight..." 

The Bookerman Ambassador frowned, "We were hoping for a bit more assistance then this, Captain. Our enemies are very technologically advanced... " 

McMahon looked at the Bookerman Ambassador. He didn't like what the man was getting at. He had seen this before. Vince silently kicked himself. He should have known better then to meet the man without security, but he truly thought they had come to an agreement. Had he become so desperate for allies that he had become sloppy...? That he had put his ship at risk? 

"Captain..." the voice of Lt. Commander Debra came over the comm, "Bookermans have transported aboard the Titanprize...!" 

"Forgive us, Captain... but surely you understand our desperation..." The Bookerman Ambassador looked apologetic before he disappeared in a shimmer of his own transporter beam. 

McMahon tapped his comm badge, "Kane, Farrooq, Bradshaw, Chyna.... met me in the meeting room.... IMMEDIATELY," he closed the comm, "No one transports aboard MY damn ship without permission! NO ONE…" 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

"Glad you're back, Mol...!" Crash said as his cousin shadowed him at his station, "This is where we run the ship. I can change the warp speed here... er... only at Commander Stephanie, Commander Shane, or Captain McMahon's request that is," Crash explained. 

"Where IS Commander Stephanie?" Molly asked, "I wanted to ask her some stuff about Engineering..." 

"She's off duty right now," Crash explained, "But you can ask Lt. Commander Jericho. I'm actually off duty myself. I'm going to meet some buddies in the Smackdown. Wanna come?" 

"Naw, it's ok. I'm just gonna hang around here. Get familiar with stuff," Molly replied. 

"Ok then. I'll see ya in a bit, Mol," 

"Bye bye, Cousin Crash!" Molly waved. Her cousin then disappeared. The young cadet enthusiastically headed over to Lt. Commander Jericho, "Sir...?" 

"What is it, Bubbles?" Jericho asked as his kept his attention on the station in front of him. 

"What are ya doing, sir?" 

"Creating some new Engineering sub-routines..." 

"Oh... I was just wondering if..." she stopped suddenly. 

"Wondering what?" he asked. He turned to see why she was suddenly quiet, and barely ducked out of the way of a phaser. 

Engineering had a few unwelcome guests… 

The Bookermans opened fire, and the WrestleFleet officers returned it without hesitation. Jericho whipped out his phaser and tried to stun as many Bookermans as he could, "EVERYBODY OUT!" He commanded, "I'm locking the doors to Engineering! Take refuge in the Smackdown until you receive further orders!" 

The officers broke free from their attackers and did as they were instructed. 

A Bookerman snuck up behind Lt. Commander Jericho, grabbing him in a headlock. Jericho quickly broke free, knocking the intruder out. He grabbed the phaser off his adversary, then spun around to see Molly struggling with a large female Bookerman. 

The young cadet jumped on top of an Engineering station, and launched herself at the Bookerman, knocking her to the ground unconscious. She jumped to her feet as another Bookerman stalked towards her. Molly stood unmoving, eyes wide. Jericho fired and the invader fell to the ground, unmoving. 

Molly stared at the unconscious body at her feet. The Y2J Unit ran up to the frightened cadet and dragged her towards the jefferies tube, "I ordered everyone OUT. That meant you TOO!" 

"I'm sorry, sir... I froze! I…I've never been under attack before!" She lowered her voice, "I got scared, sir…" 

Jericho sighed, "Well, at least you know a bit of hand to hand combat judging from the way you attacked the female..." he replied, then pulled a panel away from the wall, "Get in there!" He shoved Molly into the jefferies tube. 

Three more intruders transported into Engineering. Jericho fired both phasers and managed to hit two of them, only to have the third one shoot one of the phasers out of his hand. 

Jericho ran to a nearby station and quickly programmed an Engineering lock-down to keep the Bookermans in. He then jumped into the jefferies tube beside the young cadet, pulling the panel closed behind him. 

The jefferies tube panel began to smoke from the phaser shots it was receiving outside. It wouldn't take very long for the weapon to burn right through it, "Go go go!" he said, and almost pushed Molly through the jefferies tube. They turned a corner, and rested against the side, out of the range of phaser fire. Jericho lifted up his hand, and swore under his breath. 

"Oh gosh!" Molly gasped, "You're hurt, sir!" 

Jericho looked at Molly through the messy hole in the middle of his right hand, "I'll be ok..." he said, "Probably," he watched his fingers twitching uncontrollably as the now-bare wires spewed sparks and short-circuited. 

"But... you're bleeding!" Molly said, her voice full of concern. 

"Well... leaking," he shrugged, "Same difference I suppose..." 

"And it was to save me..." Molly said quietly, "Gosh sir... I... I don't know how to thank you," 

"You can thank me by helping me find Commander Stephanie. She can fix me," he said, "_And I can make sure she's ok..._" he added silently, then ripped the sleeve of his uniform with his good hand and gave it to Molly, "Here..." he held his injured hand up, "Wrap it..." 

"Yessir..." Molly replied, and did so, "You know, I used to do this with Cousin Crash. Whenever Cousin Hardcore used to beat him up, I always dressed his wounds..." she smiled, "Cousin Hardcore beat him up a lot," 

"And little Elroy is still alive to talk about it," Jericho replied, "Impressive..." he looked at his bandaged hand, "Nice job. Now get behind me," he commanded. 

"Yessir," Molly replied, and shimmed past Lt. Commander Jericho to take her place behind him, "Where are we headed?" 

"The Smackdown. It's probably the safest place on the ship right now for you. It doubles as a relief shelter for the civilians and injured aboard the ship," 

"But I'm not injured, and I'm not a civilian," Molly protested. 

"Do you know how to fire a phaser, Molly?" Jericho asked. 

"Well… no, sir... I don't," 

"Then right now, you're a civilian. The Smackdown is about two decks down. There's a ladder through the jefferies tubes, but a lot of twists and turns to get to it. Make sure you keep up." 

With that, the two crawled their way through the Titanprize... 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - later 

There was a loud noise coming from the jefferies tube beside Stephanie's chair. She paused, and listened. Was that banging? She got to her feet... well, her one GOOD foot... and removed the panel. 

Lt. Commander Jericho crawled out, Ensign Molly Holly close behind him.

"MOLLY!" Crash called out as he and Hardcore ran to their little cousin. Crash hugged her, "Are you ok?!" he asked. 

"Yeah, Crash... I'm fine..." she smiled, "Lt. Commander Jericho took care of me," 

"I KNEW you should have stayed at home!" Ensign Hardcore scolded. 

"But I'm fine, Cousin Hardcore!" Molly started. 

"For now… but look at ME," he was sporting a cast on his arm, "How long before something like this happens to you? Or worse?" 

"Hey, Holly... give the kid a break, huh? She stood tough against the bad guys… though you should teach her how to use a phaser one day," Jericho then turned to Stephanie, who was propping herself up against the bulkhead. He furrowed his brow, "And what happened to you?" 

Stephanie looked away, "Nothing... I'm fine," 

"You're standing on one foot," Jericho pointed out. Stephanie muttered something under her breath, "What was that?" he asked, leaning closer. She muttered again, and he smirked, "You FELL?" he chuckled quietly. 

Stephanie glared at him, "It's NOT funny!" she replied. 

"We're under attack... and Commander Skankanie McMahon is injured by FALLING," Jericho said, "Did you even get a shot fired off before you FELL?" 

"I was off duty! I didn't have a whole lot of weapons on hand! You know, things happen when you're running for your life, Jerkicho, OK?!" Stephanie snapped angrily. 

"Things like THIS?" Jericho asked, and held up his injured hand. The torn sleeve of his uniform had been soaked through with his synthetic blood. 

"Ewww!" Stephanie replied, "Here.... let me see that!" 

"First of all..." Jericho quickly lifted Stephanie off her feet, "Let's get you seated, THEN you can look at my hand," he said. 

"Let go of me!!" Stephanie demanded, "Let go NOW!" 

"No…" 

"I am giving you an order, Lt. Commander!" Stephanie protested. Jericho didn't listen. 

"Gosh... Lt. Commander Jericho sure is dedicated to his superior officers, isn't he?" Molly said to Crash. 

"Yeah..." Ensign Jeff Hardy spoke up as he limped towards them, his knee bruised from a chop-block one of the Bookermans had hit him with in the corridors, "Especially to Stephanie," He couldn't help but snicker as Jericho carried a protesting Stephanie to the bar. 

"What's the latest?" Jericho asked as he sat Stephanie on the bar top. He settled himself on the stool in front of her. 

Stephanie straightened the top of her uniform haughtily, still annoyed with him, "Well," she began, "Daddy sent Commander Kane, Bradshaw, Farrooq, Chyna, and just about everyone else capable of firing a phaser to go after the Bookermans. He went to the bridge to try and open communications with the Ambassador," She explained. 

"And the walking wounded gather in the Smackdown," Jericho said, "Or in your case, not walking at all," 

"Oh shut up!" Stephanie replied. 

Jericho held his injured hand out to her, "Here… make yourself useful," 

Stephanie sighed and unwrapped his hand carefully, "Ugh... this looks really bad," 

"Thanks, Steph. That makes me feel much better," Jericho replied dryly. 

"Making people feel better isn't part of my job description," Stephanie replied. 

"Tell that to all the young Ensigns who've had the pleasure of your company," 

"Will you stop looking at me through the hole in your hand? It's really disturbing," Stephanie said, then motioned for Jeff, "Hardly, hand me the tool kit over there..." she called out. 

Jeff limped over with the supplies and handed them to Stephanie, "Why don't you get your knee looked at, Jeff?" Jericho asked. 

"Nurse Saturn and Nurse Bearer are tied up with people more hurt then I am, and the only other medical personnel in here are Piro and that pansy, Angle. I don't want either of them touching me in any way, shape or form. Besides, I'll be ok. I'm Aerialian. We have a high threshold for pain." 

"Where's Dr. Taker?" Jericho asked. 

"Helping neutralize the threat..." Jeff smiled, "In his own special way, of course..." 

"I can only imagine what that means," Jericho replied. 

"I'm going to help the Olympic wuss tend to the others," Jeff said. "I have a feeling they'd rather have assistance from someone who DOESN'T faint at the sight of blood..." With that, Jeff limped off. 

Stephanie looked down at Lt. Commander Jericho, and furrowed her brow, "You're in a lot of pain, aren't you?" she asked. 

Jericho looked at his twitching fingers, trying not to wince, "I'll be fine," 

"You're hurting. I think this is the first time I've ever seen that…" she paused, "Well, except for that time Hunter attacked you with the sledgehammer, " 

Jericho cringed, "Thanks for refreshing my memory. I was just starting to forget…" 

"Good thing I'm here to remind you then," Stephanie replied, then took his injured hand and grabbed a laser solder from the tool kit. She set about re-connecting the wires the phaser had severed. 

Jericho sucked in a deep breath, trying to bite back the pain, "My receptors are working overtime tonight," 

"Can't you turn them off or something?" Stephanie asked. 

He raised an eyebrow, "What do you do when YOU'RE in pain, Steph?" he asked, "Try and turn it off?" 

Stephanie frowned, "NO… but I take a hypospray or two to ease the pain," 

"Then you're one-up on me. Pain killing hyposprays don't work on my body. I get to grin and bear it. Kinda sucks, actually..." he paused, then flexed his semi-repaired hand, "Well, at least I have control of my fingers again," 

"I'll repair the rest of your hand as soon as we can get back into Engineering..." Stephanie said. 

Jericho nodded, then muttered something under his breath. 

Stephanie blinked, surprised. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn the stupid jerk just THANKED her... 

***

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

"Man, this totally reeks of suckitude!" Ensign Edge shouted as he ducked another phaser blast. He and Ensign Christian were hiding behind a bulkhead, shooting blindly at the invaders. 

"Edge! Your mirror!" Christian said. 

"What about it?" 

"Hold it up! Maybe the ugly dude will turn to stone if he sees his reflection!" 

"Think it'll work!?" Edge asked. 

"Try it!" Christian offered. 

"Alright, man… I'll try…" Edge held his mirror up just as the Bookerman fired. The phaser deflected off the surface and bounced back to the attacker. The man screamed, and fell to the ground, unmoving. 

Christian and Edge froze in their place, "Dude… I think it worked!" Christian said. 

They waited a moment… just to be sure… then high fived each other, "Alright! We so totally rule!" Edge cheered, then the two blonde brothers ran to The Smackdown. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE – BRIDGE 

"What's the status of the intruders, Lt. Commander?" Captain McMahon asked. 

"Most of the silly bastards are injured," Lt. Commander Austin explained, "Guess they didn't realize how big a can of whoop ass WrestleFleet officers could open," 

"Well, I DID tell the Bookerman Ambassador that we are able to best most invaders in one-on-one combat," McMahon said, "Lt. Commander Rock, hail the Bookerman ship…" 

"This is Lt. Commander Rock to the roody poo Bookerman Ambassador. Answer us, before The Rock takes his boot, turns it sideways, and—" 

"I'm here, I'm here!" the Bookerman Ambassador spoke as he appeared on-screen. He looked at McMahon, "Captain… it seems you have all but destroyed my crew. I underestimated your skills…" 

"I demand you remove your people from my ship immediately!" McMahon replied. 

The Ambassador smiled, "Very well. You have proven yourself to us…" 

McMahon furrowed his brow, "Proven ourselves?" 

"Forgive us, Captain. We wanted to test your resolve and the strength of your crew." he bowed, "We will be honoured if you will forgive our actions and accept us as your allies…" 

"Allies?! You attack my crew and want to be my ALLIES?" 

"Well... yes..." the Ambassador replied. 

Vince narrowed his eyes, a plot forming in his mind, "On one condition," 

"Which condition, Captain?" 

McMahon smiled coldly, "Two weeks from this Sunday, right here on this very ship… I challenge your crew to a contest..." 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - CHIEF ENGINEER'S OFFICE - the next morning 

Stephanie studied the monitor on her desk. Her mother's face looked back at her. She was watching a pre-recorded communication that had come with the latest data chips Molly had brought aboard, "Hopefully with Molly's help, we will be able to transfer data once a month until we are able to find a way to bring you home," her mother paused and smiled, "I'm glad you have Hunter by your side. I'm sure your father and brother are handling it well, but I know you're a bit more sensitive to situations like this. I can only imagine how alone you must feel out there..." 

Her divorce from Hunter apparently hadn't been in the logs the Chief of Chiefs had read. Stephanie quickly paused the message, "But I DON'T have Hunter, Mom," her voice grew quiet, "I don't think I ever DID," she sighed and hid her face in her hands, "I don't have anyone..." 

"Hey, Steph!" a cheery voice spoke up from the door of her office. 

Stephanie looked up and quickly wiped the tears from her face, "Don't you know how to knock, Jeff?!" she snapped. 

Jeff smiled mischievously, "Well, Chris is busy doing some recalibrations on the warp engines, so I knew I wasn't disturbing anything," 

"You're not funny..." Stephanie muttered, "What are you doing in here anyway?" 

"Bored and off duty. It's more fun being here watching you and Chris deny you have the hots for each other," he paused, waiting. Jeff grew concerned, Stephanie hadn't called him an idiot for that comment. Something wasn't right, "What is it, Steph? What's wrong?" he asked. 

Stephanie sighed and turned the screen towards Jeff. 

He looked at the frozen picture of the Chief of Chiefs on Stephanie's monitor, "You miss her, huh?" 

Stephanie nodded, "Yeah," she sighed, "And seeing this only makes me miss her more," 

Jeff knelt beside Stephanie's chair and pat his shoulder, "Here. Feel free to use it whenever you need to," 

Stephanie smiled only slightly, "No thanks. Too skinny and bony for me..." 

"Hey! I am NOT skinny!" 

"Are too..." 

"Are not!" he protested. 

"Are too!" 

"Well Lita doesn't seem to think so..." Jeff pointed out. 

"Well Lita is skinny and bony too..." 

"Commander? I finished recalibrating the warp engines..." Jericho spoke as he came through the door. He looked at Jeff and Stephanie, "Trying to get a promotion by begging on your hands and knees, Jeff?" 

"No. Why? Think it'll work?" Jeff asked with a smile. 

"I don't know," Jericho asked, then looked at Stephanie, "CAN you get a promotion on your knees, Steph? I figure you would be the expert on that kind of thing," 

"Shut up, Jerkicho!" Stephanie snapped. 

Jericho sat on top of Stephanie's desk, tossing a padd in her lap, "Here are the latest warp core recalibrations," he said, then noticed the paused communication, "So what does the Chief of Chiefs have to say for herself?" 

"First of all," Stephanie started, "Would you mind getting off my desk?" 

"Yes, I _would_ mind actually," Jericho replied, "I'm pretty comfortable right now... so what's in the communication?" 

"It's personal!" she snapped, "Anyway, daddy wants me to tell you guys that we're having a Pay-Per-View with the Bookermans next Sunday. You two are going to be in it. Aside from that, it turns out Molly is going to be a liaison between here and WrestleFleet. She'll be sending information back and forth once a month while Headquarters tries to figure out a way to bring us back home," 

"For real?! KICK ASS!" Jeff replied happily. 

"Where is little Molly Holly? I think I need to give that cute little cadet a great big kiss!" Jericho said, then leaned in close to Stephanie, and smirked, "That is, unless YOU'D rather have the kiss instead," 

"Ugh! You are _such_ a pervert!" Stephanie snapped, and pushed Jericho off the desk, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. 

Jericho landed on the ground with an ungraceful thump. Jeff snickered, "Did you have a good fall, Chris?" 

Jericho quickly jumped to his feet and dusted his uniform off, "Have you had a good youth, Jeff?" 

Jeff got to his feet, "Is that supposed to be a threat?" 

"Well... yes..." Jericho said, then jumped towards Jeff and grabbed him in a side headlock. 

"Oh for heaven sake! Since when did my office become the Romper Room?!" Stephanie asked angrily as she stood up. Her ankle had been set and she was able to put a bit of pressure on it now. 

"Stop it," Jeff laughed as he tried to get away from Jericho, "I think Steph is getting pissed..." 

"You two are nothing but immature dorks!" Stephanie scolded, trying to stop the smile spreading on her lips. Ok... so maybe it was FUN to be immature once in a while... especially when you received good news. 

Jeff finally got away from Jericho, and hid behind Stephanie, "Psycho android on the loose! Save me," he begged. Stephanie moved out of the way, leaving Jeff open, "Traitor!" Jeff replied. 

"Now now, Skankanie... is that anyway to treat your little boy toy?" Jericho replied. 

"Being Stephanie's personal toy is YOUR job, Chris," Jeff answered. 

"Ugh... I'd rather have Ensign Mideon!" Stephanie muttered. 

"I can arrange that..." Jericho offered. 

Stephanie quickly grabbed Jericho's hand before he could finish lifting it to his comm badge, "Do it, and I will hurt you," she warned. 

"Sounds like fun. When can we start?" Jericho asked. 

"Wha---Shut up!" Stephanie sputtered, and shoved him away. 

"Ooooh.... you made her blush, Chris!" Jeff teased. 

"And here I thought NOTHING could embarrass the great Skankanie McMahon," Jericho replied. 

Suddenly, the Captain's voice came over the ship-wide communications, "This is Captain Vince McMahon to the crew of the WWF Titanprize. I am calling a meeting in the Smackdown in Thirty minutes. All must attend..." 

"He's probably going to tell you guys the same thing _I_ just did," Stephanie said, and sat back at her desk. 

"I can't wait to see how everyone else reacts to the news!" Jeff said, and quickly headed out. 

Jericho was about to head out as well, but paused at the door, "Aren't you getting off your lazy ass and coming with us?" 

"Yeah yeah," She said, "In a sec," 

Jericho looked at her a moment, then spoke quietly, "Don't start crying again..." 

Stephanie was surprised, "How did you--?" 

"Because," he interrupted, "I know you too well," 

Stephanie was silent for a moment. He DID know her well, didn't he? Was that a blessing or a curse? She studied him, "Is that why you came in here?" 

Jericho hesitated, "Maybe..." he said, then smiled mischievously, "Or maybe I just came in to beat up Jeff," he finished, then headed out. 

Stephanie watched him leave, then turned to her mother's face on the monitor, "I may not have Hunter anymore Mom," she started, then smiled slightly, "but I don't think I'll ever feel alone..." 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN – later 

"Wow! This ship is really big, Crash!" Molly said as she looked around, "I can't believe it has a bar and everything!" 

"Yup yup! It's great!" Crash replied. 

"Molly?!" a voice called out. 

Molly turned around, and smiled, "Cousin Hardcore! How's your arm?" 

He didn't answer, "What are you still doing here?" Hardcore asked. 

Molly pouted, "Cousin Hardcore, I'm staying aboard the ship!" 

"This is no place for a cadet!" Hardcore said, "You've seen the dangers we've run into lost out here in this quadrant," 

"Awww c'mon cousin! How else am I supposed to learn? Look, I'm an Ensign and everything!" Molly smiled brightly, and showed off her Ensign badge, "This will be a great experience for me!" 

"I'm telling you to go home! What if Lt. Commander Jericho hadn't been in Engineering to help you when the Bookermans attacked? What would have happened then?" 

Molly crossed her arms, "Listen, Cousin! I'm staying here! I'm only going back home once a month to carry information and transmissions. I'm the official liaison between the Titanprize and WrestleFleet headquarters! It's a very important job and I won't give it up!" 

Hardcore sighed, "Holly women don't know what's good for them," he muttered. 

"Excuse me?" Molly replied, "I know what's good for me! And I know what's good for WrestleFleet! And what I'm doing right now is good for both of us!" 

"Kid's got a good point," Jericho started as he came up to Ensign Hardcore, "Looks like she could kick your ass too... better not piss her off..." 

"Who asked _you_, pretty boy?" Hardcore snapped, "You don't _have _a family! You don't know what it's like!" 

Molly ignored her cousin and looked up at Jericho with a smile, "Thank you for defending me, sir," she then grew serious, "I'm glad your hand is better now," 

Jericho held it up, "Much better, thanks," He pat Molly on the head, "We're glad to have you on board. Don't let Ensign Receding Hairline make you rethink your decision. No one on the ship listens to him anyway," Jericho then headed to the bar to join Jeff and Lita for a drink. 

Molly watched him go, "He's so cool," 

"Ahhh, he's just a stupid robot," Hardcore muttered, then looked at Molly, "Anyway, as your older cousin, it's my duty to make sure you're safe while you're on this ship, got it? I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on you!" 

"Awwww, Cousin!" Molly whined. 

"Don't 'awwww cousin' me! I'll be watching you!" Ensign Holly walked to the other end of the Smackdown and took his seat, waiting, as everyone else was, for the Captain to make the official announcement about the monthly WrestleFleet communications. 

"Cousin Hardcore is such a big meanie!" Molly pouted, then looked at Crash, "Let's go sit at the bar." 

"Ok! We can have some cold milk!" Crash offered. 

Molly's eyes lit up, "Do they have _chocolate_ milk?!" 

"Ask Terri! She's real nice. She'll probably replicate some for you!" 

Molly nodded and her and Crash headed towards the bar, "Hey Crash!" Jeff called out, "Come sit with us! Lita wants to meet your cousin!" 

"Sure!" Crash said, and sat down with Molly. 

"So, we have another butt-kicking woman on board!" Lita started, and smiled at Molly, "We can never have too many," 

"Of course, we can have ONE that is too _much_," Jericho muttered as he watched Commander Stephanie McMahon coming through the Smackdown doors with Ensign Angle. Stephanie had managed to change out of her uniform before arriving. 

Jericho's eyes followed the two to their seats. 

Molly furrowed her brow, "Why is Lt. Commander Jericho staring at Commander Stephanie like that?" she whispered to Lita. 

Jeff took a sip of his drink, holding is tongue. She'd pick up on the situation soon enough. 

Lita nudged Jericho with her elbow. "You can stop staring at her now," 

"I wasn't staring... I was just blinded by Kirk's bright-red jumpsuit," Jericho replied, and took a gulp of his synthehol, "It clashes with Skankanie's pink mini-dress!" 

"You mean Stephanie..." Molly offered. 

Jericho turned to her, "Umm... what?" 

"You mispronounced Commander McMahon's name... It's _Stephanie_..." 

"Right..." Jericho replied, "My mistake..." 

Jeff tried to hide his laughter by burying his head in Lita's shoulder. She was having trouble trying not to snicker herself. 

Kids could be so cute sometimes... 

   [1]: mailto:elektrawwf@yahoo.com



	82. Season 9 Episode 8 A Nice Place to Visi...

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 8

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 8: A NICE PLACE TO VISIT...**   
**PART ONE.**

By: [Elektra][1]

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Morale Officer, Commissioner Mick Foley   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 032720.01. We are in orbit around a planet called Ai. It is apparently a very peaceful planet, inhabited by a friendly and caring species. We have been in contact with the planet, and they have requested that we beam down without weapons, as they refuse to be in the presence of any tools of destruction. I have granted their request, however, I am a careful man. I refuse to be burned like last time. The situation with the Bookermen is still vivid in my mind," Captain McMahon smiled as he finished off his log, "Of course, not all weapons look like weapons... End log." 

*** 

HOLODECK 3 

"And you're going down to the planet because...?" Commander Stephanie asked Lt. Commander Jericho as the two took a brief rest during their training session. 

"Because, Vince isn't allowed to bring weapons.," The Y2J Unit then smiled proudly, "I'M his weapon," 

"Oh give me a break! What are you going to do? Tell bad one-liners until they die of boredom?" Stephanie asked. 

"Excuse me, Skankanie... but WHOM did you beg to teach you combat techniques and self-defense? AGAINST his orders?" Jericho asked, and raised an eyebrow, "Hmmm... maybe my memory files are corrupted," 

"I didn't BEG, I THREATENED, but point taken!" Stephanie snapped, "You don't have to be so smug about it!" 

"But then that takes all the fun out of gloating!" Jericho replied, "Besides, you're just jealous because I'M going down to a tropical planet and YOU'RE not!" Jericho replied. 

"Captain McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho. Meet me in Transporter bay 2 at 1400h," McMahon's voice came through the comm. 

Jericho tapped his badge in response, "Be right there, Vinnie-mac!" he replied, then cut the link before McMahon could reprimand him for addressing him so informally. 

*** 

PLANET AI - CITY HALL LOBBY 

"Hello, and welcome to beautiful Ai. I am Lana..." a beautiful, bikini-clad Aian came up to Lt. Commander Jericho and Captain McMahon. She kissed both WrestleFleet officers on the cheek and handed them a small coconut bowl, "Please, partake of our wine as our honoured guests! Our leader will see you soon," 

Vince couldn't wipe the lecherous smile off his face as he studied the pearl-skinned blonde, "And... exactly what does your leader look like? Similar to you?" He asked, somehow managing to sound polite and sleazy at the same time. 

Lana giggled, "Oh no, silly!" she replied, "He is much different. You will see," 

The Y2J Unit tried not to react as Vince's smile completely disappeared, "HE, you say?" 

"_Must suck not to be able to live out a perverted fantasy, huh, Vince?_" Jericho thought, but didn't dare say it aloud. Let McMahon preach about how much he loved his wife, and Jericho would pretend he didn't see a certain blonde, Kanatian bartender leaving the Captain's quarters late last night. 

"Please, have a seat," Lana said as she showed Jericho and Vince to the seats a few feet away. The two sat, and she headed off to get her leader. 

"Nice," Jericho said as he studied the complex. The walls were pastel-pink, the light catching rainbows in the intricate golden patterns running from floor to ceiling, which happened to be one large skylight offering a beautiful view of the clear blue sky and perpetual golden sun. 

"Yes... she is," McMahon replied, then quickly corrected himself, "I mean, IT is... yes," Jericho said nothing as he and the Captain continued to wait, "What's taking so damn long?" 

"Perhaps he's busy?" Jericho offered. 

"Busy?! I am Captain Vince McMahon, damnit! I refuse to be kept waiting!" the Captain snapped. 

"Perhaps you should ease up on the caffeine, Junior. Try tea. Earl Grey. Hot! It might relax you a little," 

McMahon glared at the Y2J Unit, but before he could respond, Lana returned.... with a red-faced, slightly obese man in a white suit, red shirt, and white tie. He wore thick, large-framed glasses. His smile was incredibly huge and, Jericho thought, disturbingly friendly. 

The man held out his arms to Jericho and Vince. The two WrestleFleet officers stood up, and the leader spoke, "Brother McMahon... Brother Jericho...! Welcome to Ai! May I say it is our honor to have yew here with us! I luv all our visitors!" The man then hugged Captain McMahon, and Jericho quickly took a step back, and held out his hand for a handshake before the big man could hug HIM, "You may call me Brother, as I call you..." he replied. 

"He's our leader," Lana replied. 

Jericho offered a fake smile, "Thank you for informing me... again," 

The blonde giggled shyly at the Y2J Unit, "You're welcome..." She truly seemed proud of herself. 

"Lana, darlin'... if yew don't mind, ah'd like to speak to brother McMahon alone," the leader smiled again, "Perhaps yew could offer brother Jericho a sample of our Aian hospitality..." 

Jericho looked at Captain McMahon, who nodded. Jericho understood. He was only a badge-tap away, and the Y2J Unit could run extremely fast should the Captain need him, "Go on, Lt. Commander..." McMahon said. 

Jericho turned to Lana, "Ok then, let's go," 

Lana held her arm out. Jericho eyed it for a moment, then politely took it and let the Aian show him outside. 

"Please, brother McMahon... come into mah office..." Brother offered. McMahon followed the man, and found himself in a large red and white room, surrounded by plush red chairs. A choir accompanied by piano and tambourine music came through the speakers.   


Captain McMahon took a seat, "Nice office you have here," 

Brother smiled as he sat behind his desk, "Thank yew..." He offered the Captain a bowl of fruit, "This is one of our delicacies, " he smiled. 

McMahon took the offer -- a heart-shaped, pink fruit of some kind. He looked at Brother, who smiled and urged him to try it. The Captain took a bite and let the taste fill him. It was good. Incredibly good. Actually... he had never tasted anything so sweet... so delectable. 

"I would very much like to work something out with you and your crew," Brother began, "You see, we enjoy visitors here on Ai... but I can only imagine how difficult it must be, traveling through the stars endlessly. Never settling down. Never finding a place to call home. Well, Captain... we'd like to help you with that. We here on Ai would like to offer you a wonderful new home..." 

"Is that so?" The Captain asked. He was about to say something about being unable to abandon his ship, but a wonderful feeling began to fill him. The more he thought about it, the more the Captain couldn't help but think that Ai would be a nice place to stay. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

"Does the weather ever change down there?" Commander Stephanie asked as she looked over Ai's readouts on the sensors. 

"Not often. The sun never sets, apparently. It's like a tropical paradise, 24 hours a day," Ensign Jeff smiled, then walked up to Stephanie, "How about you and me take a vacation?" 

"You're standing in my space..." Stephanie warned. 

Jeff quickly stepped away, "Well you're a barrel of fun!" he raised an eyebrow, "I see now! You're just mad because the Captain asked Chris to go down there instead of you!" 

Stephanie crossed her arms angrily and pouted, "Well, I deserve a vacation too, you know! I mean, it's not like Jericho needs one!" 

"They're not on vacation, Steph. It's business!" 

"I can take care of business too!" She then tapped her comm badge, "Commander Stephanie to the Bridge. Any word from my dad?" 

"The Captain's roody poo candy ass hasn't hailed the Rock since he got down there!" Lt. Commander Rock replied. 

"Well what's taking him so long?!" Stephanie asked no one in particular. She cut the commlink before Lt. Commander Rock spouted some catchphrase at her, "Usually Wrestlefleet protocol dictates that the Captain contact his ship at least once an hour upon first visit to a new planet!" 

"Maybe he's having too much fun?" Jeff asked. 

"Shut up!" she snapped. Then a thought came to her, and a small smile appeared on her lips, "Well, looks like I'll just have to go down there myself and see what's happening!" 

"Do you think that's a good idea, Steph?" Jeff asked. 

"Are you questioning my decision?" she replied. 

"Well no... but if more WrestleFleet officers show up, the Aians might see it as a hostile act or something," 

"I'm not going to be ARMED, Jeffrey!" Stephanie answered, "Now excuse me. I have to get changed!" 

"But... if you're going down to the planet on behalf of WrestleFleet, you have to wear your WrestleFleet uniform!" 

"I'll have on a WrestleFleet uniform!" Stephanie replied, then smiled, "Just one more suited to the climate, that's all, " Stephanie looked around Engineering then eyed the older Hardy Ensign a few feet away, "Matt! You have Engineering for the time being. Don't screw it up!" With that, Stephanie headed out. 

*** 

PLANET AI - CITY HALL GARDENS 

Jericho furrowed his brow as he watched the other Aians walking through the gardens. Something was wrong about it. "Everyone looks so ..." Jericho paused, trying to find the right word, "Happy..." 

"That is because this is a happy place to live!" Lana smiled at him, the sun catching the pearl-sheen in her skin as the two walked silently through the gardens. After a short while, Lana laced her arm around Jericho's, "You could be happy here too, Lt. Commander," 

"Would I? I doubt it. I like exploration too much," 

"But don't you get tired of it?" she asked. "Don't you wish you could just settle somewhere? I hear you're lost in space. It must be so harsh..." 

"Well... we survive," Jericho replied. 

"You survive? Surely there must be more to life then merely surviving." 

"There are my friends. My crewmates. And there's S---" he stopped, "There's several things," 

"Would you give it up?" she asked, "If you had good reason too?" 

"I don't know what reason would be good enough to give up my life on the Titanprize..." he replied. 

Lana suddenly stiffened, "Well.... I must show you something then," 

Jericho had a strange foreboding, "What do you want to show me?" 

"Shiana ..." Lana said, "If our Aian delicacy doesn't entice you to stay, there truly is no hope," she smiled sweetly, then quickly lead Lt. Commander Jericho to the other side of the garden. 

"Shiana?" Jericho asked. 

"Yes. You simply must try some!" she said, and happily dragged the Y2J Unit to a large tree. 

"Actually, I should return to the City Hall. I haven't heard from Vinnie-mac yet," 

"No no... you MUST try this!" Lana replied. Jericho began to wonder why she was so insistent. He was about to ask when Lana began to climb the tree in front of them. 

"Listen, I appreciate it... but you really don't have to---" Before Jericho could finish his sentence, Lana's footing gave-way. 

The Y2J Unit quickly caught the Aian. She looked up at him, eyes wide, eyelashes fluttering, "I'm so sorry... sometimes I can be such a klutz," Lana said. 

"Right...." Jericho replied, unconvinced. Lana had been attempting to gain his interest since he had first arrived. She wasn't even trying to be subtle anymore. The Y2J Unit forced himself not to laugh. Would she have been so eager if she knew he was merely wires and metal? He felt like telling her and finding out... however, McMahon had given explicit orders that Jericho NOT reveal his true nature, in case that particular element of surprise was needed later. 

"Thank you for catching me," she replied almost breathlessly. Jericho began to wonder if her fall was on purpose. 

"Are you ok?" 

Lana smiled sweetly, "I'm fine... thanks to you..." She held up the shiana she had grabbed before she had 'slipped' . It was an oddly shaped pink fruit, "Here... please... try this," 

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Lt. Commander Jericho!" a voice spoke behind the Y2J Unit. 

Jericho turned around, Lana still in his arms, to see Stephanie in a modified WrestleFleet uniform - a Uniform tank-top complete with commbadge, finished off by black spandex short-shorts and high-heeled black boots, "I didn't know they made WrestleFleet uniforms in skank-style," Jericho replied. 

Stephanie eyed the blonde in his arms, "May I ask what the hell you're doing with that Aian?" 

Jericho shrugged, "Giving her a lift?" Stephanie did not look amused. Jericho sighed, and put Lana down. 

The Aian bowed politely to Stephanie, "Forgive me. I did not mean to cause problems between you and your shipmate. I merely fell, and he caught me," she smiled at Lt. Commander Jericho once again. 

The Y2J Unit suddenly went to Stephanie's side, and quickly wrapped his arms around her, "I think the problem is that Commander Stephanie McMahon is more then just my shipmate," he explained, "She's my LIFE mate..." 

Stephanie's eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open, "WHAT THE FU--" 

"Listen, sugarmuffin..." He interrupted quickly, "What happened between me and Lana was completely innocent!" 

Stephanie glared daggers at him, "Get your hands off me...!" 

"Now now, darling... don't be like that," he gave her a quick hug, then turned to Lana, "She's so cute when she's jealous, isn't she?" Jericho tried not to wince as Stephanie   
ground the sharp heel of her boot into his toe. He squeezed the Chief Engineer tightly, causing her to let out a painful yelp. 

Lana eyed the two, confusion clear on her lovely, clueless face. Stephanie forced a smile, 

"Excuse me, my.... Lllllllll.... LIFE MATE..." she could barely say the word, "...and I have to talk," She quickly pulled away from him. 

Lana looked at Jericho and Stephanie as the two walked away, and Jericho could have sworn he saw a hint of anger from the ever-so-happy Aian. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Stephanie hissed when Lana was out of earshot. 

"Just play along," Jericho replied. 

"Have you COMPLETLY malfunctioned?" 

"No! Listen... I haven't heard from your dad, and Lana over there was trying to ... _distract_ me. I had to think of a quick way to get away from her!" Jericho explained. 

"So you told her we were LIFE MATES?!" Stephanie screeched. This incited a look from Lana a few feet away. 

"QUIET!" Jericho hissed, "We're talking about a possible security breach here!" 

Stephanie lowered her voice, "It's still no excuse! I don't want people thinking you and me..." she made a face, "EEEEWWWW!" 

"Whatever, just play along for now so she'll leave me alone and we can find out why your dad hasn't contacted us in three hours!" 

"Where is he anyway?" 

"City Hall. Shall we go?" Jericho asked. Stephanie nodded, and the two headed towards the building, Lana following a few feet behind. 

*** 

PLANET AI - CITY HALL 

"I think your captain is still in his meeting with our leader," Lana said as the three entered the lobby. 

"Then I'll just get him OUT of the meeting," Stephanie tapped her comm badge, "Commander Stephanie to daddy. Could you meet me out in the lobby please?" 

"Steph, honey? What are you doing here?" McMahon's voice came through the comm badge. 

"I was worried about you, daddy," Stephanie replied. 

"More worried about your tan, weren't you Steph?" Jericho muttered. 

Stephanie ignored the Y2J Unit and continued, "I was wondering why you hadn't contacted us yet, daddy," Stephanie explained. 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I've been busy. I'm coming out now. I want you to meet Brother!" 

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "Brother?" 

"Yes. We've come to an agreement. We'll be right out, and I'll tell you all about it!" 

After a few moments, Captain McMahon emerged with the red-faced leader of Ai. The Captain went up to Stephanie and gave her a big hug. Stephanie eyed her father carefully, not used to any public displays of affection from him, "Daddy?" 

"Brother and I have found a suitable solution to the Titanprize's current problem!" Captain McMahon started as he nibbled on a piece of shiana, "We may have found our home!" 

Stephanie's face lit up, "You found a way home?! OH DADDY! That's wonderful!!" 

"Well, not a WAY home, sweetie... but good enough," McMahon said. 

Stephanie seemed confused, "I don't understand? Nothing will ever be _good enough,_" 

"THIS is," McMahon replied, then held out his arms to take in everything, "Welcome to your new home, honey!" 

Stephanie looked around, "What do you mean?" she asked, not liking what her father was implying. 

"Ai is to be our new home now!" McMahon replied, rather proud of his decision. 

Stephanie remained unimpressed, "You're kidding... right?" then smiled, "Good joke, dad," 

"No joke, sweetie. Brother and I have come to an agreement. He will accept our people as his own, and in return, we will share all that we are!" 

"Share?" Stephanie asked, "What do you mean SHARE?" 

"Our crewmen and crewwomen will take part in what is known as THE SHARING," McMahon replied, then put a gentle hand on Stephanie's shoulder, "All the problems you've had with relationships are a non-issue now!" 

Stephanie raised an eyebrow as she stared at her father, "Um... dad... uh... are you feeling ok? You seem a little... um..." 

"High?" Jericho finished for her. 

Brother stepped forward, "What brother MacMahon is saying, sister Stephanie, is that all those who have had trouble finding love will have trouble no longer! They will join in THE SHARING, and chose those that interest them!" the Aian's smile almost blinded Stephanie. 

"I don't under---" She stopped as she realized what Brother and her father were getting at,   
"OH NO! No no no no no! To borrow a phrase from Lt. Commander Austin... OH HELL NO!"   
Stephanie snapped, then turned to Brother, "With this little DEAL, what do YOU get out of it?" 

"A chance for us to share everything with yew! A chance for yew to share everything with US!" 

Stephanie shook her head, "Forget it! I'm not sharing ANYTHING with ANYONE! There will be NO sharing from THIS gal, ok?" 

"It's not like it would be the first time, Steph..." Jericho muttered. 

Stephanie turned to him, "And who the hell asked you?!" 

Brother interrupted the argument before it could go any further, "There so much love to go around, sister Stephanie... why NOT share it?" 

Stephanie glared at Brother, "Because I said so! Don't you DARE stand there and insist that the crew aboard the Titanprize should go find themselves two or three different lovers, because I REALLY don't think that's going to sit very well!" 

"Some may like that arrangement though, honey," McMahon replied. 

"Maybe a few PEVERTS... like Ensign Malenko, or Ensign Guerrero... who seemed to find two ho's better then one!" Stephanie replied, and shook her head, "I just can't agree with this, dad! First of all, we DO NOT want to give up on getting back home to settle here! Second of all, we DO NOT want to be told it's our sacred WrestleFleet DUTY to _share _with people we've only just met!" 

"As Captain of the Titanprize, I will COMMAND all my officers to follow through with this agreement! If they refuse, they will be punished, stripped of their rank, and thrown into the jail here on Ai!" McMahon replied. 

Jericho was finding all this very amusing... though he too was growing concerned that McMahon was perhaps SERIOUS. 

Stephanie looked at her father, her face clearly showing her disapproval, "You and me have to talk," 

"Your father and I will explain to you how wonderful this arrangement is on Thursday night. We are going to have a feast. A wonderfully large feast. We will beam your crew down and introduce them to our most eligible men and women. For now," he motioned to Lana, who came to his side dutifully, "Could you show sister Stephanie and brother Jericho to the visitor's quarters...?" 

Lana nodded, and lead Stephanie and Jericho away, leaving McMahon and Brother to continue their plans. 

*** 

PLANET AI - VISITOR'S QUARTERS 

Lt. Commander Jericho and Commander Stephanie entered the visitor quarters they had been assigned to. Thanks to Jericho's 'life mate' comment, the Aians thought the two should share a room. 

"I'll never forgive you for this!" Stephanie muttered. 

"What are you complaining about? YOU get the bed..." he paused and smirked, "Unless you want to _share_," Stephanie made a disgusted face. Jericho snickered as he turned to the nearby window and took in the surrounding area. Beneath their room was a large pool. Over to the left there was a golf course, and over to the right lay the tennis courts. Beyond the golf course and tennis courts lay a nice, private, shaded area. Jericho had a pretty good idea what it was used for. 

Stephanie plopped herself on the double bed, then looked over at the night table. A bowl of pink, heart-shaped fruit lay there. She grabbed a piece. 

"Just so you know," Jericho started, "Lana tried to get me to eat this weird stuff earlier. If you see something pink, don't eat it. I think your dad had some of that crap too. It might explain why he's acting so weird..." 

"Her name was Lana?" Stephanie replied, then shrugged and took a bite of the fruit, "I guess she couldn't spell anything with more then five letters," 

"_Meow_. You know, Steph... you're ugly when you're jealous..." he replied. 

"Jealous over YOU? Were you programmed with that ego, or did you just develop it in the last few years?!" Stephanie snapped, muttering an unpleasant phrase under her breath. She then grabbed a nearby pillow and tossed it at Jericho. 

Jericho quickly spun towards her and caught the pillow easily, "Such displays of immaturity are unbecoming in a WrestleFleet officer of your rank, Commander," 

Stephanie ignored him as she took another bite of the shiana fruit. She smiled, savouring the taste, "Mmmm! This is good. Try some..." 

Jericho quickly noticed what she was eating, and grabbed the shiana out of her hand. 

"HEY! That's mine..!" Stephanie shouted as she tried to get it back. Jericho held it away from her. Stephanie got to her feet, "I demand you give that back to me, Lt. Commander Jericho!" She went up to the Y2J Unit, and he put a hand on her forehead, keeping her at arm's length. Stephanie tried to reach for the fruit again, but he gently shoved her away, causing the Commander to land ungracefully on her rear. 

"Steph... I recall telling you a few moments ago that if you see something PINK, DON'T eat it! This looks pink to me. And it looks like you ate it!" 

"I'll eat what I please, and how DARE you treat me with such disrespect!" Stephanie's face was flushed with anger as she climbed back to her feet. 

"I ALWAYS treat you with disrespect, Steph. Nothing new there..." he replied, then looked at the fruit, "Maybe I WILL try some after all..." He took a bite, and furrowed his brow as he let his sensors study the fruit on his tongue. It didn't take long for him to realize it had been altered, "There's some weird chemical in this. I'll send a sample up to the Titanprize. They can do a complete analysis of it in the science labs," 

Stephanie scowled at Jericho as she sat back on the bed, then she reached for the bowl of shiana on the nightable. 

Jericho quickly knocked the bowl out of her hand, the pink fruit spilling over the red plush carpet floor, "Did I not just say there was a weird chemical in that? DON'T EAT IT! Do I need to put my vocal emitters in a a feedback loop to get through to you?!" 

Stephanie pouted angrily, but a few moments later, she found herself calming down somewhat, "Never mind. I'm sure there's more of it somewhere else..." Jericho threw his hands in the air hopelessly. Stephanie ignored him as she lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, "You know... come to think of it, maybe I could live here ... find a nice Aian man or two. They're a good-looking species. Maybe sharing won't be so bad after all..." 

Jericho crossed his arms and glared at her, "I'm trying to explain that there's something in this fruit, and you're busy going on about playing 'skanky ho' on a planet you've only been on for two hours!" 

"But this planet is so nice!" she spoke dreamily. 

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked. 

"I think I just might want to stay ..." she continued, "What should I grab from the ship? My clothes, most definitely. And maybe a replicator... and---" 

"STEPHANIE! Would you please SHUT the HELL UP!" Jericho shouted. 

Stephanie sat up angrily, "You have been acting rude and insubordinate ever since I beamed down! Do you have a wire lose, Lt. Commander?" 

"I should ask YOU the same thing! Aren't you even wondering why you have a sudden yearning to settle here on this planet when you were just chewing daddy out for the same thing not more then half an hour ago...?" 

"Maybe he had the right idea!" Stephanie retorted. 

"Or maybe this fruit is messing with your head!" he replied. 

"How can--" Stephanie stopped, and put a hand to her forehead. She winced and tried to blink away the sharp pain, "damn..." After a few moments, she looked back at Lt. Commander Jericho, her eyes clear and bright, "Well... that was weird..." she said, "The pain's gone..." 

"And so are the effects of the fruit, I'm guessing..." he replied. "Good thing you only took a few bites," he held up the fruit, "I'm guessing your dad's been enjoying his fair share of this, which could explain why he wants to stay here so desperately," 

"Let me see that..." Stephanie commanded. Jericho seemed hesitant, "I'm not going to take a bite, ok?" Jericho reluctantly handed the fruit to her, and Stephanie studied it, "Are you saying that THIS is what's causing daddy to act so strange?" 

"Well, that... and the scantily-clad Aian women..." 

Stephanie glared at him, "Daddy would NEVER be with anyone but my mom!" 

"Oh... but he wants to SHARE!" Jericho replied, and was about to mention Trish's midnight visits to the Captain's quarters back on the ship, but thought better of it. Stephanie would find out on her own. 

"Don't even go there, Jerkicho!" 

Jericho rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I suggest we pretend we're happy little tourists and act like nothing's wrong. It may be the only way to find out what the hell is going on here!" 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS (the next night) 

"First Officer's log, stardate 032720.01. Captain McMahon has contacted the ship and invited us to a feast on Planet Ai Thursday night. He seems quite taken with the planet, and has voiced an interest in settling, promising further explanation at the feast. If Vince does wish to stay, he will have to give up his place onboard this ship..." Shane smiled to himself, "Of course, who am I to deny Pops his happiness? I, Commander Shane McMahon, will proudly take Vincent K. McMahon's place as the Captain of the WWF Titanprize..." 

*** 

PLANET AI - VISITOR'S QUARTER 

Vince quickly answered his ringing door. When he opened it, Stephanie and Jericho stood there. The female Aian that had been in the room with the captain smiled as she walked past Stephanie, out into the hallway. The Chief Engineer's eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open. She turned to her father, about to speak her mind, but Jericho quickly stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder. Stephanie quickly calmed herself down, and continued with the happy tourist charade her and Jericho had agreed on. 

McMahon hadn't noticed Stephanie's reaction, and smiled as he led the two to the small table at the other end of the room. "So, what do you think of Ai? Have you warmed to it yet?" he asked as they took their seats. 

Stephanie smiled in return, "They have wonderful fruit here. The shiana is so sweet! I've never tasted anything like it!" 

"I know! Isn't it wonderful?" Vince asked, then turned to Lt. Commander Jericho, "It's a shame you can't take pleasure in such things, Lt. Commander. It truly is a delicacy..." 

"As many things here are..." Jericho replied, faking a smile, "I've actually started to warm to this planet as well," 

Jericho noticed the bowl of fruit on McMahon's night table, but didn't intercept the Captain as he made his way towards it. Stephanie and the Y2J Unit had their own plans, but in order for it to work, the good Captain had to be under the influence. 

McMahon nodded, "That's good. Very good," he said, then furrowed his brow, "Now I must ask you something, Lt. Commander. Lana informed me you claimed Stephanie was your lifemate when she had first beamed down," Before Stephanie or Jericho could reply, McMahon continued, "My daughter, being the beautiful girl that she is, would probably garner a lot of male attention... correct? I understand you decided to make it your duty to focus such attentions away from her," McMahon smiled again, "I suppose that's acceptable for now, until my Stephie decides which Aians catch her fancy, right sweetie?" 

Stephanie was struck silent. Her father didn't have a problem with Jericho's bogus public claim? Her father, who probably disliked the Y2J Unit almost as much as Shane did, found it _acceptable_? "What, exactly, is IN that fruit?" Stephanie muttered under her breath to Jericho. 

"I've sent it up to the ship. I'm waiting for Ben-oyt's report," he replied just as quietly, then plastered on another smile as McMahon returned to his seat. The Captain remained blissfully unaware of the exchange. 

"I hear you've been forced to share a room to keep up your charade. I do hope you're treating Stephanie with the respect she deserves..." The Captain said. 

Before Jericho could offer a smart-ass reply, Stephanie elbowed him in the ribs, then winced as bone hit no-selling titanium metal, eliciting a quiet snicker from the Y2J Unit. Stephanie scowled at him, then turned back to her father and smiled, "He's behaving as a WrestleFleet officer should, daddy..." 

"That's good. Very good..." McMahon repeated, and held out some shiana for Stephanie. 

"No thanks, daddy. I ate the whole bowl in my room," she lied, and tried to hide the fact she was becoming increasingly distressed by her father's complacency. 

McMahon nodded, "That's good... Everything is good..." he smiled again, "I have some duties to attend to with Brother, but why don't you two get familiar with the night life here on Ai? You're young! You should go out and explore Ai's hot spots!" 

"It's ok, daddy... we really don't want to..." 

"No no. I insist! I'll ask Brother to get someone to give you a guided tour! Perhaps you'll find some nice Aian men, honey," 

"Daddy, I really don't---" 

Before Stephanie could finish her protest, McMahon went up to the monitor on the wall and called for Brother. The man's red face soon filled the small view screen, "Brother Vince... how may I help yew?" 

"I need a tour guide for my daughter and her companion. They wish to explore the night life here," 

"I'll send Lana to your quarters right away. She'll show them all they need to see..." Brother replied, "And remember... Ai luvs yew!" 

"We luv Ai too, brother..." Jericho called out, and Stephanie elbowed him once more, wincing again. She kept forgetting his no-selling titanium structure. 

"Well then, now that that's settled, I'll come down to meet you shortly, Brother," Vince said, and shut off the monitor. He turned to Stephanie and Jericho, "You two just wait here, and Lana will be right with you. Have a good night. I'll see you in the morning..." with that, McMahon headed out. 

Moments later, Lana arrived, and began the tour. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - SCIENCE LAB 

"Lt. Benoit's personal science log, stardate 032720.01 . I've studied the sample the android sent up from the planet. It seems a behaviour-altering chemical has been added to the shiana fruit found on Ai. I cannot figure out the formula with this sample, but I am able to calculate the effects using Captain McMahon as an example. This chemical apparently causes one to feel complacent, overly agreeable, and extremely content in any given situation. I've also noted some aphrodisiac qualities in the makeup. It IS non-toxic, but there is no known antidote, although the effects do wear off eventually depending on how much of the chemical has been ingested. How does this bode for our captain? Not well..." Benoit then grinned coldly, "But it bodes VERY well for our first officer..." 

*** 

LINGUISTICS AND INFORMATION 

Joe downloaded all the files the Titanprize could find in Ai's computers. How he had gotten into the computers in the first place was something no one needed to know. At Lt. Commander Jericho's request, he was asked to provide information, and he would do so. So what if the means were unlawful? So what if Joe was finding more information then he needed? He was only following orders, after all. 

Besides... the formula which made up the chemical ingredient in the shiana fruit could prove very useful in the future. 

Though maybe he would just keep that information to himself for now... 

*** 

PLANET AI - CITY SQUARE (Ai's Lane) 

Jericho, Stephanie, and Lana made their way through the crowded City Square. Despite it being well after 22:00h, the sun was still bright as ever. 

Lana lead the WrestleFleet officers into a dimly-lit club playing soft, romantic music. The walls were decorated with hearts and expressions of love. If the Y2J Unit was capable of being ill, he would have retched at the complete sappiness of it all. 

Stephanie watched as the Aians danced, their bodies pressed so tightly against one-another that their public display would undoubtedly be considered illegal on some planets. 

"Are there any hard-rock clubs here?" Jericho asked Lana. 

Lana seemed confused, "Sorry... what is hard-rock?" 

Jericho was about to give examples, then shook his head, "Never mind," 

Lana nodded and smiled, "When the deal between your Captain McMahon and our Brother is finalized, this will be one of the places we shall bring your fellow crewmates. There are so many Aians here. They will truly be able to share," Lana held out her hand to Jericho, "Would you like to dance, Lt. Commander?" 

"NO!" Stephanie replied, then quickly smiled, "I mean... we don't have time. We want to see a few other clubs too," 

"Would you like to dance?" a voice said behind Stephanie. She turned to see a male Aian holding his hand out to her. 

"NO!" The Y2J Unit answered quickly, then turned to Lana, "We should take Commander Stephanie's advice," The male Aian seemed disappointed, as did Lana. 

"Very well. Follow me," Lana replied, and lead Stephanie and Jericho out of the club. 

The trio walked though what was known as Ai's Lane, but every club or bar they came to played the same type of music. After two hours, the WrestleFleet officers grew bored of their tour. 

"Tell me, Lana..." Jericho started, "Where do they process the shiana fruit?" 

Lana furrowed her brow, "Why do you wish to know that?" she asked. 

Jericho offered her a charming smile, "We were just curious as to where Ai's great delicacy was harvested." 

Stephanie quickly caught on, "Yes. We want to learn everything we can about it! I mean, it's unlike anything we've ever had before! It's absolutely wonderful!" 

Lana smiled, "Well, I am glad you appreciate what Ai's soil has to offer! I will show you where the fruit and seedlings are taken to grow and mature, though since it is late, the factory is closed right now... but they have tours in the morning if you wish," 

"Show us anyway. At least we'll know where to go when we want a tour," Jericho said. 

Lana nodded, "Very well... follow me." 

*** 

PLANET AI - VISITOR'S QUARTERS (the next morning) 

Jericho studied his padd, reading the information Joe had provided him with, "Well?" Stephanie asked, kneeling behind him as he sat on the bed, "What does it say?" 

"You're leaning over my shoulder, can't you read it?!" 

"Summarize it for me," she replied. 

"You're getting lazy in your old age, Steph," Jericho replied, then sighed, "According to this, the Aians have come into some rather advanced technology in the last 200 years. Now this technology was not created by the Aians. It was created by OTHER species. The Aianas merely took the technology and modified it to their advantage," 

"How did they convince other species to hand over their technology?" Stephanie asked, then realize the answer, "Let me guess, it's part of the whole _sharing _thing, right?" 

Jericho nodded, "And no doubt this shiana had a lot to do with the willingness to share!" 

"How?" Stephanie asked. 

"From what I can gather, according to Ben-oyt's findings, the shiana is the Ai equivalent to the lotus flower..." he explained. 

"Lotus flower?" 

Jericho had to crane his neck to look at her as she continued reading the padd over his shoulder, "With all your education, you've never read Homer's _Odyssey_?" he asked. Stephanie shook her head. Jericho sighed, "Well, long story short -- the lotus was a flower that the men on Odysseus's ship ate. It made them forget everything, put them in a state of nirvana... and made them very willing to stay on the lotus-eaters' island instead of continuing their journey home." He checked the padd in front of him, "Ben-oyt points out that the shiana can also be used as an aphrodisiac... given the right circumstances..." 

Stephanie looked a little uncomfortable, "Well, good thing I only had a few bites then!" 

Jericho raised an eyebrow, "The only other person in the room was ME, Steph. You've said how much you despise me, so why would it matter HOW much you'd had?" 

Stephanie quickly turned away from him, "Let's get back to the problem at hand, shall we? Now tell me how Odysseus got his men to return to their ship!" 

Jericho shrugged, the conversation better off forgotten, "Well, Odysseus had to restrain the rest of his crew from coming to the island, and then forcibly drag the affected sailors back to the ship," 

"Seems simple enough. Let's do it!" Stephanie replied, then quickly clarified, "I mean... do what Odysseus did!" All this talk of aphrodisiacs was making Stephanie jumpy. 

"Easier said then done!" Jericho replied. 

"Why?" 

Jericho looked dismal, "Because OUR Odysseus just ordered the entire ship to beam down... and feast with the lotus-eaters..." 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

   [1]: mailto:elektrawwf@yahoo.com



	83. Season 9 Episode 9 A Nice Place to Visi...

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 9

****

TITANPRIZE: 

****

Voyagers 

****

SEASON NINE 

****

EPISODE 9: A NICE PLACE TO VISIT...   
**PART TWO**

By: [Elektra][1]

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Morale Officer, Commissioner Mick Foley   
... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"First officer's log, stardate 040120.01. Pops is down on Planet Ai with Lt. Commander Jericho, and my sister Stephanie. It annoys me that the Y2J Unit and my sister are even breathing the same air, but right now, the Titanprize needs me. Pops is still trying to convince the crew and myself that Planet Ai is a paradise, and a great place to call home. To prove it, Brother, the leader of Planet Ai, has invited the crew down to join in a feast. Suffice it to say, no one is buying his bull," 

Shane paused a moment, then smiled coldly, "Of course, if Pops still insists on staying there, I'd be more then happy to leave him... End log." 

***

PLANET AI - SHIANA FACTORY (before dawn) 

Lt. Commander Jericho and Commander Stephanie hid around the side of the factory Lana   
had lead them to the previous evening. It had not yet opened for the day. "So how do we get in?" Stephanie asked. 

Jericho looked up, "There..." he said, pointing to the ventilation ducts above them. 

"You've got to be kidding me! No way am I crawling through that!" 

"No. We need someone light-weight and limber," he looked at Stephanie, "And   
you're NEITHER!" 

"Don't you start with me!" Stephanie warned, then sighed, "Who IS light-weight and limber   
then?" she asked. 

Jericho and Stephanie thought a moment, then the both turned to each other, coming to the same conclusion... 

***

SHIANA FACTORY - Ten minutes later 

"This better be good! I was having a great dream about Lita!" Ensign Jeff Hardy replied as the glitter of the transporter beam faded away. 

"About things you'll never do with her, Jeff?" Stephanie asked. 

Jeff frowned at the remark, then handed Jericho and Stephanie the phasers they had requested, looking less then pleased, "What ELSE did you need me for?" 

"Jeffrey, you're pretty limber and light-weight, right...?" Stephanie began. 

"Get to the point, Steph..." Jeff said. 

"What princess is getting at," Jericho explained, shooting Stephanie an impatient look,   
"Is that we need someone to crawl through the air ducts and open the factory from inside," 

"Awwww man...!" Jeff whined, "I gotta crawl through THAT?!" he looked up at the rusty,   
dust-covered vent. 

"If you value your life onboard the Titanprize, you will," Jericho replied, "But if you'd rather   
SHARE yourself with some Aian women..." he let the sentence trail. Stephanie and Jericho had informed Jeff of the situation prior to his beaming down. 

"Ok ok..." Jeff replied, then sighed, "Give me a lift..." Jericho grabbed Jeff around the waist   
and tossed him up, "DAAAAAMMMMMNNNNN!!" Jeff shouted as he flew through the air. He   
quickly landed on the roof, "Geez, Chris! Did you have to throw me so HIGH?!" 

"Sorry, Jeff..." Jericho replied, "Guess I don't know my own strength," but Jeff could see the   
smirk on the Y2J Unit's face. 

Jeff smiled and shook his head, "Psycho robot!" 

"Idiotic Aerialian!" Jericho retorted good-naturedly. 

"Ok, can we stop with the manly display of testosterone...?" Stephanie replied, "or..." she   
glanced at Jericho, "_Simulated_ testosterone, whatever the case may be!" She looked up at Jeff,   
"Just get in there and open the doors!" 

"Alright, alright! Don't get your panties in a bunch..." Jeff replied, then lay on his stomach,   
hanging partway off the roof to remove the vent. He then gracefully flipped himself into the   
airduct and disappeared. 

"Keep your comm open, Hardly!" Stephanie called to him. 

"Gotcha..." he replied through the commbadge, "Ugh... I think something just crawled over my leg. It was really big too..." 

"Want us to beam you a can of _Raid_?" Stephanie replied sarcastically, growing impatient with Ensign Hardy's whinning. 

"Can you?!" Jeff replied. 

Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Just get your butt in there and open the doors!" 

"Better hurry, Jeff. I think Stephanie is PMSing," Jericho replied. Stephanie could hear Jeff   
snicker through the comm. 

"Oh SHUT UP!" Stephanie snapped, "It's amazing I get ANYTHING done in Engineering with you two IDIOTS goofing off and----" Suddenly, the Y2J Unit pulled Stephanie against him, burying his face against her neck. Stephanie gasped as a plesant tingling sensation went through her, "Chris---" 

"SHHHHHH," he whispered. 

"Oh my... we are sorry... we did not mean to disturb you," a female voice spoke up. 

Jericho lifted his head, feigning surprise, "Oh... we thought we were alone here..." Jericho said to the two Aians that had interrupted them, "Didn't we, sugarmuffin?" 

Stephanie ignored the disappointment she felt when she realized why Jericho had held her like that, and quickly played along, "Yes. Right. Alone," she then laughed nervously, feeling a flush come to her cheeks as Jericho put an arm around her, keeping up the charade, "How embarrassing," 

The Aians smiled, "Well, our leader preaches love! You should not be embarrassed, nor ashamed, to be acting on such a beautiful emotion..." the male replied. 

Jericho smiled, "You're right. As you can tell, we're not from around here," 

"Yes. You're from the ship, correct?" The female asked. 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "You know about the ship?" 

"Well, when ships arrive here, it is quite a big deal," the female explained, "So few come   
through the gateway," she smiled, "So yes... we know about it," 

Stephanie stepped away from Jericho, interested now, "Gateway?" she asked, "What gateway?" 

The female seemed confused, "You did not come through Eros's Gateway?" 

Stephanie and Jericho exchanged looks, then turned back towards the Aians, "What, exactly, is this gateway?" Jericho asked. 

"Well... it is a large hole which splits the sky, then disappears once again into the stars! It is quite beautiful to behold!" the male replied. 

Jericho nodded, "And you're saying other ships have come through it?" 

"Yes. But... if you did not come through the gateway, where DID you come from?" the female   
asked. 

Suddenly, Stephanie's commbadge beeped to life, "I'm in..." Jeff spoke. 

Stephanie jumped and quickly put a hand to the golden WrestleFleet logo, "Uh... that's my   
father... he... um... he needs me to come in... come HOME... I mean... back to the visitor's   
quarters," 

"What my little lumpy-butt is trying to say is that we have to get on duty..." Jericho   
replied calmly, "If you'll excuse us, it was a pleasure meeting you," he shook hands with the   
Aians, and the two REAL lovers headed on their way. Jericho turned to Stephanie, "Smooth,   
Steph. May I suggest you never eeeeeeeeeeever play poker!" 

"I had to think fast, ok?" Stephanie hissed, then tapped her commbadge, "Hardly? What door are you at?" 

"South side," Jeff replied. 

"We'll be right there," Stephanie answered, and closed the commlink. She turned to Jericho, a   
scowl on her pretty face, "If you EVER call me your _little lumpy-butt _again, I will   
personally strip you of your rank and throw you in the brig!" 

"Steph Steph Steph... darling, honey, sweetiepie..." he put a hand on his chest, a pained   
expression on his face, "Don't you see how much your threats hurt my feelings?" he feigned sobs, "I just don't understand how you could be so cruel to me after everything we've been through!" 

Stephanie let out a frustrated shout, stomping her feet angrily as she quickly headed to the south side of the building, not bothering to check if the snickering Lt. Commander Jericho was following. 

***

INSIDE THE FACTORY 

"Nice setup they have here..." Jeff replied as the three studied the complex machine before them. Jars of liquid were piled against one wall, barrels of shiana were piled against another. The machinery would clean and inject the liquid into the shiana. 

Jericho studied one of the small syringes sticking out of the machine, "According to this, it takes maybe a drop of chemical to produce the desired affect in the shiana. Powerful stuff." He went over to the stock of shiana and made note of the ones clearly labelled for shipment to Brother's WrestleFleet feast, "It's a shame our crew won't be able to try this, hmm?" he asked, and powered up his phaser. 

"Wait... Chris... this is someone else's property! What business is it of ours what they do to their fruit?" Jeff asked. 

"If their fruit wasn't affecting our Captain's mental facilites, I'd be inclined to agree with you, Jeff... but the only way to get our Captain back is to destroy the contaminated fruit. Don't worry, I'm not going to destroy the machine. They can do what they want with it. But I refuse to allow them to give this crap to our crew!" Jericho explained, "And since the diner is tomorrow, they won't have time to create a new batch. They'll have to use uncontaminated shiana. Freshly picked." 

Jeff nodded, "Alright then... let's do it!" 

The three WrestleFleet officers aimed their phasers, and fired. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE (that evening) 

Shane made himself comfortable in the Captain's chair, "Lt. Commander Rock, any word from   
the surface?" 

"The Rock will tell your roody poo candy ass if he hears anything, wonder boy!" Rocky   
replied. 

Shane stood up and glared at his communications officer, "Lt. Commander Rock, you WILL   
treat me with the respect I deserve. You may be able to get away with insulting my father, but   
one more insubordinate comment out of you, and I will throw you in the brig. Is that   
understood?!" 

Rocky scowled, "Yes... SIR..." he muttered angrily. 

"Did he hurt your feelings, you dumb bastard?" Lt. Commander Austin asked sarcastically. 

"Know your role and SHUT your mouth, Jabroni! " Rocky replied. 

"You better shut YOUR mouth, or I may just shut it FOR you!" Austin replied. 

Rocky stepped away from his communications console, "You wanna start something with The   
Rock? Just bring it!" 

"I'll bring you a huge can of whoop ass, son!" 

"ENOUGH!!" Shane yelled over Austin and Rocky's threatening catchphrases. He tapped his   
commbadge, "Bradshaw, Farrooq, get your asses on the bridge and throw Austin and The Rock   
in the brig! Let them cool off for a bit. They're disrupting my ship!" 

Rock and Austin both turned to Shane, "YOUR ship?" Rocky started, "Since when does your   
candy ass run this ship, mini-Vince?" 

"Since NOW. My father has expressed interest in staying on Ai... and if that happens, then this   
ship is MINE. Remember that, boys." Shane replied. 

A few seconds later, Bradshaw and Farooq appeared on the bridge and looked at Rocky and   
Austin, "You sure you want us to toss them in the brig?" Farooq asked. 

"Yes I'm sure!" Shane answered angrily, "Are you questioning my orders?" 

"Damn... someone's in a bad mood..." Bradshaw muttered, then turned to Austin and Rocky,   
"C'mon boys, let's go..." 

Austin and Rock continued to glare at each other, ignoring the two security Lieutenants, "Don't make us have to beat your asses into the brig, boys..." Farooq threatened. 

After a moment, Rock and Austin turned to Farooq and Bradshaw, and reluctantly followed, "When you and me are in the brig, Rocky, there ain't gonna be no way out!" Austin threatened the Rock. 

"Are you challenging the Rock to a '_hell in the brig_' match?" Rocky asked. 

"Oh hell yeah I am!!" Austin replied. 

"Good. Fine," Shane began, "Sell tickets and we'll make a pay-per-view of it. NOW GET   
OFF MY BRIDGE!" 

With that, Bradshaw and Farooq escorted Austin and Rocky off the bridge. Once they were in   
the hallway, Shane could hear the four men start a brawl with one another. He didn't care, as   
long as they weren't disrupting the running of his ship. 

Shane made himself comfortable in the Captain's chair once again, "Ensign Christian... let's go exploring. Set coordinates at 33.22.66," 

"Um... Shane-dude... that will take us, like, AWAY from the planet. Vince will be totally pissed!" Christian replied. 

"Excuse me, Ensign... but WHO is in command of this ship at the moment?" Shane asked. 

"Well, YOU are, man... but---" 

"THEN DO AS I SAY!" Shane shouted. 

Christian nearly jumped out of his seat at Shane's harsh tone, "Yes sir!" he replied quickly,   
then took a deep breath, "Geez... power trip much?" he muttered to himself, but set the   
coordinates into the navigation console. The ship slowly began to head away from Planet Ai. 

***

AI CITY HALL 

"Are yew sure all the shiana fruit for the feast was _destroyed_, Brother Virgil?" Brother asked his faithful Aian subordinate. 

"Yes, Brother..." a dark-haired male Aian replied, "All of it," 

Brother didn't look very happy, "Do you know who may have destroyed it?" he asked. 

"A civilian couple reported seeing two Titanprize officers by the factory before dawn this morning..." 

"What were they doing?" Brother asked. 

"The report is that they were sharing their love, Brother..." Brother Virgil replied. 

"Hmmm..." Brother thought for a moment, "Why do I have the feeling that our hospitality has   
been taken advantage of?" 

***

PLANET AI - VISITOR'S QUARTERS 

Ensign Jeff Hardy was slumming on Stephanie's hotel bed, casually flipping through channels   
on the TV. Stephanie sat beside him, painting her nails, "Crap. Crap. Crap," then his face   
brightened, "Ooooh... porn!" 

Stephanie quickly grabbed the remote from him with her non-painted hand, "CRAP!" she   
snapped, and changed the channel. She smiled at the TV, "Oooh... romance!" 

"CRAP!" Jeff replied, and tried to grab the remote from her. She pulled it away, and the two   
started a small tug of war for the control. Eventually, Stephanie gave up, and went to sit at the   
table across the room, more interested in finishing her nails then fighting with Jeff. Ensign Hardy   
smiled at his success. 

"Hey, check this out, " Lt. Commander Jericho replied as he read the padd in his hands,   
"Apparently Eros's Gateway is a wormhole that opens up very irregularly in this sector. As the Aian couple told us, ships DO come through it, but there's no record of them ever going back..." he looked at Jeff and Stephanie, "Which means the crewmen of these ships have tasted the forbidden shiana fruit and decided to stay and _share _with the Aians. No doubt they shared all their technology too!" 

"How many have come through?" Stephanie asked. 

Jericho checked the padd again, "Not many. At least, not that the Aians have kept track. The gateway seems to open up every ten years," 

"Evey ten years?" Jeff perked up, "And when was the last time it opened?" 

Jericho frowned as he read the padd, "Don't get your hopes up, Jeff. The last time it opened   
was a few days ago... which would explain why the Aians thought WE were the ones who came   
through it. Nothing did though. Not this time, at least," 

"Well... what else does it say? Is there a way we can force it open?" Stephanie asked. 

"It's rare that you can change a force of nature," Jericho replied, "The wormhole WE came   
through was created by science, and a freak-accident caused by Russo's little toy. THIS   
wormhole is completely natural. You could no more force it to appear then you could force the   
Aurora Borealis to show up in the sky back on Earth..." he shrugged, "Let me see if Joe can find us any more _classified information_..." 

"Do we want to know HOW he gets it?" Jeff asked. 

"No. It's probably better we don't..." Jericho replied, then tapped his commbadge, "Lt. Commander Jericho to WWF Titanprize," He recieved nothing but static. He tried again, and still recieved the same response. He looked towards Jeff, who tapped his own commbadge in an attempt to hail someone, but recieved as much static as Jericho, "Well.. this is weird..." The Y2J Unit quickly pulled out a tricorder and scanned the room, but he could find no dampening field, nor anything else that would cause the interference. Jericho turned to Stephanie, who now had her other hand painted with sickeningly bright pink polish, "Can youhail the Titanprize?" he asked. 

Stephanie held up the freshly-painted nails, "Not right now! They're still wet!" 

"Just tap your commbadge and try to hail the Titanprize..." Jericho began, then smirked, "Or   
I'll ask Jeff to do it for you..." 

"Oh... can I?" Jeff asked as he eyed the commbadge on Stephanie's chest. 

"Ugh... I'm surrounded by perverts!" She muttered. 

"No. You're just surrounded by two guys who enjoy having fun at your expense," Jeff replied. 

Stephanie rolled her eyes and carefully tapped her commbadge, trying not to ruin her nails in   
the process, "Commander Stephanie to WWF Titanprize..." She furrowed her brow as she   
recieved static as well. Stephanie tried a few more times, but continued to be unsuccessful, "This is impossible! There's nothing in the atmosphere that should be causing static interference," 

"And there's nothing in or around this room either..." Jericho replied, "Unless..." he let the   
thought trail off. They wouldn't have... would they? 

"Unless... WHAT?" Stephanie asked, growing concerned now. 

Jeff quickly stood up, "Chris... you're not thinking they..." he shook his head, "They WOULDN'T do that!" 

"Remember who's running the ship in Vince's absence, Jeff!" Jericho replied. 

Realization crossed Jeff's face, "Damnit!" he muttered, "We're stranded...!" 

Suddenly, Brother's voice came through the hotel speakers, "Brother Jericho, Sister Stephanie. I want to call a meeting with you two and your Captain tomorrow morning..." 

Jericho pressed the response button on the night stand, no visual, lest Brother see Jeff, "About what, Brother?" 

"About tomorrow's feast. I just wanted to go over last minute details with the three of you, and... a few other things..." 

Stephanie and Jericho exhanged looks, "Sure, Brother," Stephanie replied. "Well see you at 09:00h tomorrow morning," 

"Thank yew. I luv yew... Brother out..." 

Jericho waited a moment, then carefully checked to make sure the comm was off, "Ok... now back to our current situation -- the lack of a ship..." 

***

AI CITY HALL (the next morning) 

"You wanted to see us, Brother?" McMahon asked as Brother requested an audience with the   
Captain, Jericho, and Stephanie in his office. The Aian leader was not currently aware of Ensign Hardy's presence. Jericho had asked the Aerialian to remain in the visitor quarters and stay out of sight. 

"Yes. It seems some of our property was damaged the other morning..." Brother began, "Now our planet rarely has crime, and therefore this vandalism disturbs us greatly. We lost a lot of   
stock," 

"We're sorry to hear that, Brother..." McMahon replied. He had yet to find out about his OWN   
loss, as Stephanie and Jericho had decided to keep the disappearance of the Titanprize to   
themselves until they were sure Vince was thinking like a Captain again. 

Brother nodded, then turned to Stephanie and Jericho, "Two of my people claimed you were   
at the scene..." he then smiled brightly, though for some reason, Stephanie got the impression his   
smile was as fake as the diamonds on his fingers, "I was just wondering if yew may have seen   
something," 

Jericho and Stephanie exchanged looks, "Well... yes. We were out together..." Jericho began,   
then feigned embarrassment, "But the last thing on our minds was looking for vandals, Brother," 

"Ahhhhhh... I see..." Brother replied, "But surely you need not sneak away to share your   
love," 

Captain McMahon turned to Stephanie and Jericho, "WHAT were you sharing?" he asked, the   
protective father coming out finally. Stephanie also made note that her father was acting   
somewhat normal now. Perhaps he had run out of shiana. Or at least, the chemically altered   
shiana. 

"Now brother McMahon, surely you would know. Sister Stephanie is your daughter..."   
Brother replied. 

McMahon turned back to Brother, "Uh... yes. Yes she is... and... uh... yes, I do know about   
their little..." he almost gagged on the word, "trysts," 

"I think it's more then that, brother McMahon. They are in love. Can't you see?" Brother   
replied, then smiled back at Jericho and Stephanie, "And because this planet preaches love, I   
have a surprise at the feast I planned for your crew," his smile grew wider, "I am having my   
people not only set up for the feast, but set up... for a WEDDING! Sister Stephanie and Brother Jericho will be married right here on Ai!" 

"MARRIED?!" Stephanie screeched, then suddenly began to hyper-ventilate, "TO HIM? No   
no no... oh no no no... " 

"HONEY?" McMahon's voice was filled with concern as he put a hand on his daughter's back. 

Stephanie shook her head violently, "no no no no... no no no no..." she repeated. 

Jericho quickly jumped in, "Uh... she's overwhelmed... this is... such a wonderful... gift..." The Y2J Unit clenched his jaw tightly, the motor in his left eye malfunctioning into a continuous   
twitch at the thought of marrying Commander Stephanie McMahon, "Come, dear... let's... return   
to our hotel room and..." he could barely say it, "_Celebrate,_" 

Stephanie was still hyper-ventalating as Jericho lead her out of Brother's office. McMahon   
soon followed. 

Brother watched them leave, and smiled to himself, "Now the truth will come out, brothers   
and sisters..." he replied, "And punishment shall be handed down... with luv," 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE 

"Commander McMahon..." Dr. Taker began as he invited himself onto the bridge, "I suggest   
you turn this ship around and head back to Ai before I break my boot in your stank ass!" 

Shane stood up and turned to Taker, "Are you threatening me, doctor?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I am, son...." Taker replied. 

"WHO is running this ship? WHO has the power to throw your medical ass into the brig with   
one word?" Shane asked. 

Dr. Taker glared at young Shane, "You try it, and you'll be a very dead man..." 

"Please... no violence..." Counsellor Snow began as he held H.E.A.D. against his chest tightly,   
"Let's talk about this rationally..." He looked at H.E.A.D. a moment, then turned back to Shane,   
"H.E.A.D. says that there is something on Ai that is worth going back for. Something found ONLY on Planet Ai," 

"Oh? And what would that be?" Shane asked, not convinced. 

Snow waited a moment, conferring with H.E.A.D., then turned back to Shane, "A fruit that may prove useful ..." he replied. Neither Snow nor H.E.A.D. were aware that the said fruit had been   
chemically altered. "This fruit," Snow continued, "makes the one who eats it very agreeable and   
relaxed. It could be quite therapeutic when dealing with crewmen suffering from cabin-fever," 

Shane was about to reply in the negative when he remembered what Lt. Benoit had said about the fruit. The behaviour-altering chemical that had been injected into the fruit could make anyone, with the right influence, do anything they were told. If Benoit could study the chemical in the fruit and figure out the formula, Shane could use it. Specifically, use it on Pops to hand over the ship, "Now that you mention it, counsellor," the Commander began, "Perhaps we WILL go back and check out this fruit," 

Counsellor Snow smiled, then turned to Dr. Taker, "I knew I could appeal to his sense of   
reason," 

"Shut your stank ass up, Al..." Taker replied, then headed off the bridge as the Titanprize made it's way back to Ai. 

***

PLANET AI - VISITOR'S QUARTERS 

"Well, this is a fine mess you've gotten us into, Jerkicho!!" Stephanie snapped angrily. 

"Wow... a wedding! Hey, can I be your best man?" Jeff asked Jericho with a smile. 

"NO!" Stephanie and Jericho shouted in sync. Jeff snickered. 

"You'd better not be planning on actually going through with this!" Stephanie said. 

"BELIEVE me," Jericho replied, "The last thing I want to do is be married to YOU!" 

Stephanie glared at Jericho, "Ugh... I wish I could have played this charade with a REAL   
man," 

Jericho laughed harshly, "Someone like that pansy, Ensign Angle?" he asked. 

"Well at least he's HUMAN!" Stephanie snapped, "Flesh and blood! Not wires and   
microchips!" 

"Um... guys," Jeff began. 

"Not like you'd know the difference," Jericho replied, "Trip preferred his sledgehammer to   
YOU, and you've had so many Ensigns, it's routine now. You wouldn't know REAL if it bit you   
on the ass! " 

"Hey, guys!" Jeff repeated. 

"Listen, Jerkicho, Hunter is the ONLY man I've ever been wi---" she stopped, "Never mind! How DARE you even bring him into this!" 

"GUYS! SHUT UP ALREADY!!" Jeff shouted. Stephanie and Jericho turned to him, surprised by his outburst. He smiled sheepishly, "Sorry... but... um... Matt just hailed me. The Titanprize is   
back," 

***

AI BALLROOM - that night 

"Are you absolutely sure we destroyed all the chemically altered shiana?" Stephanie asked Jericho and Ensign Hardy as the three stood outside the ballroom before the faux wedding. All three were dressed to the nines. 

"Yes," Jericho replied, "Actually, the shiana Lana was offering to me when we first arrived here was clean. The only altered shiana was shiana that had already been picked from the trees… though sheseemed to think the fruit she was offering was also altered," 

Stephanie nodded, and put a hand on the phaser hidden in the folds of her dress. 

"You two ready?" Jericho asked as the music inside the ballroom struck up. Stephanie nodded, relieved that the so-called _wedding _was to take place AFTER the feast… which was an odd tradition. Stephanie had quickly figured out the reason -- the crew of the Titanprize was to be given shiana during the meal. Jericho figured the Aian's hoped the crew would be easily influenced by the shiana AND the wedding, and therefore in the mood to join in _The Sharing_. 

"The crew knows what's going on," Jeff said, "And they're aware the Captain is still high on all the shiana he's eaten in the last few days…" Jeff smiled slightly, "I think he'll be really pissed to find out Shane took the Titanprize for a joyride though," 

"No doubt…" Jericho replied. He would have said more, but not with a McMahon standing beside him. He nodded to the ballroom, "Go in, Jeff." 

Jeff went through the doors and headed to his seat. Jericho and Stephanie stood outside, waiting for their cue. They were the 'guests of honour', and therefore would get their own entrance, "How am I going to fight in this?" Stephanie muttered as she stared at the train of her dress. 

"Very carefully?" Jericho replied. Stephanie made a face, "I doubt we're going to fight much anyway. I don't think the Aians even know HOW to fight." 

The music inside the ballroom started up, and the two WrestleFleet officers took their cues, and walked in. Quiet snickers from their fellow crewmates filled the room as the two took the seats of honour. 

Sitting calmly beside Lana, Brother smiled smugly, as if he knew the reason for their snickers. The red-faced man stood up and held a glass high, "Brother Jericho, sister Stephanie, we here on Ai wish you the best of luck in yer future endeavors. We know yew will have a long, happy marriage, and a wonderful life here on Ai…" 

In sync, Stephanie and Jericho pulled out their phasers and jumped to their feet, "No… we won't!" Stephanie snapped. 

Captain McMahon's eyes went wide, "What is the meaning of this?" he asked. 

"The meaning of this, Captain, is that your red-faced friend has brainwashed you, and attempted to brainwash US in an effort to get the crew of the Titanprize to stay on this planet and not only share our bodies, but share our TECHNOLOGY as well," Jericho turned to Brother, "Sorry, jerky, but that's just not gonna happen!" 

Brother smiled nervously, "Brother Jericho, sister Stephanie… I am an unarmed man. We are a peaceful people. Please, let us not come to violence," 

"For almost making me marry Jerkicho, you're lucky I don't shoot you right here!" Stephanie replied. 

"Then you've left us no choice…" Brother said, and snapped his fingers. Ten Aians stood up, pulling out their own weapons and training them on Jericho and Stephanie. The crew of the Titanprize quickly jumped to their feet, each member in a ready position, holding out their phasers. 

The Aians were at a loss. They were obviously out numbered... and it looked like most of them had never even HELD a weapon before, let alone USED one. The technology had been shared, but apparently the USE of the technology had NOT. 

"I suggest you tell your people to put down their weapons…" Lt. Commander Jericho said. 

Brother's face grew redder, if that was possible, "I was suspicious that you were the ones who destroyed our shiana stock. Now I know!" 

"And you're going to do… what, exactly?" Stephanie asked. 

Brother scowled. In a face that was usually smiling, it was a disturbing sight, "Yew shouldn't have found out in the first place!" 

"Well, I was a little suspicious when Lana over there insisted I try some shiana. Now while the shiana she was offering me wasn't altered, I could tell the bowls of fruit in the hotel rooms were," 

"How could yew know? The chemical is tasteless!" 

"I took a bite of the shiana, and my internal sensors informed me of the chemical altering!" Jericho replied. 

Brother looked confused, "Internal sensors?" 

"Lt. Commander Jericho is a robot!" Stephanie explained. 

Jericho glared at Stephanie, "I'm an _Artificial Intelligence_!" he snapped. 

"Like there's a difference!" Stephanie replied. 

"There IS a difference!" Jericho then smirked, "I could show you, Stephie..." 

Before Stephanie could retort, Captain McMahon spoke up, "Brother, you have disappointed me. Here, I thought I had made a new ally, only to find that you have used me and my crew!" 

Brother steepled his fingers under his chin, "Well then…" he started, "It seems this alliance should end," 

"Yes. It should." McMahon replied. 

Brother looked defeated, "Very well. Yew and your crew are free to return to your ship and leave orbit. I wish no hard feelings between us. We here on Ai still share only love for your people. It's a shame we have to end it like this…" 

"Yeah, a real shame…" Stephanie muttered. 

McMahon turned to his crew, "We are to beam back to our ship immediately, and get the HELL out of here!" 

The crew muttered in agreement, and within moments, they had transported back to the Titanprize. 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM (the next night) 

Captain McMahon stared at the log book before him. How was he going to write up his experiences on Planet Ai? He barely remembered them. His memories were a fog, thanks to the shiana. 

McMahon tapped his comm badge, "Captain McMahon to Commander Stephanie," 

"Yes daddy?" Stephanie replied. 

"Could you write me a full report on the events on Planet Ai?" he asked. "I'm.... _unable_.... to remember clearly," 

"Like I have time," Stephanie muttered, "Ask Jerkicho. He'll give you a really long, detailed, and super-boring account, I'm sure..." she replied. 

McMahon sighed, a little annoyed at Stephanie's flippant dismissal of his request. He tapped his commbadge again, "Captain McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho... I want a full account of the incidents on Planet Ai on my desk by tomorrow morning at 09:00h..." 

"Will do, Junior..." Jericho replied, then cut the comm. 

McMahon fumed, "Rude, insubordinate little..." before he could finish his rant, the ship jerked forward. The lights dimmed, and the red alert klaxons sounded. 

Captain McMahon quickly ran out onto his bridge. 

***

BRIDGE 

"What the hell was that?!" McMahon demanded, "Report!" 

"Dude... we got some seriously pissed off Aians shooting at us!" Ensign Edge explained. 

McMahon looked to his tactical officer, who had recently been released from his stay in the brig with Lt. Commander Rock, "Austin?" he asked. 

"Those silly bastards can actually hurt us!" Austin replied as he studied the display on his monitor, "Don't know who they got 'em from, but their weapons are damn powerful. One well-placed shot might knock our shields out but good!" 

He turned to his communications officer, "Hail them, Lt. Commander Rock," 

Rocky did so, "Hey, jabronies! The Rock's captain wants to talk to your candy asses!" 

Brother's red face appeared onscreen. The bridge crew of the Titanprize had to shield their eyes from his smile, "Yikes, Edge... his teeth are almost as bright as yours!" Ensign Christian muttered. 

"Nothing will EVER reek of as much brightness as MY teeth, brother!" Ensign Edge replied. 

"Captain," Brother began, ignoring the blonde Kanatians' exchange, "If you will not share your technology with us, we will take it by force..." 

McMahon paused a moment, "Brother, have you run a complete weapons scan on our ship?" 

"Well..." Brother was hesitant, "That is one of the techonological advances we will take from you!" 

McMahon raised an eyebrow, "So... you're telling me with all these weapons, you still don't have simple scanning technology? You have no idea how much fire power we carry then, hmm?" McMahon asked. 

"I did not say that..." Brother began. 

"You pretty much did, Brother. Haven't been in a lot of battles, have you? It's a BIG mistake telling your enemies that you are not aware of their firepower!" 

"What is your point, Captain? Nothing can match our weapons. They were shared with us by the PTC!" 

"Ewwww.... so, the Aian women _shared _with the PTC? Total nastiness! I mean, they're automatans and stuff!" Edge said. 

"Well, they did not indulge in THAT part of the sharing!" Brother replied, "It went against their morals, though they did agree with our preaching of love, and this is why they shared their weapons with us!" 

"Regardless," McMahon broke in, "You are still unaware of our weapon strength..." he smiled confidently, "Now would I be here standing and speaking to you if I thought you out-gunned us in any way?" 

Brother studied McMahon through the view screen, "How do I know you're not bluffing..." 

"Try me..." McMahon replied smugly, "If we can create an artificial intelligence like Lt. Commander Jericho, then just imagine what weapons advancements we've created!" 

Brother frowned, "Very well, Brother McMahon.... we will leave you for now... but you are NOT to cross our path again!" his frown quickly, almost disturbingly, turned into a smile, "And remember, we luv yew..." 

***

WWF TITANPRIZE – COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Commander Shane's personal log, stardate 040220.01. Jericho, Stephanie, and Jeff Hardy destroyed the fruit that had been contaminated with the behaviour-altering chemical, and I was unable to get a sample. Yet another reason to hate that damned robot! Nonetheless, I will not be dissuaded. I have been thinking of gathering the Nytrons and offering them a …" he paused, trying to find the right word, "A… PUSH… on board the WWF Titanprize. A Titanprize that will soon be under MY command. End log." 

***

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM (the next morning 09:00h) 

"Captain's log, stardate 033120.01. I have been informed by a few of my crewmen that my son, Shane, borrowed the Titanprize while I was preoccupied on Planet Ai. As to why he did it, I don't know. Either way, he returned the ship undamaged. When I asked him about it, my son claimed he was merely scouting the surrounding sector…" McMahon paused. Even to his own ears that sounded like a poor excuse, "End log." 

The chimes on Captain McMahon's door rang, "Come…" he commanded. 

Lt. Commander Jericho entered, "Here's my report, junior… right on time!" he replied as he placed a padd on the Captain's desk. 

"You are to refer to me as CAPTAIN, do you understand Commander?" McMahon replied. 

"Riiiight..." Jericho replied, then waited, "Am I dismissed, sir?" 

"Yes! Leave!" Jericho turned to leave. "Actually..." Captain McMahon began. 

The Y2J Unit turned back to the Captain, "Sir?" 

McMahon took a deep breath, "I need to ask you something…" The Captain seemed hesitant. 

Jericho sighed, "No, Captain. NOTHING happened between your skanky daughter and I down on the LUUUUV planet, so you don't need to worry about her being contaminated with android cooties, ok?" 

McMahon opened his mouth, then closed it again. That wasn't what he was going to ask, though he had to admit the question was on his mind, "Yes... well... that's EXTREMELY comforting to know, because if I find out you so much as TOUCHED my daughter, I would deactivate you, and use your body for spare parts! Understood?" 

Jericho shrugged nonchalantly, hearing all this before, "Yeah, Shane said almost the same thing... except he added a 'reprogramming' threat to it..." 

McMahon found the segway he was looking for, "Speaking of my son... I need to ask you something else, and I want an honest answer, Lt. Commander!" Jericho nodded, waiting. McMahon continued, "Do you think..." He paused, not wanting to even put into words his suspicions about Shane. 

"Think what?" Jericho asked. 

Captain McMahon finally spoke, "I've been wondering about my son, Shane. Do you think he would ever try to take over my ship?" 

Jericho was silent for a moment, "And you want an HONEST answer, right?" McMahon nodded. Jericho's voice grew serious as he responded with the last thing McMahon wanted to hear, "Then yes, Captain. He definitely would..."

   [1]: mailto:elektrawwf@yahoo.com



	84. Season 9 Episode 10 HEAD Case

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 10

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 10: H.E.A.D. CASE**

By: [Elektra][1]

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE!

TITANPRIZE CREW:

Captain Vince McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Morale Officer, Commissioner Mick Foley   
... And many more!

WWF TITANPRIZE - COUNSELOR AL SNOW'S QUARTERS

"Al's personal log, Stardate 050120.01. I just had a weird dream. It involved Foley actually being nice to me. Strange. Very strange. Oh well. It's another happy day on board the WWF Titanprize! My first patient is..." Counselor Snow paused and looked at his pad, "Nytron Torrie Wilson. Apparently she was disturbed by Captain McMahon's attempt to make a pass at her ... " He paused, "It's odd that I only have ONE patient, considering we're lost in space and all," Al then looked at the time, "Well, the appointment isn't until 1400h. Looks like I'm visiting the Smackdown for a bit. End Log."

With that, Al headed out.

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN

Al walked into the Smackdown and looked around, confused. The popular bar was decorated as if for a party. Three buffet tables were being set up, a stage was being rigged, and it seemed Terri was overlooking it all from her position behind the bar.

"Did I miss the party invitation?" Al asked as he came up to the bar, H.E.A.D. in hand.

Terri looked at him, surprised, "You didn't forget, did you?!" she asked.

"Forget what?"

Terri rolled her eyes, "How could you possibly forget about the wedding!"

"Wedding? WHAT wedding?!" Al asked, then looked at H.E.A.D. "You didn't tell me about a wedding! Although after the last one, I can't blame you..." The last wedding onboard the Titanprize had ended in disaster, thanks to Lita's temper, and some misinformation. Luckily that had all been cleared up! Were Jeff and Lita trying again?!

"Oh for heaven sake! How can you NOT remember who's getting married!" Terri then looked across the Smackdown, "No no! That doesn't go there!" she called out. She looked back at Al, "Excuse me," she said, and headed to the other side of the Smackdown.

Al turned to see what had grabbed Terri's attention, and noticed Nurse Saturn setting up a floral arrangement at one of the tables.

Al did a double take.

Saturn was setting up a floral arrangement?

Nurse Saturn called out to him, "Hey, Al! Don't these flowers look nice here?! Tell Terri they look nice right here! They help save the ozone you know...."

Al smiled weakly, "Uh... yeah... they're great..."

Saturn looked back at Terri, beaming proudly, "See! I told ya!"

Al sighed and looked at H.E.A.D. "Since when does Saturn like flowers?" H.E.A.D. was at a loss. Al shrugged his shoulders, and left the Smackdown.

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS

Al walked along the corridors, muttering to H.E.A.D. and suddenly ran smack into.... Lt. Commander Austin. Al took a step back, and gasped, "OH! Steve... I'm sorry! I'm really sorry... uh.... I ... um..."

"Don't worry. It was my fault. I was in a rush. Sorry Al," Austin replied. He smiled and pat the counselor on the shoulder. Al winced, waiting for the inevitable attack... but nothing happened. Austin continued to walk down the corridor.

Al watched Austin walk away, then turned to H.E.A.D. "What is going on here?" a pause, "What do you mean you don't know! You HAVE to know! You're supposed to know _everything!_" another pause, "Don't take that tone of voice with me! I'm just as confused as you are!" He sighed, "Perhaps I'll go talk to Mick..."

*** 

ELSEWHERE

_ "He is an interesting subject. How much can we learn from studying him?"_

_ "I am not sure. From the information we gathered, he is the one that assists the others when they have emotional and psychological problems. We have come to the conclusion that he is the most stable of all on board the vessel..."_

_ "Perhaps. Though we find it odd that he is speaking to an inanimate object,"_

_ "Surely that is normal among his people. Now, we must introduce him to the other crewmembers..."_

*** 

MORALE COMMISSIONER FOLEY'S QUARTERS

The chimes on Foley's door rang. "Come in..." he called.

Al entered almost hesitantly, "Hey Mick! What's up?!"

Foley looked at him, and smiled, "Not much, Al! Good to see ya!"

Al blinked, "Good to see me?! Since when!"

"It's always good to see my best friend!" Foley said.

Snow raised an eyebrow, "Yeah... right..." he spoke to H.E.A.D. "He's BSing, isn't he?" There was a pause as he listened to H.E.A.D. Al looked up at Foley, eyes wide... "You're serious! You actually consider me your best friend!!" he couldn't quite believe it. He then furrowed his brow, "Wait a sec... that's not right! Am I still dreaming? That would explain the whole thing in the Smackdown and with Austin..." another pause as he conferred with H.E.A.D. "I'm NOT dreaming? How do you know?!"

"OH! How does the Smackdown look, by the way? Haven't seen it myself. Is there lots of pink for Steph to bask in?"

"Steph? Commander Stephanie McMahon, you mean?" Al asked.

"Of COURSE Commander Stephanie McMahon. Soon to be Stephanie McMahon-Angle, though..."

"WHAT?!" Al sputtered, "She's marrying KURT?!"

Foley looked at Al as if he lost his mind, "Well… yes. YOU were the one who helped her realize how she felt about him, Al!"

"ME?!"

Foley seemed concerned, "Are you feeling Ok, Al? You're acting like Steph and Kurt's relationship is a shock!"

"But... it IS!" Al replied.

"Oh come on! Angle and Steph were always arguing down in engineering! Steph went to ask you how to deal with it, and you helped her realize that she had actually fallen for him!" Foley then smiled, "OH! I see... you're playing a joke on me, right? Hey, I may have taken one too many chairshots, but I can still remember the hottest couple onboard the Titanprize!"

Al was stunned silent... then quickly collected himself. He had to ask, "Um... is Lt. Commander Jericho.... dead?"

"I don't think robots can die, Al. As far as I know, he's in Engineering," Foley then smiled, "Probably trying to program himself a personality... god knows he needs one!"

Al furrowed his brow, "JERICHO needs a personality?!"

"Well… yeah. Don't tell me you haven't noticed everyone's favourite little WrestleFleet officer? He's so polite and respectful, it's enough to make you want to slap him just to see if he reacts,"

"But... Jericho's problems with Shane---"

"Problems with Shane?" Foley asked, "Where did you hear that? He's Shane's perfect officer! Jericho is so damn obedient all the time it almost makes me sick--"

"OBEDIENT?" Al interrupted, "Since WHEN? Jericho is a sarcastic, smug, arrogant officer... and Stephanie---"

Al was interrupted by the chimes on Foley's door, "Come in!" Foley called.

Commander Stephanie McMahon entered, and smiled when she saw Counselor Snow, "Hey, Al! How are you?" she went up to him and hugged him.

Snow was taken aback. Was she actually being _friendly_ to him? He studied her carefully. She was looking respectable for once! Her hair was straight and shiny, and her simple t-shirt and blue jeans were a stark contrast to the usual skimpy tops and leather pants she preferred. "Uh… Commander??"

"You know you can call me Steph, Al!" she replied, "Especially after you helped me realize how much I love Kurt! I owe you for that! I'm the happiest woman in the world..." she giggled like school girl.

"But…" Al just shook his head. It was useless. Apparently, _everyone_ had lost their mind aboard the ship.

"Anyway," Stephanie continued, "I just came here to tell Mick that I reserved a seat for him at the head table for my wedding reception. And since you're here, I might as well tell you I have a special seat for you too, Al,"

Al smiled, "You reserved a seat for me at the head table?!" he sniffled, "Wow... I'm touched, Steph.... I...." he paused, "Wait a minute! What about Lt. Commander Jericho?"

Stephanie furrowed her brow, "What about It?"

"IT?" Al looked at her. Since when did Stephanie call Jericho an 'it'? "Uh... Where is HE going to be sitting at your reception?"

Stephanie shrugged indifferently, "I don't know. I like the Y2J Unit and all, but it's kind of weird having a computer at a reception…"

"But, after working with him in Engineering--" Al asked.

"Just because we work together doesn't mean It's important to me," Stephanie replied, "Not like you and Mick are. I mean, It's a cool robot ..." then she smiled, "but you have to admit, It's got less personality then the ship's computer," Stephanie sighed, "Though since It's coming to the ceremony, I guess I _should_ find a place for It at the reception. Maybe in the back..."

"If you don't find a place for him, aren't you worried you'll hurt his feelings?" Al asked.

Stephanie laughed, "Feelings? You're hilarious, Al!"

"Ummm… he has an emotion chip," Al tried to explain.

"Emotion chip?" Stephanie looked at Foley, as if he might know what that was. Foley simply shrugged. She turned back to Al, "The Y2J Unit never had an emotion chip. I don't think such a thing even exists… though it would be a great work of Engineering if it did…"

"But..." Al stopped. Something was wrong here. First, Foley and Austin were being nice to him. Secondly, Stephanie was marrying an olympic dork and seemed to care less about Lt. Commander Jericho, and third, well... Foley and Austin were being nice to him.

"Excuse me, Steph... Mick. I'm not feeling well. I think... I have to go for a walk..."   
With that, Counselor Snow left the room.

*** 

ELSEWHERE

_"He seems to be acting adversely to the situation he has been put in. He seems confused."_

_ "Are you sure we have programmed the crewmembers with the correct personalities?"_

_ "But of course. We programmed our characters according to various personal logs. Are you questioning our research?"_

_ "Much is in question regarding scientific study..."_

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN - that evening

"We have a special surprise for you tonight, ladies and gents! Straight from Hollywood, joining us live on the WWF Titanprize – the ones... the only... E and C!!" Terri announced as she stood on the stage smiling. Everyone cheered loudly and Terri gracefully stepped off the stage, and made way for two blonde Kanatians.

Al watched as Edge and Christian took the stage at Stephanie and Kurt's pre-wedding party. The Cocky Kanatians were wearing shiny trenchcoats, and fancy sunglasses. The crowd went wild.

"Christian and I are going to perform a totally cool song for you great people aboard the WWF Titanicprize..."

"Titanicprize?! They don't even know the name of the ship?!" Al asked Mick, who was sitting beside him.

"Well, it's been a while. Can't blame them. Besides, they're great!" Foley replied.

"YOU are complimenting them?" Al asked, "And what do you mean it been a while? They're WrestleFleet officers!" Al replied, and took a large sip of his synthehol.

Foley laughed, "You've got to be kidding me, Al! These two are rolling in the big bucks as a boy band. You know they left WrestleFleet last year! They've been touring this sector for two weeks, so we asked them to come aboard the Titanprize to perform!"

Al did a spit-take, spewing his drink all over the table, "They're MUSIC STARS?" he looked at H.E.A.D. "You're right! This must be some sort of joke... and since when are we NOT lost in space?" H.E.A.D. had no answer.

Of course, the joke seemed to be on Counselor Snow as Edge and Christian broke into a musical number, Christian providing the instrumental accompianment, Edge providing the vocals.

What was even more disturbing was that the crew of the _Titanicprize_ seemed to eat it up.

"Good lord..." Al groaned, and put a hand to his forehead, then nodded to H.E.A.D. "I know. It's horrible. Absolutely horrible..." He clenched his teeth, and forced himself to bare it for the rest of the night. "_How ELSE am I going to find out what is going on..._" Al asked himself. He paused for a moment, then smiled, "_That is,_ _unless a certain android officer can give me some information..."_

*** 

ENGINEERING - the next day

"Lt. Commander Jericho, I need your assistance!" Counselor Snow said as he came up to the android WrestleFleet officer.

Jericho turned to Al, "Yes, sir?"

"Where am I?" Al asked.

"You are currently on board the WWF Titanprize, deck 5, section 4. Engineering," Lt. Commander Jericho replied, his voice monotone.

Al looked at him, brow furrowed, "Damn. They weren't kidding when they said you had no personality..." he shook his head, "Listen, there's no way I'm on-board the Titanprize! No way in hell! I'm in some bizarro WrestleFleet world or something!" he held H.E.A.D. up, "See... even _they_ agree! Do a scan on me or something..."

"Very well, Counselor..." Lt. Commander Jericho quickly ran his tricorder over Counselor Snow and studied the results. He seemed confused for a moment. He then ran the tricorder over himself, "This is odd..." he said.

"What? What's odd?"

"The Tricorder is giving me your biological readouts, yet when I run it over myself, it gives me nothing. Although I am an android, I do believe the tricorder should be displaying something about my physical makeup. Unless it is malfunctioning..." Jericho replied.

"What's it saying about you?" Al asked.

"It says I am merely energy," Jericho replied. "My apologies, sir. I must continue my work. I shall contact you when I have a working tricorder," he then saluted, politely dismissing Counselor Snow.

"Chris..." Al would not be dismissed so easily, "What is going on with you and Commander Stephanie McMahon?"

Jericho didn't understand the question, "Pardon, sir?"

"I KNOW it was a stupid question!" Counselor Snow yelled at his constant companion. He closed his eyes. H.E.A.D. was giving him a headache, "Just SHUT UP, ok?! You always make me feel dumb! If it weren't for ME, you'd be---"

"Counselor Snow?" Jericho interrupted, "Is your H.E.A.D. malfunctioning?"

"No… they're just yelling at me! I HATE it when they yell at me!" Al replied. He looked at H.E.A.D. "If you're so smart, explain what the hell is going on here!!" he shouted. "Of course you don't know!" he looked at Lt. Commander Jericho, "Excuse me… I … suddenly need to lie down..." with that, Al headed out of Engineering.

*** 

ELSEWHERE

_ "Were we given the wrong subject for our experiment?"_

_ "We do not know. From the information we gathered, he is the ship's counselor. He takes care of the crew's mental well-being. It is confusing that he seems to be the one least stable…"_

_ "This is quite confusing. Perhaps we should have taken more care with our research. We are learning nothing from him. In fact, he seems to be falling apart…"_

_ "How are the other subjects doing?"_

_ "We were given the counselor as OUR subject. We should not concern ourselves with the others."_

_ "But… it seems our subject is the one who most difficult to deal with,"_

_ "Or perhaps your programming of the holographic personalities was incorrect!"_

_ "I am a professional! I know what I am doing!"_

_ "You obviously do not. Did you fully read the logs you were given? I do not like the results your group is providing me with…"_

_ "Sir! Forgive us. We are having problems with our current subject…"_

_ "You mis-programmed the holograms,"_

_ "HE did, sir. Not US!"_

_ "I do not have time for excuses. You are to correct this situation immediately!"_

_ "Correct it? As scientists, we cannot tamper with the experiment,"_

_ "I do not care what you can and cannot do. You are to follow orders. We have already had problems with the android and the dark doctor!"_

_ "What do you mean, sir…?"_

_ "It seems they were not as easily manipulated as the rest of the crew, and broke free of the experiment. We are currently attempting to correct the situation. I suggest you correct YOUR situation before YOUR subject breaks free as well…"_

_ "Understood, sir…"_

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN – the next night

Al watched from the back row as Ensign Angle and Commander Stephanie headed down the aisle together, "Stephanie and Ensign Angle… can you believe it?" he asked H.E.A.D. quietly, "This make no sense…" a pause, "What do you mean '_who am I to talk about making sense_'? I ALWAYS make sense!" another pause, "Stop laughing at me!"

"Man… I never thought I'd eeeeeeeeeeeeever see THIS…" a voice whispered beside Counselor Snow. Al turned to see the Y2J Unit sitting beside him.

"Sorry… did you say something?" Al asked.

"You still haven't figured out what's going on?" Jericho asked, then began to stand up, "Come on, Al. You and me gotta talk…"

Al grabbed Jericho's arm, "We can't just leave! We're in the middle of a wedding…! Did you get the tricorder working all right?"

"Tricorder?" Jericho asked, then shook his head and sat back down, "Al... it's ME!"

"I don't understand…" Al suddenly grabbed his head, wincing, "Stop calling me names!" he snapped at H.E.A.D. "I am NOT slow on the uptake! If you're so bright, why haven't YOU figured out what's going on!?"

"Al… can you have a mental breakdown AFTER we get out of here?" Jericho asked.

Al looked at the Y2J Unit, "You're not supposed to have a personality!" he said, "I talked to you in Engineering!!"

"Ok, Al… let me spell this out for you… I am ME!"

"Shhh… you can't talk now. This is a wedding. We have to be quiet…" Al said quickly, and turned his attention to the front of the Smackdown as Stephanie and Angle took their vows.

"I don't know if I can sit here and watch Stephanie marry… THAT…" Jericho said, "It's just too bizarre…"

Al kept his attention at the front of the Smackdown as he spoke, "Because it bothers you?"

Jericho furrowed his brow, "Why would it bother me? All I'm saying is that this whole thing goes beyond the realm of realism…"

Al turned to Jericho. The Y2J Unit truly didn't seem to care who Stephanie was marrying... or the fact she was marrying _period_. "What's going on here?"

Jericho stood up again, "Let's go for a walk, Al. I'll explain everything to you..." The two ignored the stares as they walked out of the wedding.

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS

"This was all an experiment?" Al asked as he and Lt. Commander Jericho walked down the empty halls.

"So it seems. A few days ago, we entered a dark cloud," Jericho explained. "From what I could gather, the entire crew was knocked out by an energy surge that enveloped the ship. We were transported away, and when we awoke, we were on a holodeck designed to emulate the WWF Titanprize, complete with pre-programmed crew. Everyone was sent to a different holodeck. Luckily, the scientists conducting these experiments weren't very careful with the personalities they programmed into the holocrew. Guess they thought we'd be too stupid to figure out something was wrong…"

"Well… I was wondering why Foley was being NICE to me…" Al said. "But what tipped YOU off?"

"I just KNEW," he said. "Now… we have to find out how to get out of here," he held out a tricorder, and ran it along the walls, "Got it!" Jericho put his hand against the wall… then pushed it THROUGH the wall.

"How did you do that?!" Al asked.

"Everything is a hologram, Al," Jericho explained. He moved his hand again, and the walls of the Titanprize fell away to reveal a yellow and black hologrid. He went up to a panel on the wall and opened the holodeck door.

"LOOK OUT!" Al shouted, and pushed the Y2J Unit down as phaser fire just skimmed past the door.

Jericho pulled out his own phaser and fired blindly down the hall. The shooting stopped, and Jericho carefully stuck his head out the holodeck door. It seemed to be all clear, "I guess they don't like their experiments escaping. Come on..." he said, and pulled Al out into the hallway.

The two looked up and down the corridors. It looked like the Titanprize! "We're on our OWN ship?!" Al sputtered.

"They got access to the Titanprize systems," Jericho explained.

Al tapped his comm badge, "Counselor Snow to Captain McMahon..." There was no answer.

"This way, Al," Jericho said, and headed to the turbolift, "Engineering, deck 5..." he ordered the computer. The turbolift quickly complied. When the doors finally opened on deck 5, Al and Jericho were taken aback, "What the HELL?!"

Deck 5 had been all but destroyed. The floors and walls were blackened with phaser burns and even the back up lighting was fizzling out.

Jericho ran towards Engineering. It had succumbed to the same fate. Wires were spewing out sparks, and the air smelled acrid. A thick fog of smoke hovered over the floor, and the warp engines barely pulsed with energy.

"Is THIS how they got control of the ship?!" Al asked.

"They got through our shields." Jericho said. He looked towards Counselor Snow, who seemed to be listening for something, "What?"

"Shhh... H.E.A.D. senses something..." Al said, and slowly walked to a loose jefferies tube panel, "In here!" he began to remove the panel.

"Wait!" Jericho shouted, and grabbed Al's shoulder, "Get behind me..." Counselor Snow did so. Jericho held up his phaser, and quickly kicked the panel away, then aimed the phaser into the jefferies tube.

"Don't shoot!" a voice called out.

Jericho crouched down and looked in the jefferies tube to see Ensign Edge and Ensign Christian cowering, "Get out of there!" he commanded.

"Ok ok! No need to go totally postal on us. Can you... uh... put the phaser away, man?" Ensign Christian asked.

Jericho rolled his eyes, and held the phaser at his side, "Let's go..." he said, and cleared the way for the cocky Kanatians to crawl out.

"Ugh... my hair so totally smells like smoke," Edge whined as he stood up.

"And I'm all covered in dirt...! This is SO not good for my complexion!" Christian added.

"How did you two get in the jefferies tube?" Al asked.

"Oh! Well... Christian was showing me this wicked cool facial cream he replicated..." Edge began, then realized Al and Jericho were getting impatient, "Anyway, we wandered into Engineering then must have totally blacked out or something... 'cuz when we woke up all these fashion DON'TS were hanging around, firing at some of the other Engineers. I saw the panel, and..." he shrugged.

"And... you and Christian hid and let the others fend for themselves," Jericho finished for him.

"Well… DUH. What else would we do? I mean... we didn't wanna mess up our good looks with phaser burns!" Ensign Christian said.

Jericho shook his head, "Maybe _I_ should mess up your good looks..."

Edge's eyes went wide, "No way! You wouldn't!"

"Oh how I would!" Jericho replied, then began to walk away, "Let's see if we can find some weapons in the cargo bay. There's no way ONE phaser is going to work against these... whatever the heck they are..." The four headed into the turbolift, "Cargo bay 3..." Jericho ordered.

Something was nagging at Counselor Snow. He and Jericho had just been in Engineering... but there was no sign of Stephanie. On top of that---

"Hey, Al... you're all spaced out. What's wrong?!" Christian asked.

Al's thoughts were interrupted, "Huh? Wrong... oh..." he looked at H.E.A.D. then turned back to Christian, "Nothing..." he said, "Nothing's wrong. H.E.A.D. and I are just trying to make sense of all this..."

"Well good luck, man. This is so TOTALLY lacking coolness!" Edge replied.

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE

The bridge had remained untouched. Nothing was out of place, but it was empty, "Where IS everyone?" Al asked.

"Still stuck on the holodecks. I'm going to do a ship-wide scan. Maybe we'll find some answers," Lt. Commander Jericho said, and went up to an ops station.

"Wait..." Al began, "You mean, I'm the only one you freed from the holodeck simulations?"

"Well... you were the first holodeck I came to, Al..." Jericho replied.

"So... you were roaming the ship before you found me then..."

"Well... yeah..."

Al furrowed his brow, and conferred with H.E.A.D., "Good point. I'll ask him..." he said to the inanimate object. "Chris... if you were already roaming the Titanprize when you found me, how come you were as surprised as I was when the holodeck doors opened?"

Jericho looked at Al, and blinked. After a moment, he spoke, "Well, I just...." Al aimed his phaser at the Y2J Unit. Jericho took a step back, "What are you doing, Al?"

"And why did we go into Engineering first?" Al asked, "Shouldn't we have come HERE first?"

"I wanted to see if the warp engines were working..." Jericho replied, "Besides... we found THESE two..." he indicated Edge and Christian, "Put the phaser down, Al..."

"Speaking of Engineering, after seeing the carnage there..." Al smiled, and looked at H.E.A.D., "JR taught me that word," he said proudly, then turned back to Jericho, "Anyway, after seeing the carnage there, you didn't once ask about Stephanie. The Jericho _I_ know WOULD have!"

"Why would I care about Commander McMahon? Her and I don't even get along. We HATE each other..."

"If Jericho saw Engineering in ruins, he would worry about Stephanie!" Al's grip on the phaser tightened, "You AREN'T Jericho!" Al said, "So who the hell are you?"

Jericho raised his hands defensively, "Al,stop this. Put the phaser away..."

"Answer me, damnit!" Snow shouted, "Or I'll fire!"

"Wait a sec, if you're not Jericho..." Edge began, then smiled, "I can do THIS and not be reprimanded for it!" Before Al could make good on his phaser threat, Edge speared Lt. Commander Jericho painfully, "That's for stealing my awesome hair style, you reekazoid!"

"Oh kick-ass, dude! You just totally speared that holographic Jericho! You SO reek of awesomeness!" Ensign Christian said, and high-fived his brother.

Al turned his phaser on Ensigns Edge and Christian, "And who are YOU?!"

Edge and Christian raised their arms quickly, "Woah... Al! It's US!" Edge said.

"How do I know it's the REAL you?!" Al asked.

"Uh... well..." Edge scratched his head, "I dunno..."

"Maybe we should ask who YOU are? I mean, you can be you, but not you... you know?" Christian replied, then smiled and nodded, proud of his point.

Al rolled his eyes, and lowered his phaser, "You MUST be real. I don't think our observers could get your annoying personalities down that well..."

Edge smiled, "All right!" He paused, "Hey, who are you calling annoying?!"

"Never mind. What happened to you guys?" Al asked.

"Uhh... well... exactly what Edge told you. We were hanging out in Engineering and came under attack by some badly dressed dudes..." Christian explained.

"I guess that was the situation they put you guys in to see how you'd react," Al replied. He looked at the unconscious Lt. Commander Jericho, "He must have been partly telling the truth then. He said this was an experiment or something. That we were trapped on some holodeck,"

"Think we're still there?" Christian asked quietly as he looked around the bridge suspiciously.

"I don't wanna be trapped on some mirror-less holodeck by some weird scientist-types!" Edge fretted.

"H.E.A.D. says you're a total lamer," Al muttered.

"What?!" Edge replied, "I am SO not a lamer!"

"H.E.A.D. says you are..."

Edge glared at H.E.A.D. "I am NOT a lamer! You're lamer then me! Actually... you're lameitude to the max! In fact, you're a total lame-azoid!"

Al looked at Edge, "You DO realize you're talking to H.E.A.D., right? I mean... you know they only talk to and understand ME, don't you?"

"Fine. I don't care. They can talk to you all they want, because I'm not talking to THEM!" Edge pouted, "A lamer... hmpf!"

"Yeah! No one calls my brother a lamer!" Christian piped up.

Edge looked at his brother, "Chrisitian... you're TOTALLY defending me!" he sniffled, and put a hand to his chest, "I'm touched. Really touched, bro!"

"I'll always defend you, Edge, your my brother, man!" Christian replied.

"You're my brother too, man!" Edge replied.

The two brothers looked at each other for a moment, then broke into smiles, "Alright! We just had a total bonding moment!" Christian replied, and high-fived his brother again.

"Bonding moments RULE!"

"Enough of this!" Al snapped, getting annoyed, "We have to get out of here..." Al looked at the holographic Jericho's unconscious form and stepped over it, "Well, at least it wasn't ME jobbing this time!" he muttered, then headed out into the holo-Titanprize corridors, Ensigns Edge and Christian following closely behind.

*** 

HOLOGRAPHIC TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS

"What?" Al asked.

"Huh?" Edge started, "We didn't say anything!"

"Not you... THEM..." Al indicated H.E.A.D. "They say there's a door nearby," Counselor Snow went up to a wall, and placed a hand against it. "Here?" he waited for an answer, then pushed his hand through. He tugged at something... and saw the walls of the Titanprize melting away to reveal a holodeck. In front of him was a door.

"Woah," Christian whispered, "That's a totally cool trick, Al!"

Al sighed and opened the door carefully. The three Wrestlefleet officers quickly walked through.

*** 

ELSEWHERE - CONTROL ROOM

_"How did you get out!"_

_ "What are you doing here?"_

_ "You're supposed to be in the holodeck!"_

"Where are the rest of my crew?" Counselor Snow asked the strange creatures that stood before him. He aimed his phaser at them, wondering if it even worked outside of the holodeck, "Where are they?! I demand you free us and return us to our ship!"

"Yeah, or else... I'll hurt you!" Ensign Edge chimed in, and took an attack stance.

"Yeah! I'll hurt you too, man!" Ensign Christian added.

_ "The experiment is a failure. The escaped android and his doctor friend have already freed the rest of the crew..."_

Al lowered his phaser slightly, "Doctor friend? You mean Dr. Taker?"

_ "Yes. The dark one..."_

Al frowned, "Jericho and Taker freed the rest of the crew but not US three?"

_ "We are sure he was coming to you three next..."_

_ "Yes. He must have been. The ship has not left orbit yet..."_

"Yeah... suuuuure they were coming for me!" Al shook his head, "I don't get any respect, you know! Here I am, assigned to look after their mental well being, and they act like I'm some sort of lunatic who..." he paused, "I am NOT a lunatic!" he snapped at H.E.A.D., "Shut up! Why are you so mean to me!? You should be grateful you have a job! Without me, you're nothing but a piece of plastic!" another pause, "What do you mean without YOU I'm nothing but a crazy psycho? I am NOT crazy! Am not!.......... NOT! NOT I say! I am NOT CRAZY!" Al shouted.

_"Please! Return these three to their ship! IMMEDIATELY!"_

_ "Yes sir!"_

Al was still arguing with H.E.A.D. as he and Ensigns Edge and Christian were quickly beamed back aboard the Titanprize.

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN

"How'd you escape, Taker?" Counselor Snow asked as Dr. Taker sat beside him at the bar, surveying the establishment with his cold grey eyes, no doubt wondering who would be next in his sickbay suffering a hangover.

"I realized it was a hologram," Dr. Taker replied.

"But how?" the Counselor wondered. Dr. Taker merely looked at Counsellor Snow. He didn't even need to ask, "Right... right. So.. uh.. tell me. What was YOUR situation like,"

"I was married to a skank 'ho," Dr. Taker replied.

Al furrowed his brow, "Which one? There are a few onboard here,"

"Stephanie," Taker replied.

Al's eyes went wide, "WHAT?!"

"Then I commanded Kane to chokeslam her from the Engineering catwalk,"

Counselor Snow gagged on his drink and all but dropped it on the bar, "Was this before or AFTER you realized you were on a holodeck?!"

"Would it have mattered? Anyone married to her would do the same," Taker replied. Counselor Snow stared at the dark doctor, looking for signs that he was joking. Taker's face was unreadable, and Snow realized the doctor didn't joke.

"Geeeez....!" Al gasped.

"You gonna finish that?" Dr. Taker asked, indicating Counselor Snow's discarded drink, "'cuz if you ain't..." Before Al could reply, Taker helped himself to the drink, thoroughly finishing it for the counselor, "_I _will,"

Al stared at Taker, mouth wide open, "Hey!"

Without another word, the Doctor got off his stool and headed out.

Al watched the dark doctor leave. He then looked around the bar, only to see Stephanie screeching at a snickering Ensign Hardy for being -- as Stephanie claimed -- an idiot.

Well, at least Stephanie hadn't REALLY married Ensign Angle.[][2]

   [1]: mailto:elektra_2@hotmail.com
   [2]: WrestlingFanfic.html



	85. Season 9 Episode 11 Beautiful Dreamer

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 10

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on [www.fanfiction.net][1] in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra 

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 11: BEAUTIFUL DREAMER**

**By: [X_C][2]**

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Mick Foley   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - GARDEN DECK 

Talasia-5 winked at the couple on the other side of the window. Their long, black shadows were hidden underneath the shelter of Maivian leaf canopies and brightly coloured Aerialian snapdragons. Talasia-5 fell someplace between a nebula and a cloud, a great glittering mass of burned out stellar dust, invisible dark matter, and galactic debris. The scattering of particles was infused with the radiant light of stars hundreds of thousands light years away. 

The astronomical leftovers seemed to unfurl is a spiral pattern, much like the Milky Way they both vaguely remembered. One of the arms swirled around like a dazzling diamond necklace, embracing a lightning storm. Two engineers observed the chaotic dance of charged ions with clinical eyes, understanding the science and it's terrible beauty. At that exact spot in space, the very fabric of the universe was unstable. 

A wormhole was opening. Maybe. 

The young woman turned away from the spectacle. She no longer seemed like a child playing dress-up in a gold and black commanders uniform. Her posture was rigid and unyielding, her eyes as hard as the titanium beneath her associate's skin. "Warning noted and filed away. Perhaps you could waste more of my valuable time?" 

He carefully refrained from blinking or flinching. "Your father-" 

A dismissive wave of the hand. An equally quiet and dangerous storm brewed in the deep blue gaze he met. "-is a joke! The laughingstock of the crew! That bottle-blonde slut dragged him into the gutter with her. For god's sake, Personnel Commissioner Regal was barely able to put a proper spin on that spanking he witnessed! I won't take orders from him!" 

The impudent brat could stand a nice trip over the knee herself. "Come on, princess. What could a bleached bimbo, a bigger harlot than even you, possibly exploit out of the great Vince McMahon?" 

She snorted derisively. "Pardon my crudeness, dearest, but an old washed up egomaniac who ain't getting any will have his mouth as wide open as his zipper if you stick enough silicon in his face." 

Hmmm, hasn't she become a ruthless little tart...... 

"Am I the only McMahon who thinks with this head?" A haughty toss of ringlets. "We could stop the weasel NOW, but Y2Geek has his pretty blonde head up his tight little butt about legalities. Hey Chrissie." She jammed her perfectly manicured finger into his chest. "This far out in no man's land, I'm not concerned with proving Shane O' is a loathesome traitor." 

"Fine." Ahhh, McMahonworld. Where plotting the death of your sibling was just another day in paradise. "Good-luck getting past his Nytron zombies to stick the knife in." 

She smiled coldly. "Touche. You disappont me, Chrissie, you really do. If even silly little me knows which way the wind is blowing on this godforsaken ship, so should the superior bucket of bolts. Or maybe you don't give a damn." 

"I resent that." 

She was still drilling him with that high and mighty finger of hers. Maybe he'd just break it- "Boo-hoo. Grow up and be a man. I resent having the Smackdown turned into a lawless wild west saloon by Shane's cronies. I resent his whore spy milking my father for all the intelligence he's worth. And I resent you blowing off Shane's overt threats of reprogramming!" 

"Threats, sweetie?" 

She clenched and unclenched her fist. "Duh Chris. He thinks......he thinks......" Her stomach turned. She could barely make her tongue manipulate the words. "...we're in.....we _like_ each other too much," Steph added hastily, "He's a delusional fruitcake, of course. Weaselface just warned me - look if he knew about the lessons, he'd demolish your programming-" 

His synthetic skin flushed most humanly. "No one can reprogram me! Not your scientifically ignorant brother, not Benoit, and sure as HELL not those mind-numbingly inane Nytron insects! Get off my back!" 

"Matt Hardy could reprogram you with one hand tied behind his back!" 

Oh boy...he could feel a year's worth of stifled slut jokes on the tip of his tongue. _I am unfeeling...I do not provoke.... _"You better calm down, little girl. You have no idea what you're messing with here! Shane's under control, at least he will be as long as you keep that super-enhanced chest out of things!" 

She reeled back as if struck. "Shallow pri-" 

They heard it at the same time. The slightest swish....something brushing the promenade that circled above them. Footsteps? Neither breathed, waiting..... 

"Your big mouth is gonna kill you one day, sweetie." 

"No one's there, you paranoid freak!" A chill raced up her spine. What if they'd been exposed? If someone told Shane.....Jericho was doomed. 

"Get away from my sister!" Her heart dropped to her knees as the weaseling little voice splintered the night around the gloomy flora. 

"Why don't you go f-" She gasped in shock as Chris grabbed her wrists and jerked her off her feet, forcing his icy mouth against hers for what seemed a sickening eternity. 

"Mmmm, I taste a little Hunter, maybe some Guerrero.....definitely got a little Matt and Jeff on you...perhaps with a side of Kurt Angle?" 

Commander Shane McMahon had been reduced to looking like a cross between a gasping guppy and a deer caught in headlights. His baby sister stumbled backwards, face bloodless in the pale wash of Talasian lights. Jericho had signed his death warrant with such a stupid, stupid-"You MORON!" She slapped him viciously- 

Shane's phaser was unholstered, his eyes darting back and forth. So he couldn't get a clean shot-this was better anyways-tie up the loose ends- 

Lightning tore across the hull, scoring it with singe marks, flooding the graviton stabilizers with volatile energy, exploding plasma conduits in engineering, superheating the warp core..... 

The deck was battered by energy, tossed like a ball in the cosmic playround, flowers flying and screeching across the metallic floor as gravity broke. Jericho looked around for Stephanie, but the darkness had swallowed her up...... 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

"How impressive." Trish purred, as she slid another Kanatian cocktail across the bar to Ensign Christian. "Your big brother becomes a lieutenant today. You must be sooo proud!" 

"Look dude." Christian said haughtily, his hazel eyes gazing imperiously down at her from behind huge ruby lenses. "It isn't like he's getting his teeth filed down or he finally popped that heinous zit. It's a wack little title, not a freaking manicure. What's everyone's damage?" 

"For the millionth time, I am NOT a man! I'm-" 

Christian turned his barstool around. "You bore me." And so did the uncool ceremony unfolding before his bedazzling eyes, so bedazzling he was forced to filter their lethal radiance behind specially coated glasses. Captain Reekazoid heaping praise upon the Edgester so deep you needed tooled leather hipwaders to slog through it., pinning that shiny star on his collar.... He wasn't worthy of such accesorizing!   
  
Synthehol flowed freely in his veins.....the chitchat melted into a pleasant buzz....So.....not...reeking...of awesomeness....Yes! _Edge did expertly manipulate the Titanprize through that Talisian Lightning storm, but it was my navigational program that saved the day! I'm SuperChristian, master of the universe! Perhaps the knowledge of my skillz has simply slipped through the cavernous cracks of my bro's pea brain...._

A sparkling white fog descended and lifted. _Could it be true_, Christian wondered? _Have I become so cool I know generate my own aura....._

No, he was now on the bridge of the Titanprize, a plush red carpet flowing beneath his polished black boots. Christian squared his broad shoulders inside his scarlet dress uniform, five gleaming stars winking from his collar. "Dude....." 

"All hail his highness, Captain Christian, supreme commander of the HMS RESO!" Kurt Angle bowed deeply after announcing him in a deep, melodious voice. "Your seat cushion has been properly fluffed, my liege." 

"Excellent." Christian smiled, careful to modulate it's inherently charming power. "First Officer Edge, are you forgetting something?" 

"My apologies, most awesome one!" Edge grovelled at the foot of the captain's jewel-encrusted throne, properly affixing his lips to boot leather. "You are unable to see your own gorgeous face in the reflection-most heinous!" 

"No, you simpleton!" Christian bent his knuckles and executed a cruel and heartless nuggie, realizing his flesh and blood died a thousand times over each time a single golden follicle shifted out of place. "Have you forgotten my crown?" 

"The crown I so unjustly wrenched from your baby soft hands?" Edge replied obediently. "Of course, Wrestlefleet god upon earth. I humbly beseech you to forgive-" 

"The crown!" 

"Slave Hardly!" Edge snapped his fingers at the mute Matthew. Christian had wisely decreed his vocal cords be permanently severed. "Like-NOW!" 

Like the mere Aerialian insect he was, Matt scuttled over to his superior, offering up the Crown of Kanatia upon a velvet cushion of gilded satin. He kneeled in peasant fashion, allowing Christian to bask in the heady glow of sapphires, diamonds, and rubies. Slave D'von appeared, his hands dressed in soft gloves, all the better to handle a royal treasure with. 

Christian smiled angelicly, feeling the magnificent headdress carress his scalp. Slave Lita silently and swiftly moved to his elbow and took his hands, catching her breath as she always did at their silken texture. A warm tingle eased up his spine as the comforting swish of the emory board sounded against his nails. "You!" He flicked a hateful glance at Matthew. "Do keep your slimy paws away from the royal donuts! Love handles are a blasphemous scourge upon the face of Resofleet!" 

"We are approaching the Christian-55 Galaxy, my lord!" Angle reported eagerly. "The plebians eagerly await the unveiling of your colassal marble statue on Planet GoodHairDay! Of course...." He lowered his head. "Even such a timeless testament to your coolosity can never truly capture all your glory. Your blondeness transcends all...." 

"We are all jabronis in your presence." Slave Rock declared worshipfully. "I would rather lick a llama's-" 

"Enough!" Christian pounded his fist down on the console. "No catchphrases that do not contain the words "so," "like," and "awesomeness!" 

"Have mercy on my roody poo candy ass!" Rock pleaded, carefully eyeing royal bodyguards Bradshw and Faarooq. They stood like massive columns in front of the Captain's Royal Chamber. 

"Worry not, windbag." Christian had more pressing issues on his princely agenda. "Today, I set an example for those who consider becoming an enemy of my totally radical and stylin' regime! Ensign Jeffrey-front and center!" 

"B-b-but, my lord, I-" The rainbow-headed twit cowered before him. "Have I offended thee?" 

"Cut the sissy poet talk!" Christian snapped. "You could kiss my ass til your lips chapped and it would never be enough! Did you skip and bounce onto the bridge just now?" 

"Please oh benevolent captain!" Now the big baby was crying. "It is beyond my control! I am rhythmically challenged!" 

"Cripes all friday!" Angle muttered with exasperation. "Sobbing causes blotchy skin and wrinkles, you insufferable prig!" 

Christian was stone faced before this pussified display of emotion. "Perhaps one could forgive...skipping.....but the night of the karoake......disco is a war crime, and you shall be executed." 

"No!" Well, at least he thought Jeffrey said no. Often Slave Hardly squeaked at frequencies only an earth dog could hear. "I shall never dance again!" 

"Oh indeed." Christian nodded. "But that is the least of your abominations. Your accursed hair has plagued my vision long enough! You heartless bastard! How many zebras and cows were needlessly slaughtered to create those pants?" 

Christian's acolytes dragged the snivelling freak away. "May your soul burn forever in fashion hell, Hardly!" 

"Please, kind sir." Hunter, the bold degenerate warrior, now prostrated himself before the prince. "Regale us once again with your epic tale of the the fateful TLC clash, where you single handedly and without use of weapons decimated the armies of Planet Aerialia." 

"Ahhh yes." Christian's eyes closed, a dreamy sensation washing over him...the sensation of adoration. "My brother Edge had fallen at the gates of the Aerialian palace, where he sobbed for our mommy. The streets ran red with the blood of those hicks who chose to not welcome shampoo and apricot face cream into their lives..." 

A curtain of white glitter and smoke lifted. The pleasant buzz sharpened into that Stratus guy's scornful snickers. 

"A napkin, ensign? You're, like, drooling on your uniform!" 

Christian coolly accepted the napkin, but rejected the silicon thrust seductively in his face.. 

"Whoa dude....you got yourself a SERIOUS hormone problem..." 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER SHANE MCMAHON'S PRIVATE QUARTERS 

To hell with Sickbay, thought the bruised and battered commander, splashing cold water on his face. Blood trickled from his nose, blue and black patches of skin swelling across his forehead. 

He could've killed em' both, with one punch on the trigger......that flaming mechanical romeo and his twisted little sister..... 

_ I am the dominant McMahon! I'll make her beg for mercy before I transport her to the center of a black hole...._

"Know what you're the thinking. Best to keep the tin man functioning, if ya catch my drift." 

The Diamond Cutter's voice rasped like a dull saw blade from the shadows. Shane logically agreed, of course. He'd alter Wrestlefleet's motto: If you can't kill them, corrupt them. An atom-thin silicon wafer rested on the smooth black surface of his desk, elegant in its simplicity, lethal in its intent. Good work from Lt. Benoit - Shane now held the strings to the puppet. 

"She's gotta die." McMahon sat, something hot and malevolent burning in his eyes. They slanted reptilian-like, the hunter on the prowl with a thirst for blood. More cruel and dangerous than Russo, because he was sane.....speaking of which....."Buh-Buh and D'von will do NOTHING to keep Russo from his pet obsession, my darling sister. Once he violates and murders her.....I'll crush him like a bug before his loyal subjects." 

Special Nytron Operative Page shuddered. "Freed by the lightnin', only to be burned by his estranged son." 

Shane smiled. "Indeed." A holographic map shimmered to life between them. "Ahh yes. The old man's hormones will be the death of him yet. Fancy him taking Trishykins to all the hidden hotspots on the ship, would ya?" 

Dallas chuckled. "Never knowin' she's gotta freakin' memory like a steel trap. You better reward that little sweetheart handsomely for her sacrifices." 

Shane imagined the Nytron and Extreme Tactical Squads pouring out every secret hole on the ship like swarms of plague locusts, feasting on the weak, worthless Wrestlefleet troops. "Mmmm, wonder how Senior Bartender would grab that hot little fanny of hers." 

Page clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "I know my fillies, boy. Don't cross a Kanatian spitfire like her. Me thinks young Miss Stratus has her heart set on playing your Lady MacBeth." 

"Oh yeah? That job's taken." He steepled his fingers together and turned towards the massive oval window. The glowing fissure off the starboard bow was becoming exponentially more luminous as the seconds ticked by. Would his partner in crime be packing cargo holds full of illegally modified guns or no? _Don't disappoint me, Pauly, or I will serve your head on a silver platter to the D'masian dragons in zoology....._

"Think Lita's gonna shack up with you?" The Diamond Cutter half-admired his commander's audacity. "After you give up her boytoy to Piro for the enrichment of scientific knowledge?" 

The very thought of that putrid little punk Jeff Hardy left a sour taste in Shane's mouth. _All your fault Stephanie has to die...you made her weak...and if she doesn't rule with me, she rules against me...._He calmly unclenched his fist. "Do you doubt the purity of my motives? A pain-resistant Aerialian is the perfect subject for nerve cell experiments sans amnesia." 

"She won't forgive you." 

Shane's grin was cold. "I'll make her hate him." 

Page said nothing. So risky, to waste time with personal vendettas....."How long do ya think Russo will take?" 

The illusive death map dissolved into nothingness. "He can't kill her fast enough for me." 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - LT. EDGE'S & ENSIGN CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS   
  
A single candle flickered in the blackness, casting a harsh light on the shivering ensign. The air was humid and sticky with fever. 

"Come closer." Christian whispered, his voice hollow to match his eyes. 

"Why have the gods of Kanatia wrought this terrible illness upon you?" Edge's pretty face contorted with anguish as he kneeled by his brother's bedside. "Your complexion....so pasty.....your hair...so lank, so limp....I will do the honorable and totally awesome thing." 

The lieutenant smartly unholstered his phaser, adjusting the setting to KILL. 

"Have I become a reekazoid, Edgester?" Christian whispered meekly. "I lay here thinking....is there more to life than my beauty?" 

"Dear sweet conchairtos..." Edge swallowed a helpless sob. "Oh little buddy......no....the sucktitude has become terminal...." 

"Edge..." Christian reached for his hand, but big brother recoiled. Grody to the max! Someone else's perspiratory secretions! "I designed that navigational program.....it was my shrewd knowledge of stellar geography and cosmic dynamics that saved the ship.....yet you were promoted...." 

Edge's flawless features creased. "Ummmmm.....is this about careers and work and stuff? You have beautiful hair...why in the name of coolosity do you care?" 

"You got accessorized, dude. I feel so....so naked." 

"Glory hogging is the name of our game....didn't mom ever teach you about PRIORITIES?" 

Christian's eyes fluttered closed. "I have lost the urge to dawn spectacles.....show me the proper mercifications." 

"Put that damn thing away, boy!" Taker smoothly removed the phaser from Edge's grasp. "He ain't ill, unless wallowing in self pity like a freakin' prima donna is infectious. Ain't nothing a butt full of boot leather won't cure." 

"I shall sacrifice my star to save you." Edge declared solemnly, unsnapping the shiny silver gem from his collar. "We shall begin intensive mirror therapy asap." 

"A sap is right." Taker muttered. He'd punch the daylights out of them both, but hell, what would the APA do on weekends? 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER STEPHANIE MCMAHON'S QUARTERS 

She was grateful for the chimes outside her door, thankful they shattered her twisted nightmares and revealed the waking world. 

Stephanie sat bolt upright in bed, heart hammering like the warp core's pulse. She kicked away the knots of sweat-slicked satin that bound her body. Coward. Russo was a puny rat, an ineffectual loser. He couldn't dominate her every thought like this. 

Besides, the Dudleyz would be testifying over a broken table and his broken bones soon enough. 

"I'll get it." Lita sprung to her feet, pretending not to notice the terror in her commander's eyes. 

Why the hell hadn't anyone captured that Nytron sleaze already? It'd been several hours since his escape from the brig, and come on! Russo was a few electrons short of an atom, not exactly a wily target! 

"Maybe he smelled the chocolate donuts." Stephanie smirked. 

"I was going to generously offer to spell you." Matt said coldly, pushing into the room. "Or at least keep you company." 

"Please." Stephanie sat cross-legged on her bed. "Russo could dangle a blueberry muffin in front of you and then blast me while you chowed." 

That was mean, of course. One couldn't ask for better guard dogs than genetically loyal Aerialians. 

"Steph and I don't need YOUR kind of company." Lita said pointedly. "The kind that stays for five minutes and then ABANDONS you like yesterday's garbage." 

"Bitterness is an ugly thing, Red." Matt spread several pads out on Stephanie's pink coffee table. No point wallowing in rejection when you could lose yourself in work. "Especially on you." 

"Horizontal stripes are an ugly thing." Lita retorted. "Especially on YOU!" 

"Don't get uppity with me cause the consolation prize lost it's charm, honey." 

Lita's face now matched her hair. How DARE he! She'd NEVER admit that Jeff kissed like a sloppy overeager puppy or refused to bypass his arrested development. He had about as much plans to mature as the fictional Peter Pan did. _I'll marry Jeff and have eight goofy kids with him before I give fat Matt Hardy the satisfaction!_

Stephanie's eyes swept back and forth as if she was watching a tennis match, only better. _Look at them flirt! Ha ha ha, wonder if I should remind em' that they're still in love? Sparks of anger my a-_

Hey, wait a minute. "Shut up! Just cause two people argue all the time doesn't mean they want each other! Now cut it out!" 

They froze. "Eh?" 

Her face burned. Stupid Jericho! She'd dismantle him bolt by bolt for the perverted liplock! "Hey!" 

Something banged against her door...slid down her door. Sounded suspiciously like a human body. Lita and Matt had their phasers pulled in a heartbeat. 

"Oh lord." Stephanie peered down at her doorstep. Young Jeff lay in a crumpled heap at her feet. "Don't shoot. Idiots are an endangered species." She nudged him with her foot. "He may have skipped his last step." 

"I don't skip." he groaned, struggling upright. "I BOUNCE." 

"There's such a thing as a doorbell." Lita said. 

Jeff's eyes narrowed. If Stephanie wasn't mistaken, they turned even greener when he saw Matt. "What is HE doing here with you?" 

"It was so awful, Jeff." Stephanie whispered, wide-eyed. "They were having this disgusting orgy.....I hid under my bed." 

"Please." He staggered into a vertical position. "If I know you, you sent out engraved invitations." 

"My HERO!" Ah even worse than Russo, Stephanie thought. That hussy Trish appeared, wrapping her arms, not to mention her silicon, around Skipper. "I was soooo scared! You're sooooo brave!" 

"Jeff is pretty handy with those penicillan shots." Commander McMahon said sweetly. Okay, red flags. What the hell did she want with little Hardly? Sacked my husband, sacked my father......Looks? Uh, no. His charm. Uh, no. She was Shane's personal....whatever, but still...... 

"That awful, awful Big SLOW wouldn't take no for answer!" Trish's eyes misted over. She buried her blonde head against Jeff's scrawny shoulder. "He was going to-to-to!" She gulped back a huge sob. "I feel so violated! He was so rough with me! I have bruises!" She held out her wrists to them. 

"Loosen the handcuffs." Lita's smile was murderously unpleasant. Stephanie knew the look, and could only theorize...would her feisty friend coat Trish with honey and set red fire ants upon her, or would that surgically mutated body be discovered at the base of a plasma shaft......"Funny you're never around to rescue me, darling. Oh yes...that's right. SHANE is always there for me." 

Jeff disentangled himself from Trish's groping embrace. "Don't say the S word again!" 

Lita repeated it. "Shane." 

Something wicked glinted in Trish's eyes. "Not poor Jeff's fault you fail to arouse the passions of other men, Lita." 

"That's rich coming from someone with permanent mattress treads across their back." Matt snickered. 

Stephanie and Lita looked at him with glowing admiration. Now THAT was a slut joke worthy of Jericho! 

"I need to go back to work." Trish sulked. "Anytime you want something special, Ensign Hardy, it's on me...." 

Lita whipped out her Aerialian dagger, pinning Jeff to the wall like a wriggling insect. "Do not speak to me tonight. Do not speak to me tomorrow. You will be permitted to address me in three days. Pig." She removed the blade from his throat. 

Stay away from Miss Stratus, Rainbow Brite." Stephanie warned him. "She eats men alive. She'd destroy a boy like you." 

Jeff glared at the door. _No one calls me a boy._.... 

*** 

ECW EXTREMESHIP - TALASIAN-5 WORMHOLE 

The bridge of Paul Heyman's legendary Andromeda-Class Extremeship was storm tossed and burning, wires snapping and spitting like cobras as the fluxing gravity inside the tunnel pummelled the hull. He felt relaxed in the bubble of unearthly calm at his command, his vaunted warriors focused and fearless at their stations. 

The unused console next to Captain E liquified and then morphed into a long-haired grungy soldier-the shapeshifter Raven. That nauseating cherub Molly Holly was not the only psychic magician this side of space..... 

"The wormhole will collapse in thirteen minutes." Ensign Raven gave the last known science report from the Titanprize, from that traitor Benoit..... 

Russo's wormhole....what a beauty! Admiral Ice Queen McMahon fought tooth and nail to re-open that puppy, anything for that uptight million dollar ego trip hubby of hers! Anything for the children! _Congrats ya old bag! You done good by your baby boy!_

_ Princess Stephanie, however......well hell, some ya win, some ya lose Vince_, Paul thought with a grin. Ol' Moneybags could just buy himself a sweet new spawn to spoil. 

"We'll make it." Crack pilot Rob Van Damn acknowledged. 

"Federation space will be sealed off after the collapse." Spike Dudley reported from Engineering. "Quantam mines set to detonate in nine minutes." 

"We'll make it." Crack pilot Rob Van Damn acknowledged. 

"Federation space will be sealed off after the collapse." Spike Dudley reported from Engineering. 

"Beautiful." Paul sighed. "Good-bye Wrestlefleet! And Linda McMahon? You can kiss my ass!" 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER STEPHANIE MCMAHON'S QUARTERS 

_ I've got to get out of here! Screw Russo! Who the hell cares where he is! I can't stand this anymore!_

Her skin was crawling so bad she felt like a prisoner inside it. Oh to shed it like a snake! And that moody twit Jeff just sat sullenly outside her door, feigning offense at some earlier slight. This was ridiculous! McMahons did NOT hide from slithering Nytron! 

Protective custody...yeah right. Opie was out there painting his nails. She could be accosted here. She could be attacked in Engineering. She wasn't some bird you could lock in a cage-the cat would find her anywhere. 

Jericho's idea...brilliant suggestion slimebot! 

_ Suuure, you're sooo concerned with my well-being. My life span compared to yours is less than the flutter of an eyelash. Stars will live and die during your existence. Why should you bother with a mere mortal like me?_

"Hey Skipper." She poked her head outside. "Wanna...make out?" 

He shot her a withering glance. "Too little, too late darling. Now please, this is art. I must not be disturbed." 

"Oh you're disturbed alright." Stupid doors. You couldn't even slam them! Jeff wasn't fun anymore. What the heck crawled up his shorts anyways? Everyone felt like an enemy now, thanks to Shane's machinations. Even Chris.... 

It struck without warning, a primal force knocking her back against the cold titanium door, her breath expelled from her lungs like a hurricane. In the blink of an eye, a curved blade rested against the hollow of her throat. She blinked, not trusting herself to speak or exhale. 

"Scream and you will bleed to death." Benoit hissed. "Slowly." Stephanie nodded, her uniform slicked with icy sweat. The Wolverine had a human face and pale inhuman eyes. He'd cut her with the same nonchalance as a butcher slaughtering an animal. "Do you wish Jericho to die?" 

Her head swayed slowly back and forth. 

"Steph?" Hardly sounded supremely bored. "If you snuck an ensign through the Jeffries tubes, I swear to god-" 

"I'm fine." she said shakily. 

"Good girl. Shane will take the ship; this can't be prevented. He musn't be allowed to take the ultimate weapon. Jericho's soul." 

"Soul?" Stephanie laughed, feeling the arctic blade slip against her neck. "Jericho is nothing but a tool. A loyal tool." 

Y2J had overestimated her cleverness. Lovestruck fool. She understood enough to be self-destructive, to collapse the house of cards they'd all so carefully built. "Shane has a worm, is a worm. Jericho's time as a being of free will is limited-" 

"Free will? You're as crazy as Russo! And I can't help Chris as long as I'm held here-" 

"You're just a naive girl." Benoit shook his head in disbelief. "No one will move to stop Russo. The Dudleyz have been instructed to stand down. Shane wants your corpse in the morgue within 24 hours!" 

Her eyes widened, then closed, as if her entire being was curling itself to a protective ball. Commander McMahon spoke bravely about battling her brother, but still saw the little boy she'd spent Christmases with in Greenwich. "Your big brother died on the other side of the wormhole. All you have left is an unstoppable enemy." 

Her body slumped to the floor. Yes, it was all real now...."This must be uploaded into the Y2J Unit's positronic net before the weasel strikes. Faarooq and Bradshaw are hunting Russo...." 

Stephanie didn't open her eyes as she grasped the silicon sliver Benoit offered like a life preserver. "Why should I trust one monster over another? You almost detonated me on Copeland-9...because you hated Rock. Maybe you hate Jericho more...." 

"Doubt me and all is lost." Those were the last words he spoke before the Jeffries tubes swallowed him whole. 

She rose, quivering like a leaf in the wind. What was illusion and what was not? How could Shane be powerful enough to commit such horrible acts against his family...his federation? Only the Nytron would help him-they were amoebas for god's sakes! Cowards! 

I hope I'm doing the right thing, Chrissie.... 

"Commander McMahon to Lt. Commander Jericho-please respond...." 

  
***

WWF TITANPRIZE - JEFFRIES TUBE 69B 

"A high-ranking officer in the slut's quarters. How unusual!" 

Benoit didn't move a muscle. His eyes absorbed the blue phaser light illuminating their small pocket of darkness. It would be set to vaporize. "Commander McMahon's boots need licking, ensign." 

Christian laughed. "He'll be licking mine after I dispose of you. Please don't twitch. I'm not stupid enough to underestimate you." 

The Wolverine blinked. Inane catchphrases and buggy specs no longer applied . A hypospray was expertly drawn from Christian's holster. "Lt. Edge-" 

"Ensign Edge." Beneath his gaze, liquid hate simmered to the boiling point. "Soft little bitch gave it up. Just flash a mirror at him and he's my puppet on a string." 

Benoit licked his lips. Options: zero. The lone wolf outfoxed by a psychotically jealous valley boy...who knew? He'd trusted everything to that floudering child...... 

"Don't look so shocked, mutt." The needle plunged into this thick muscles. "Your time with Piro is sooooo gonna reek of awesomeness...." 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

Vince could not bring himself to turn away from the window. Space was still black as pitch, unyielding in its darkness. Sure, a few stars scattered themselves like gold dust across the night, but otherwise..... 

Russo's wormhole had simply died after coughing up the Extreme Ship. The weight of gravity crushed it and all of McMahon's hopes. _Damn you Russo, I'll see your soul in hell!_

"Together Vinnie, together we'll pry space open and fly these babies home." 

McMahon turned slightly. Heyman appeared to be a supremely confident man, despite being stranded in the fifth circle of cosmic hell. Security Sargeant Rhyno's massive bulk shadowed the door, his stare intense and impenetrable. No one would be fool enough to tangle with Heyman when a gore was their reward. 

"It was extremely brave to venture through such an unstable wormhole." Vince said flatly. "Your courage will be honored in the Smackdown later." 

Paul snorted. _Oh you don't know how depressing it's going to get, baby._ "Forget it. Walk in the park for my boys. Extreme is what we do." 

"They'll be welcomed as full-fledged crew members with appropriate rank." 

"Gracias," Heyman smirked. "Good god, man. You see the cloud in every silver lining, don't you? Think of the opportunity! The pure science! The discoveries! All with Vinnie's Mac name attached to em' in big, bold letters!" 

Vince smiled faintly. "My apologies. Of course, this unknown quadrant of space is what keeps my crew alive...thriving. Curiousity and all that. It's just-my daughter, my princess...that madman." 

Heyman sighed inwardly. Hadn't she bit the stellar dust already? "Russo's a wanna be. Buh Buh and D'von, I know em', know their work. No Nytron'll be able to identify his frickin' body when they're done playing." 

"You know how kids are-she's chafing under protective custody." McMahon dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand. Heyman noticed the missing wedding ring...well, well, well. "Your ship-we can repair all the damage." 

"Weapons off-line, life support minimal...." Paul's eyes misted over. "Aw hell Vinnie Mac, just tow my baby behind ya, and we'll stick her in a Federation museum when we get home." 

"As you wish." McMahon nodded. "My thanks for the supplies Shane is unloading in the cargo hold. Medicine and food are always needed between Class-M planets." 

"No biggie." Heyman shrugged. _Not gonna thank me for all the bad ass guns secured in the false bottoms of those chromium bins? Your gratitude is duly noted._ "My crew is deeply appreciative of the tour your son has arranged. I think you'll find my warriors most impressive when push comes to shove." 

"Yes, well...." McMahon turned back towards the permanent midnight that enveloped the Titanprize. "Not much pushing and shoving out here. It's as peaceful as a ghost town." 

"You sound disappointed, Vinnie." _You won't be for long. This ghost town is about to become the wild, wild west all over again!_

"Don't mind me, Paul. Sometimes we just need a little conflict to stir the blood." 

_ And spill it, my prophetic captain, spill it until you drown in it......_

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - DECK 9 - ENGINEERING 

"Coast is clear." Jeff felt pretty pleased with himself. Lita wasn't fooling him...."_special repair project" with Matt _his bony backside!No doubt they were picnicking under the romantic lights of the Jeffries tubes...a seven course picnic if he knew Matt! Well, the joke was on Lita. Big brother wouldn't put his lips on anything that didn't taste like chocolate. 

"Are you sure that robot is gone?" Trish giggled mischievously as her eyes adjusted to the pulsating lights and shadows. Ick! What a miserable place to work. No wonder it attracted geeks like Hardly. "He's so anal retentive!" 

"Yeah well, that's a machine for you." Ensign Hardy sat before his usual console. "But now that Stephanie's beckoned her love slave, we won't see him for HOURS." 

Trish wrinkled up her nose. _Sorry, Shane, I can't pretend thats not gross, not even for Jeff. A human and an android? _It was hard keeping the bile down...."I just don't want you getting burned for skipping out on guard duty. She was a witch to you earlier, and it was completely unfair. You were just being NOBLE!" 

"Steph's got this complex where she lusts for me really bad." Jeff explained with a roll of his eyes. "Makes her a total B." 

"This computer is so fancy." she said innocently. Yeah right. It was identical to the one in Shane's diagrams. "How on earth did you figure it out?" 

"It's not hard. I can show you." He pretended to shrug it off, but he had that cocky gleam going on, just like some little snot trying hopelessly to impress the beauty queen he didn't deserve. "First you need to access the mainframe with your username and coded password." 

"I'd NEVER remember so much information!" she cooed, inching closer to him. Wow, his hair looked so much dumber the closer you got to it. 

"I use an Aerialian word." he said, proud of his own cleverness. "Not too many people on the ship speak that fluently." 

"Are you as gifted as Matt?" Good grief. Stephanie had never changed his entry protocol. Jeff still had lieutenant level access, just as Shane suspected. "I hear he's the best hacker in the federation, barring Chris Jericho." 

Now Hardly's face burned. Correct buttons pushed successfully. "Matt's nothin' special. I can do it, I just don't need the extra attention. Check this out." 

"Could you do something as amazing as access the warp engine controls?" Trish leaned against him, shuddering inwardly. If Shane asked her to kiss this lamer, she'd be the one to execute Jeff, not that creep Piro! 

"With my hands tied behind my back." His fingers flew over the console, making the lights dance and the internal drive hum. 

_ Boy, I wish your hands were tied._ "Gosh, you're so...fast!" But not fast enough for Trish Stratus. Did this juvenile twit think for one moment this amateurish display impressed her? She was a Kanatian intelligence agent, a master spy. He'd be just another weakling sucked in and spit out by her gorgeous blonde looks. 

"I could eject the whole warp core if I wanted." Jeff said smugly. 

"Wow!" Trish wanted to cuff him sideways. Who the hell did he think he was, assuming she was so ditzy she couldn't possibly memorize all these codes? They were seared into her brain, imprinted there for Shane to exploit.   
  
Commander McMahon never doubted her ruthlessness, never questioned her abilities. No wonder he loathed this pathetic brat.... 

"Jeffrey!" 

"Oh god, no." Hardly spun around in his chair, facing the great red wrath of Lita. Matt stood silently beside her, a funny look on his face. "Honey bear." 

"Sugar." Lita kneeled beside him, jamming the business end of her phaser up under his chin. "You better run, Trish. Maybe draw up your last will and testament." 

"You can't threaten me!" 

"We can, however, send you soaring out a shuttle bay, sans shuttle." Matt treated her to a winning smile, devoid of warmth. "Now slime away from my brother." 

"Couldn't you just send me a break-up note in gym class?" Damn. Jeff couldn't manage his devastatingly charming grin with her firearm compressing his airway. 

"Break up?" Lita pressed harder. "We're not going to break up, Twinkle Toes. I'm going to break you." 

"Before you twist him into a pretzel, Red, let's take a peek at what he's showing his new dog." Matt flopped down beside his kid brother, his lightning quick mind enganging with the cut rate hack job laid out on the monitor. He whistled. "You're in big trouble, kiddo." 

"Not if we all zip our lips." Jeff said weakly. 

Matt wouldn't look at him. "I can't protect you from Jericho and Steph. Sorry." 

Sorry? Sorry was what Lita had planned in that beautiful vicious mind of hers.... 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER STEPHANIE MCMAHON'S QUARTERS 

She angrily yanked the covers over her head, burrowing way down deep, away from the ship and all it's craziness. 

Thanks for standing me up, slimebot! 

She buried her head in her pillow. Jeff was too quiet. Maybe he was writing a poem. After all, he'd asked what rhymed with wench, harlot, and vixen forty-five minutes ago. 

_ Maybe they got you already, Chrissie. Maybe you're already gone...._

Cold raced through her blood. No, she wouldn't allow Shane to corrupt him. Jericho would be here soon, and she'd upload the enhanced Walls program. If only he hadn't kissed her on the garden deck...it felt like ages ago....Stephanie could still taste it... 

_ No, no, no! It was repulsive! I wish I could spit it out like poison!_

She'd never sleep, not like this. Jericho'd risked his very life to liplock her. Oh hell, it wasn't as romantic as all that. Chris kissed her lips, now Shane was determined to destroy him.   
Stephanie laughed bitterly, hearing her brother's voice echo in her head. Not HIM, Stephanie. IT. The Y2J Unit is a THING. You need help.... 

Commander McMahon blocked out Shane's cruel mocking smile. Rest came in gauzy, blurred intervals. Dreams crashed through the restfulness like tidal wave after destructive tidal wave. Chris was flesh and blood and she could hear his heart beating, and he hated her....Stephanie squirmed inside her cocoon, writhing away from the misery of seeing his glacier eyes and hateful slash of lips..... 

Russo came too, struggling into her brain like a parasitic worm. His grin was fanged like a vampire's, blood dripped from his mouth. He crawled onto her bed, a knife clenched between his jaws, a phaser beating the agonzing seconds against his hip. He kneeled on her bed, staring down at her face, which was peacefully composed in sleep. He brushed a finger against the soft skin.... 

The bloodcurdling scream tore out of her, waking her violently. _It's not a dream!_ Stephanie's heart thumped so hard it seemed palpable between them. She untangled herself, backing towards the window as it slithered up her bed...she thrust a foot out, feeling it connect with with flesh and bone, caving in and cracking ribs- 

It reached for her-she could almost feel a claw digging into her ankles, trying to drag her into hell. She was stronger than him! Stephanie tumbled off the bed, but like a rabid dog, he scrambled after her, eyes glowing red and hot to her. He pinned her arms to the carpet-she buried her knees in his chest, monkey tossing his emaciated body away from herself. 

"Jeff!" She screamed. Russo was on his feet again, stalking her in the dark, knife glinting in the starlight. She felt her legs bruise as she was pushed up against her nightstand. Stephanie's knees almost buckled as she fumbled behind her, in the drawer for the the weapon Jericho had given her..."Jeff!" 

"He's not there." His voice sounded spectral, disembodied. 

"You killed him!" A sob caught in her throat as she pulled the Crippler free from it's holster. The blue beam fired wide, scorching a scar in the curved walls. 

Russo dived at her, spearing her back against the window, the sweat from her terror sparkling in an eerie outline around her. Her breath was jerked loose, but the gun stayed firm in Stephanie's grasp. She struggled to inhale, to twist the firearm between them, but he was slashing at her with the knife-it made these great arcs, whistling through the air, wrenching blood and pain from her. 

_ I'm going to die. I can't survive this! I'm so cold....I can't stand up....._

The blade was being spiraled through her t-shirt, she felt the heat and stickiness of her life floating away. It was so frigid inside her....made her stomach go numb and melt.... 

"Good-night, sweet princess." He said it almost lovingly. 

_ I am not your princess!_

"We'll die together." Stephanie smiled, and released the trigger..... 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Her first opportunity to view the Extreme Ship soldiers revealed no secrets. Stephanie hovered beyond the swinging doors of the Smackdown, watching them grate on the APA and mingle with the Nytrons. She decided she disliked Paul's troops immensely. Arrogant and swaggering, they were pumped up on daring missions and ludicrous blood-soaked war epics. They made Hunter seem modest. 

Heyman wasn't stupid enough to drag his ship through an unstable wormhole. So what treasure was he hunting? What made a dangerous journey through a worthless rip in space worth the effort? 

Strobe lights pierced the inky air, music throbbed until it echoed in her brain. Daddy threw quite a fiesta for their new "friends." Steph stepped forward, sucking air through her front teeth as pain echoed through her nerves. Pain meant you weren't dead, Jeff had told her cheerfully. Suuuure, Skipper. 

She hit a wall. It was her brother Shane. "Move it, nerd." 

"As I live and breathe, my darling sister fights another day." His smile could have frozen hell over. "Congratulations on your first murder. It gets easier." 

"At least I succeeded. Jeff's still breathing." 

Shane kept his shoulder between her and freedom. "I'm going to thank him for almost clipping a rotted branch off my family tree. Shafting you was the least idiotic thing he's ever done." 

"Leave him alone." Stephanie hissed. "He's suffered enough." 

"As a bonus, I won't make Lita watch Piro dissect him alive." 

"Over my dead body." 

Shane's face lit up. "Careful what you wish for, little one." He took her wrist suddenly, squeezing it until the blood drained from her face. "I was supposed to heroically avenge your death at the hands of Supreme Commander Crackpot. The Nytron were supposed to tremble at my authority and see their master dead forever. Freed from the shackles of his ghost only to be enslaved by moi." 

Stephanie gasped. Her brother was going to shatter the bones in her wrist. "You always sucked at cheating, weasel boy. Some McMahon." 

"Look around you." Shane twisted her body violently, pulling her hair so tight it almost snapped her neck. "Pretend the bar is a game. Who's my pawn and who is not? Who does little Stephie trust? Jeff? Lita? Hunter? Your android lover?" He laughed as she clawed at him. "Your mouth lies, but your eyes when he kissed you...." 

"Burn in hell, Shane!" Stephanie growled, sprawling to the ground as he released her. "I HATE Y2J!"   
  
"Your loyal pup didn't come running, did he?" Big Brother, who'd once almost given his life to spare hers from Russo, had nearly served her up as a sacrifice on a silver platter. Shane pushed her back against the wall with his boot. "Where oh where was the lovebot? Could it be I was jerking his leash?" 

She swallowed. Had the pampered little demon stolen Jericho's soul with his worm? All her fault... Stephanie would never forget her errant crippler beam incinerating the silicon anti-virus chip as Russo attacked. The weapon meant to redeem her had doomed Chris.... 

Shane sighed. "I'll have to lay low now. The Nytron are experiencing a spasm of gratitude for your courageous act. We'll need to properly seduce them again." 

"Who is WE?" 

More snickering. "It's a guessing game, Stephanie dearest. Same rules as Russian roulette." He cocked his thumb and forefinger and shot her between the eyes. 

She grew quiet. "Daddy was right five years ago. You should have never been born." 

The transformation in his expression was sickening to behold. Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the ancient fables, his inner devil consumed him. Shane drew his phaser. "I'm going to kill you right here." 

"I doubt it. It's my understanding grapefruits skip a generation." 

His gun hand shook. "Vince will regret the day he said those words to me." 

"McMahon." The Y2J Unit took his phaser. Shane didn't protest, merely let his arm go limp. "We'll pretend this didn't happen." 

Stephanie accepted Jericho's hand, noting the warm pulse beneath the cool skin. Impossible as it was, he seemed to be getting more human by the day. _What on earth could make his mechanical heart race like that?_

Blushing furiously, she broke the touch. 

"It will happen again." Commander McMahon stiffened. His eyes swept carelessly over the Smackdown, absorbing the dancing, the flashing streams of color, the pretty faces and athletic bodies. "Only then you'll hold her down as I pull the trigger." 

Jericho said nothing. What did you say to that? "So Taker prettied your face back up." He remembered the pale angry scars across her cheeks. "As much as that face can be prettied up." 

Stephanie's turn for the silent treatment. In her peripheral vision, Matt and Lita slow danced and seemed happy with that. If Jeff's hair turned any more blue, they'd nickname him Skippy Smurf. Some people were destined to be alone. Like me. 

"Your husband and Austin seem tight." he remarked. "I'm a little concerned, being as Stone Cold is a MAN'S MAN." 

"Ex." she murmured absently. 

"So Eddie and I had a bet going." Jericho went on smoothly. "If you answer my next question with "wonder bra," he wins fifty credits." 

"You're going to make me ask, aren't you?" Her blue eyes flashed. "Go on, mock me. I couldn't even beat the stuffing out of a half-starved delirious prisoner." 

"Ask what?" 

"To continue with the self-defense lessons!" Stephanie flushed radiant pink. "I obviously suck. I almost went to the big mattress in the sky!" 

His lips twitched. "If you're saucy enough to risk the weasel's wrath, I'm game. Admit it, you just want to cop a feel." 

"My goodness, do you have x-ray vision?" Stephanie's tongue was silver with sarcasm. "Or has your positronic net been replaced with a crystal ball?" 

"Cargo hold 8, 1500 hours. Better eat your wheaties, princess." 

Chris knew Stephanie needed all the help she could get. He'd give anything to confess to her.... 

There was no warning strong enough for the danger that awaited them all. 

She spoke to his blonde ponytail as he walked away. "You know Shane's gonna reprogram you, don't you, Chrissie." 

"You're crazy." 

Maybe she was. Maybe he was. There was nothing sane about passively accepting your own demise. But Jericho was smarter than her, not a comment she'd crack out loud. 

Sometimes you just had to trust crazy. 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: mailto:angel_of_harlemu2@yahoo.com



	86. Season 9 Finale Episode 12 Goodbye

Wrestle Trek: Season 9, Episode 12

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON NINE**

**EPISODE 12: GOODBYE...**

By: [Elektra][1]

****SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE!

TITANPRIZE CREW:

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Mick Foley   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM - Monday 

"Captain's log, stardate 101720.01. Yes, we're still lost. Morale is low. Patience is low. The crew of the WWF Titanprize are not happy campers despite the monthly communications from WrestleFleet. They are complaining that WrestleFleet isn't trying hard enough to get us home. They are complaining that I am not trying hard enough. Whispers have been circulating around the ship about certain officers claiming they could run this ship better then myself..." Captain McMahon leaned back in his chair and stared out at the empty expanse of space. "Maybe they can... " he paused, "Computer delete that last line. End log." 

McMahon stood up and headed onto the bridge. 

In the corner of the Captain's ready room, an innocent looking potted plant turned to liquid, and took the form of a long-haired, grungy looking Ensign, "If YOU can't get us home, Cap, maybe you should let someone else command the Titanprize!" 

*** 

COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S OFFICE - later 

"Pops doesn't sound too good," Commander Shane said as Ensign Raven reported what he heard as the Captain dictated his log, "Running the ship seems to be getting to him. I think pops needs a vacation ... a LONG vacation..." 

Raven nodded, "I couldn't agree more... but if I help you with this, what about me?" 

Shane furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?" 

"What about me?! What about Raven!? What do I get out of this?" 

Shane put a hand on the man's shoulder, "Never fear. You will be set for life, my man! A nice cushy job as my Chief of Security! I will demote Commander Kane to Lieutenant, and YOU shall be the number one security officer aboard this ship. MY ship!" 

Raven smiled slighty, "I like the sound of that..." he replied. 

"Good. Now I have to go find my sis. Keep following pops around. Tell me everything you know about his state of mind," Shane replied. 

Raven nodded, and left Shane's office. 

*** HOLODECK 2 

"Ok, to recap yesterday's lesson -- what do you do if your assailant has you pinned to the ground?" Jericho asked. 

"I'll tell you if you turn off this crap you call music!!" Stephanie snapped over the sounds that came over the Holodeck speakers. 

"Hey! THIS isn't crap! Crap is those 20th Century boy bands you keep playing -- the Backdoor Buddies, or whatever the hell you call them!" 

"They are NOT crap! They sing sweet songs about---" Stephanie frowned and glared at the Y2J Unit, who was currently feigning dry heaves. "Stop it, Jerkicho, or I swear I'll hit you!" 

Jericho stopped his fake gagging, and smirked, "Well... protective of our Backdoor Buddies, aren't we?" 

Stephanie made a fist and let it fly. 

Jericho quickly caught her wrist, "You've learned the 'cheap shot' well! Didn't expect that," 

Stephanie attempted to punch him with her other fist. Jericho grabbed that wrist as well, "Go to HELL!" She said, trying to pull out of his grasp unsuccessfully. Jericho blinked at the anger in her voice. "DAMN YOU!" she shouted, eyes filling with tears. 

Jericho furrowed his brow, "This isn't about music anymore, is it, Steph?" 

Stephanie attempted to pull free again, but he wouldn't let go, "How could you just leave me hanging like that?!" she shouted. "If you had come when I paged you, Russo never would have laid a hand on me! WHY weren't you there?! WHY?!" she screamed. 

Jericho was taken aback at her emotional outburst, "Stephanie..." he started. 

"Why do you hate me?!" she asked, her voice so full of pain that the Y2J Unit felt something stir deep within, "Why do you hate me so much? What is it about me, Chris?!" 

Jericho let go of her wrists and grabbed her face, preventing her from turning away, "Calm down!" he demanded, "CALM the HELL down!" 

Stephanie glared at him, fire in her eyes, "Just tell me why you hate me so much!" she hissed angrily, her tears dry now. 

"I don't hate you, Stephanie," Jericho's voice was quiet as he leaned in closer, "I just wish we---" he stopped, realizing what he was doing. The energy surges running through his wires were powerful, and he refused to give in to them. 

Jericho quickly let go of Stephanie, "I mean... I just wish we could just finish the lesson!" he snapped, "I wasn't there because your darling brother SHANE called me to his office, then dismissed me! It was obviously a diversion tactic," he explained, "I didn't know what was happening, Steph, OK?" He sighed and shook his head, "Why the hell do you think I was more then willing to continue our lessons?" he asked. 

Stephanie looked at him, her eyes regretful, "Chris... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" 

"Good," he interrupted, "Now let's try this again," Before Stephanie could respond, Jericho kicked her legs out from under her and pinned her to the practice mat, "What do you do if your assailant has you pinned?" 

"You get off of her before her brother blows your damned positronic brains out!" 

Jericho and Stephanie slowly turned their heads to the holodeck door. Jericho was the first to speak, "Ooooooh shi--" 

"Get off my sister, robot!" Commander Shane McMahon's voice was shaking with anger as he stood in the holodeck doorway, training his phaser on the Y2J Unit, "Computer, TURN THIS CRAP OFF!" the music in the holodeck stopped dead. 

Jericho quickly let go of Stephanie and raised his hands up, moving away from her, "I thought you locked the door, Steph..." 

"Me? YOU were supposed to!" Stephanie replied, then shook her head, "Never mind!" she turned to her brother and quickly sat up, "It's not what you think, Shane..." Stephanie tried to explain, "He was just---" 

"I don't WANT to know what it was JUST, Stephanie!" Shane hissed angrily. He glared at Lt. Commander Jericho, "Tell me why I shouldn't burn the synthetic skin right off your no-selling titanium skull right now?" 

"Because it would ruin my perfect complexion...?" Jericho replied. 

"Because I ASKED him to teach me self-defense!" Stephanie interrupted as she jumped to her feet. 

"That sure as hell didn't look like self-defense to me!" Shane snapped, shaking with anger. 

Jericho attempted to explain himself, "I was actually teaching her how to thwart an assailant who---" 

"I didn't give you permission to speak, android!" Shane interrupted. 

"Put the phaser down, Shane!" Stephanie demanded. "NOW!" 

"I SAW what it was doing, Stephanie! You can't tell me it was perfectly innocent!" Shane replied. 

Stephanie walked up to him, hands on her hips, "It WAS perfectly innocent!" she explained, "He was teaching me how to defend myself, since no one else on this stupid ship will! Why can't you believe that?" 

"First of all, that THING disobeyed my orders to stay away from you...! And now... NOW... you want me to believe it was just teaching you self-defense? A insubordinate officer doesn't exactly have my confidence!" 

"And a man that would rather blow my head off then have his sister protect herself doesn't exactly have MY confidence either!" Jericho muttered. 

"SHUT UP!" Shane shouted, and fired the phaser. Jericho quickly ducked out of the way, the beam missing him by mere inches. 

"STOP IT!" Stephanie shouted, and kicked the phaser out of Shane's hands. Shane looked at the phaser on the ground, then turned to Stephanie, stricken. 

"I really wish the men in your life would STOP trying to KILL ME!" Jericho shouted, "First Triple H beats me with a sledgehammer, and now your brother tries to blow my head off! You're a dangerous woman to be around, Steph!" 

Shane's expression grew hard as he scowled at the Y2J Unit coldly, "This isn't over yet...!" he hissed, then turned to Stephanie and grabbed her arm, "You and me are going to have a nice little chat, sis!" 

Shane quickly picked his phaser off the ground, and dragged Stephanie roughly out of the Holodeck. 

*** 

COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S OFFICE 

"What the hell is going on?" Shane demanded. "Why were you with the Y2J Unit on the holodeck?" 

"I told you..." 

"You told me NOTHING!" Shane snapped. 

Stephanie crossed her arms, frowning, "Listen, Shane! I don't care what you THINK happened, but Chris was teaching me self-defense and that's it! OK?" 

"Chris? You're on a first name basis now?" he asked, "I recall ordering KURT to teach you self-defense!" Shane replied. 

Stephanie glared at him, "No doubt you also ordered Russo to try to kill me!" She spat angrily. 

Shane put a hand to his chest, a pained expression on his face, "I would NEVER do that!" he insisted, "You're my SISTER!" 

"Oh yeah... and that's why you held a phaser to my head the other day in the Smackdown?!" she snapped. 

Shane smiled coldly, "Too bad I didn't pull the trigger before the damned 'bot had a chance to grab it from me..." 

Stephanie was stunned at the audacity of her brother, "Just stay the hell away from me, Shane!" she hissed. 

Shane frowned darkly, his voice sounding edgy, "No... YOU should stay the hell away from ME!" 

Stephanie's eyes went wide, then she reared back and slapped Shane across the face. "Don't you EVER threaten me again, Shane McMahon! Or so help me... you will be SORRY!" 

Without another word, Stephanie walked out on her brother. 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN - Tuesday night 

"Chris, what's wrong? You look a little worried," Terri began as Jericho nursed the same synthehol he had been drinking for the past hour. 

"I'm in deep crap," he replied. 

"I don't suppose Stephanie would have anything to do with it?" Terri questioned. 

"What have you heard?" he asked. 

"Nothing. I'm just saying that the only time you're in deep crap is when she's involved," 

Jericho frowned, "I need to stay away from her. She's caused me too many problems lately!" 

"I thought Shane ordered you to stay away from her anyway," 

"That's one of the problems that lead to my 'deep crap' comment," Jericho smiled sheepishly, then gulped down the rest of his synthehol, "Don't worry about that though. Tell me about you and Nurse Saturn. You two have gotten pretty close," 

Terri smiled, "We have... though lately he's been carrying this weird mop around..." she shrugged. 

"Saturn's a loon. I'm surprised you're still with him," 

"I like his loonacy though," she said, "I think it's cute..." 

"Hmmm... just be careful, Terri. You don't need to get your heart broken by a whacko with a mop," 

"Well, Chris... if my heart DOES get broken, I'm sure YOU could cheer me up," 

Jericho smirked smugly, "I'm glad you think so! It must be my winning personality..." 

"Your personality has nothing to do with it. There are MANY ways you could cheer me up," Terri replied with a sly grin. 

Jericho raised an eyebrow, looking rather amused, "Are you flirting with me?" 

"Oh if only it would work!" Terri answered with a wink, "But we all know your interests only lean towards a certain McMahon woman," Before Jericho could protest, Terri interrupted, "Don't you even DARE deny it!" she replied sternly. 

"Well I...." Jericho started, then stopped as something caught the corner of his eye, "What's this?" he asked curiously. A few feet away, Ensign Raven was approaching the Cocky Kanatians. 

Now if only he could hear what they were saying... 

*** 

The Cocky Kanatians looked at Raven with disdain, "Dude... your fashion sense reeks of heinosity!" Edge paused, then sniffed the air, "Ewww... and so do YOU! That whole smelly grunge thing is SO two centuries ago!" 

Raven glared at him, "If you had come from a poverty stricken family like I had, you wouldn't be so quick to judge. My mother used to dress me in grungy outfits every day because she didn't love me! You don't know what it was like to sleep in complete filth every night!" 

Edge and Christian looked at each other, then Christian turned back to Raven, "Dude, you're, like, a SHAPESHIFTER! Can't you shapeshift yourself some new clothes?" 

"Yeah, man... I mean... you look totally uncool!" Edge replied 

"When you get some new clothes, come talk to us. For now, get your totally grungy self away from our table!" Christian snapped. 

Raven frowned, " I have a message from Shane. He wants you two blonde bimbos to meet him on the garden deck at 23:00h!" 

"Ok... message received.... now take thy form from off my bar stool, and nevermore sit beside us again. Quoth the Edge," Edge said. 

"Dude! You totally misquoted Poe!" Christian gasped, then smiled and nodded, "Misquoting Poe RULES!" Christian high-fived his older brother. 

Raven sighed and shook his head, then quickly took his leave of the Cocky Kanatians. 

*** 

COMMANER SHANE McMAHON'S OFFICE - Wednesday night 

Shane went through the duty roster and frowned. It seemed Jericho was still positioned in Engineering with Stephanie. Shane would just have to reassign certain officers... and Shane knew EXACTLY where to reassign Lt. Commander Jericho to keep it the hell away from Stephanie! 

But a reassignment would be too easy for the Y2J Unit. Shane could never let the android off the hook that easily. Especially after the bot's insubordinate, arrogant attitude. 

Oh yes... the Y2J unit would have BIGGER things to worry about then just a mere reassignment. MUCH bigger... 

*** 

ENGINEERING - Thursday 

"What are you doing here, Kurt?" Stephanie asked as Ensign Angle reported for duty. 

"On orders from Commander McMahon, I am now posted here with you. I am to learn everything I can about Engineering," 

Stephanie sighed, "I don't have time to teach you all that! Engineering is something you have to study in WrestleFleet Academy!" She looked around Engineering, and called out to Ensign Hardy, "Matt, have you seen Lt. Commander Jericho? He's supposed to be on duty," 

"If I may..." Angle began before Matt could reply, "Your brother informed me that Jericho has been reassigned," 

Stephanie turned back to him, "WHAT?!" 

"Jericho is now responsible for keeping track of the inventory in the cargo bays," 

"EXCUSE ME?!" Stephanie replied, "My brother reassigned my second-in-command to jobber duty?" 

"Well, actually, Commander McMahon used one of my 3 I's in this case -- intelligence! Since the Y2J Unit is an android, this is indeed the best position for him. He'll be able to keep all the inventory in that positronic brain of his, and---" 

"I'm going to talk to Shane!" Stephanie interrupted, and tapped her comm badge, "Commander Stephanie McMahon to Commander Shane McMahon..." 

"Yes, Steph...?" Shane's reply came through her comm. 

"Why the hell did you reassign Lt. Commander Jericho to jobber duty in the cargo bays?" 

"Because, it would be the best use of the 'bots skills," 

"Oh please! The best use of his skills is in Engineering!" Stephanie snapped. 

There was a slight pause, then "The decision stands, Steph. Jericho is staying in the cargo bays! End of conversation!" 

"But---" Stephanie started, but it was too late. Shane had cut the communication. Stephanie muttered an unpleasant phrase under her breath. 

"Commander Stephanie! I am truly shocked that a lovely woman like yourself would use such colourful phrases!" Angle replied. 

"Whatever, Kurt. Listen, you want to learn about Engineering?" she asked. Angle nodded, "Fine then. Take this, " she handed him her padd, "Follow me and take notes when I tell you too." 

Angle furrowed his brow, "Like a secretary?" he asked, "That's not exactly what Shane was thinking of when he assigned me here. I can be of great use to you in---" 

"Shut up, Kurt! Just do what I say! And DO NOT touch the warp engines! Got it?" 

"Yes ma'am," Angle replied, and saluted politely as he set about the task of being Stephanie's personal secretary. 

*** 

ENSIGN EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

"So... what do you think of Shane's plan, brother?" Christian asked as he combed his hair for the one-hundreth time in the bathroom mirror. 

"It TOTALLY reeks of heinosity!" Edge replied, then paused, "But..." 

Christian heard the tone in his brother's voice, "But WHAT, Edge?" 

"Well, as much as taking over the Titanprize rules all... the plan seems overly EVIL... don't you think?" Edge asked. 

"What do you mean by that, brother?" Christian asked. He didn't like where this was going. Maybe it was time to appeal to Edge's vanity, "Just think... if we get on Shane's good side, we could totally get bigger mirrors in our quarters!" 

"While that would be cool... I... I don't know. It's just..." Edge shook his head, unable to put into words why he was feeling so hesitant. 

"C'mon Edge, don't tell me you actually give a damn about that walking, talking computer!" Christian spat bitterly. 

Edge furrowed his brow as he turned to Christian, suprised at the tone in his brother's voice, "Man... you're starting to freak me out. I mean... you're acting all... well, TOTALLY not cool!" 

Christian couldn't believe what Edge was saying! His airhead brother was going soft. Christian figured it was up to him to set Edge straight! This was going to be one of the shining moments in his WrestleFleet career! Big brother wasn't going to be selfish THIS time. 

Christian quickly smiled, hiding the bitterness that slowly crept into his heart, "Listen, dude... we're going to totally rule the school if we go through with this! Just imagine... we could even be promoted and stuff! I mean... people would actually be all respectful to us instead of making fun of us!" he then reiterated his early point, "And MIRRORS, bro! Big-ass mirrors!" 

"You're probably right..." Edge smiled slightly, though he was still a bit hesitant, "I guess I'm in..." 

"Cool!" Christian replied, and high-fived his brother. Edge may have been older, but Christian was wiser! 

Manipulation RULED. 

*** 

COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS - later 

"We have to do something about the Y2J Unit, pops..." Shane began. 

"Why?" Captain McMahon asked as he sat at the table across from his son. 

"It's been acting somewhat irrationally lately..." 

"Oh?" McMahon started, "Explain?" 

Shane took a deep breath, "When you told me you wanted to keep Lt. Commander Jericho away from Stephanie after it's sloppy scans caused Steph to end up in a coma, I gave it a direct order not to associate with her outside of Engineering." Vince nodded for his son to continue, "Well, it defied that order, pops! It's been meeting Stephanie in the holodeck for... who knows HOW long now!" 

Vince looked at Shane, his eyes shadowed, "He WHAT?" 

"I saw them, pops! When I went to the holodeck, there they were, lying on the mat and..." he shook his head in disgust, "Let's just say it's looked like it was teaching her some moves... if you know what I mean..." 

McMahon jumped to his feet, the vein in his temple pulsing ever so vigorously, "WHAT?!" Vince was practically hyperventilating, "My poor baby... she must be so confused now! After that fiasco of a marriage to Triple H, she's so vulnerable! Now... to have Jericho take advantage of her---" he stopped, and turned to Shane, his voice quiet. Dangerous. "I guarantee the Y2J Unit will pay!" 

Shane's smile was cold enough to freeze Hell, "I previously warned the Y2J Unit that if it disobeyed any orders, I would reprogram it," 

"Reprogram?" 

"YES! It has to be done, pops. It's been corrupting Stephanie! Who knows what lies and stories it's been telling her! It may very well be trying to turn her against us! Would you believe Stephanie SLAPPED me? ME! Her big brother! And all I was trying to do was protect her!" 

"She slapped you over... THAT?" Vince asked. Shane nodded. Vince studied his son, "Very well, Shane. Do what must be done!" 

"Thank you, pops! And there will be an added bonus in all this! When I reprogram it, I can change it! Create the perfect officer even! An officer who will do as his commander says, and never question. Never disobey. It's obvious that the Y2J Unit's current programming is in desperate need of an upgrade. Perhaps it even has a virus! Surely to disobey a direct order from a superior isn't normal!" 

McMahon nodded briskly, "Understood. Take care of it!" 

"With pleasure, pops... with pleasure..." Shane's grin was unseen by his father. 

My, but daddy-dearest was so easy to manipulate! 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Jericho backed away from the door of Shane's quarters. Reprogram HIS beautiful positronic brain? Did Shane really MEAN that? No! He wouldn't... would he? 

Damnit... why hadn't he just ignored Stephanie when she had pleaded with him to teach her self-defense? Why hadn't he called her bluff that first time she had asked? He KNEW Stephanie wouldn't have followed through on her threat, so why did he fall for it? 

Because he wanted to. He couldn't let her be defenseless. He just couldn't! 

Jericho heard Shane coming closer to the doors. The Y2J Unit quickly ran down the hall, and turned the corner. He was pretty sure the whole 'eavesdropping' thing would have been looked down upon. 

Jericho let the latest information sink in: Unit Y2J was going to be reprogrammed. 

Shane might as well just execute him on the spot. 

Jericho couldn't let everything he was... everything he had BECOME... be taken from him. To save himself, Lt. Commander Jericho would have to take drastic action. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS - the next night 

"Here's the plan," Ensign Raven began as he quietly headed down the corridors with Ensigns Edge and Christian, "We go into Cargo Bay 4. I'LL distract Lt. Commander Jericho, and YOU make sure he comes with me. We will carry out Shane's plan without a hitch, do you understand?" 

Ensign Edge nodded his head, "Totally, dude!" he replied. 

"We get to SO kick ass!" Christian shouted happily. 

"SHUT UP!" Raven hissed. 

"Geez, someone's all bitchcakes tonight!" Edge muttered. 

"Want me to DDT you?" Raven asked. 

"Uh… no!" Edge replied quickly, "Now let the chairalicious beat down begin!". 

Raven rolled his eyes, and sighed, "Why me?" 

*** 

CARGO BAY 4 

Jericho looked up from his padd. Was there someone in the cargo bay with him? He slowly turned around, and saw a flash of golden hair, "Hello...?" he called to the empty cargo bay, but only received silence. He shrugged and turned back to his padd. A few moments later, he heard whispering. He spun around quickly, but again saw nothing, "What's going on here?" he asked. 

"Lt. Commander Jericho..." a voice spoke. 

Jericho turned to come face to face with Ensign Raven. He frowned, not in the least bit happy to see the shapeshifting officer, "What is it, Raisin?" 

"Commander Shane McMahon requests your presence in his office," 

"I'm busy!" 

Raven reached into the pocket of his WrestleFleet uniform and pulled out a weapon. It was an Evenflow -- a powerful weapon with the ability to render its victim completely helpless. 

Raven grinned, "Please don't keep Shane waiting..." 

Jericho quickly chopped Ensign Raven across the chest with a titanium forearm and jumped on his shoulders, forcing the shapeshifter to kiss the cement with a hurricanrana. Raven didn't have a chance to blink. 

"That was SO not cool!" Edge shouted as he and Christian quickly jumped out from their hiding place. The cocky Kanatians attacked Jericho, who responded with split-second chops, and a double bulldog. 

Lt. Commander Jericho ran to the wall and ripped off a panel, "Tell Shane he will never eeeeeeeeeeeever reprogram MY gorgeous positronic brain!" Jericho snapped. 

Before Raven and his sidekicks could get back to their feet, Jericho had disappeared through the jefferies tubes. 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS - 2 hours later 

Stephanie woke with a start as a hand clamped over her mouth. Her mind raced back to Russo. She had eliminated him though, hadn't she? 

Stephanie started hyperventilating, fearing the worst. She tried to scream, but the hand over her mouth muffled her cries. 

"Calm down, Skankanie. It's just ME!" Lt. Commander Jericho brought his hand back to his side and flicked on her bedside light. 

Stephanie bolted upright in her bed, hugging the sheets to her chest, "What are you doing in my room?!" Stephanie was angry despite the flood of relief that washed over her. How DARE he scare her like that. 

"I'm leaving," he replied. 

"Yeah, you'd better leave!" She snapped. 

"No," he started, "I mean, I'm leaving for good. Leaving the Titanprize," 

Stephanie's voice grew quiet, "What do you mean you're leaving the Titanprize?" she asked. 

"I mean exactly that! You saw how incensed Shane was when he found out I disobeyed his orders," 

"Listen, I can talk to daddy about that. I should talk to daddy about a LOT of things Shane's been doing," She paused, then continued, "I'll tell daddy that I overrode Shane's orders because I wanted the lessons. I'll make sure he doesn't give you a demotion! No need to run away because of it!" 

"I wish it was that easy, Steph, but it's not. Shane got the blessing from your father to reprogram me..." 

"Don't be ridiculous!" Stephanie said, "That would be like brain washing a fellow officer! My father would never agree to that, no matter how manipulative Shane was being!" 

"Your father WOULD agree to reprogram a malfunctioning computer though!" Jericho pointed out. 

"What? But you're not---" 

"According to WrestleFleet, yes I am! Remember when the PTC abducted Dr. Taker and myself? WrestleFleet declared me nothing more then a sophisticated tool. Easily replaceable... and reprogrammable," 

"That was before! My mom's seen how important you are to the crew and has forced Wrestlefleet to change their stand on you!" 

"It doesn't matter. Because of my insubordination, Shane has convinced your father I am a liability. I am to be reprogrammed. I can't let them do that!" 

Stephanie threw off her covers angrily, "I'll go talk to daddy myself! I'll tell him about Shane's little game in the Smackdown while I'm at it! Daddy will be VERY interested to know that Shane knew about Russo's escape as well!" She said, and headed to the door. 

Jericho grabbed her wrist gently and stopped her, "It won't work. Shane told your father I was having a considerably negative influence on you. Anything you say will be construed as that influence," he explained. "I have no choice. I need to get off this ship..." 

"And go where?" she asked. 

Jericho shrugged, "I haven't quite figured that one out yet..." 

"When will you be back?" 

"If I value my life, never," he replied, " Listen, you'll have to get Angle to teach you self-defense from now on. I'm sorry, Steph--" 

"I won't let them reprogram you!" Stephanie insisted, "I still have some influence on this ship! I am Commander Stephanie McMahon, damnit!" 

Jericho studied her for a moment as she wiped the tear that had slid down her cheek, "Are you actually CRYING over me, Stephanie?" he asked with amusement. 

Stephanie blinked quickly, embarrassed, "I am NOT crying over you!" She snapped, "You're not even WORTH crying over! You're nothing but a--" 

Before Stephanie could finish, Jericho gently brushed his lips over hers. She slowly closed her eyes, welcoming the warm electrical tingle that went through her body, then suddenly found herself wrapping her arms around his neck. 

Lt. Commander Jericho quickly broke the kiss, startled. He wasn't sure what suprised him more - his own actions, or Stephanie's response. Jericho offered a smirk in an attempt to cover the former. 

"Just a little something to remember me by," Jericho replied, and attempted to pull free of Stephanie's arms before both of them regretted it. Stephanie refused to let go. She felt so soft pressed against him like that-- NO. Jericho tried to pull away again, but it only caused her to pull him closer, if that was possible. "What are you--" 

"Don't you take _anything _seriously?" Stephanie interrupted angrily. 

"Well, when faced with certain death, you have to keep a sense of humor about you..." he replied. 

"That's not what I meant!" She snapped. 

"Then what---" 

Before Jericho could say another word, Stephanie pulled his face towards hers, kissing him with such intensity that he stumbled back against the wall. After a few moments, she let go. 

Jericho could only stare at her, confused and dumbfounded. 

Stephanie offered a sly smirk that could rival his own, "Just a little something to remember ME by, Y2Jerk!" 

He blinked, then allowed a small smile as he gently unwrapped her arms from his neck, "And here I was, hoping to forget you as soon as I left the ship," Jericho replied. He then grew quiet as his smile faded, all joking aside, "Goodbye, Stephanie..." 

"Wait!" Stephanie started, but before she could grab him again, he jumped up into the air ducts and disappeared. 

Too late. 

Lt. Commander Jericho was gone... 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS - the next day 

Stephanie walked down the corridor slowly, remembering the events of the previous night. Had the Y2J Unit really left the Titanprize? Why hadn't she tried harder to stop him? What was she so afraid of? 

Stephanie let out a startled shout as she hit something solid coming around the corner. She was ready to blast the clumsy officer... but stopped. 

It was Lt. Commander Jericho. 

Her eyes went wide, "YOU?" Jericho looked at her blankly. Stephanie grew angry. "Why did you lie to me like that?" she shouted, "You made up this whole story about leaving the ship... and for what? Was it a joke? Some stupid immature joke?" 

Jericho said nothing, and smirked. Stephanie gasped. His smirk was cold. Almost evil, if that was possible... 

The Y2J Unit roughly shoved Stephanie out of the way, and continued down the corridor. 

Stephanie backed against a wall, noticeably shaken. This wasn't normal behaviour. Not normal at all. 

For the first time since she had known him, Commander Stephanie McMahon found herself afraid of Lt. Commander Jericho. 

*** 

COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS - later 

Commander Shane McMahon looked over his father's personal logs. He had to thank Ensign Raven for stealing them. Having a shapeshifter with Houdinian blood in him was truly an asset. 

Shane studied his father's thoughts and feelings. It seemed that Vince was starting to feel somewhat hopeless about the Titanprize's current situation. 

The Commander got to his feet. Behind him stood his attentive entourage - Ensign Raven, the Cocky Kanatians, Nytron Page, Paul E, and one lone figure leaning casually against the wall. 

Shane rubbed his hands together gleefully, a sneaky smile playing on the young McMahon's lips, "Let the games begin," he said, and headed towards the door with his new-found allies. 

Lt. Commander Jericho quickly pushed away from the wall, and loyally followed his Commanding officer out...

**END OF SEASON 9 - TO BE CONTINUED**   
[][2]

   [1]: mailto:ElektraWWF@yahoo.com
   [2]: ../Season 7/WrestlingFanfic.html



	87. Season 10 Premiere Episode 1 A Wolf in ...

**TITANPRIZE:**

**Voyagers**

**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 1: A WOLF IN SYNTHETIC CLOTHING**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Mick Foley   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra McMichael   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Commander Shane McMahon's personal log, stardate 012120.01. My newest ally will prove to have many uses. I will take full advantage of its strength and agility. It seems my dear sister is keeping her distance from it as well. I'm guessing she ran into it the other day and didn't like it's new… _attitude_…" Shane chuckled quietly, "What my sister fails to understand is that the Y2J Unit is a tool. A tool to be used as I see fit. She fooled herself in believing it was human... had human characteristics. But robots can't be human. It's just the way the world works..." 

The chimes on Shane's door rang, "Come…" he called out. 

Lt. Commander Jericho entered, "You requested my presence?" 

"Yes. I have good news for you!" Shane smiled, "As of today, you are to resume your regular duties in Engineering," 

Jericho nodded, then waited a moment, "Is that all, sir?" 

"No, there's more to it then just that..." Shane began. "Have a seat, Lt. Commander. Let's talk..." 

*** 

ENGINEERING 

Jeff studied his commanding officer from a few feet away. She hadn't talked to him in two weeks. He couldn't stand the silent treatment any longer. If he was going to apologize, he might as well start now. 

Jeff slowly walked up to Stephanie, wearing his 'pathetic puppy-dog' look. That always worked with Lita. Well... it USED to... before she had officially declared their relationship over last week. 

"Ensign?" Stephanie asked as she eyed Jeff impatiently, "May I help you?" 

Jeff swallowed the lump in his throat. Did she have to be so formal? 

"Listen," Jeff started nervously, "I know I screwed up big time! God, I don't know if I can apologize enough for that! I--" 

"Jeff," Stephanie interrupted harshly, "There are security protocols for a REASON. They are NOT there so you can show off your Engineering talents to a two-bit Kanatian SLUT!" She snapped. "I've changed your access level back to Ensign. I should have done it when you were first demoted... but I trusted you! I didn't realize you would do something so STUPID! And after I told you time and again what Trish was like! How she used my father! How she uses EVERY man on this ship! You really ARE an idiot!" 

Jeff hung his head. Grovel mode ON. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Steph. I... I'll work extra shifts! I'll do anything to make it up to you! I don't want to lose your friendship over this..." 

"Since when are we friends?" Stephanie asked coldly. Jeff winced at the comment. Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about our so-called _friendship,_" she said, "I think you've already lost enough in the last little while." 

Jeff studied the ground, knowing the truth in Stephanie's words, "Lita won't even talk to me now. I betrayed her trust. I flirted with the enemy," 

"Well... I have no love lost for Trish. I can't help thinking she's up to something," she shook her head, "But she's too stupid to be a major problem," Stephanie sighed. "I mean, it's not as if she's secretly plotting with Shane or anything." 

"Still," Jeff started, "It was the final straw for Lita," his voice grew quiet, "Lita's been spending a lot of time with Matt lately," he sighed, "It's over between us. It was over a long time ago, actually," he looked up at Stephanie, "She never really got over Matt, you know. I was the rebound. I knew that when we first started dating. Any feelings Lita had for me were carried over from a childhood crush," Jeff leaned against the wall, arms crossed, "I should have seen the signs. She wouldn't do more then KISS me. Even after I proposed to her, there was still that line she wouldn't cross. I think she always thought of me as a little brother but tried to get over it by starting a relationship. It didn't work." 

"At least you DIDN'T marry her. I know what divorce is like..." Stephanie replied, her voice sounding more bitter then she intended. 

"Commander. Ensign. Since when is this social time?" A voice interrupted their conversation. 

"Chris!" Jeff shouted happily as Jericho entered Engineering, "You're back! Guess Shane realized you're more useful here then in the cargo bays!" Jeff went up to his friend, raising his hand for a high five. 

Jericho simply glared at Jeff and ignored the attempted hand-slap as he rudely shoved past the young Hardy Ensign. 

Jeff furrowed his brow, "What the heck was that?" he asked no one in particular. 

"Jericho's been acting weird lately," Stephanie explained. 

Jeff looked at her, "No kidding? What's up with him?" 

Stephanie sighed and shook her head, "I don't know... " 

"Maybe he's having a bad day, or something," Jeff offered. 

"It's definitely '_or something_'," Stephanie replied. 

"Hey guys. What's going on with Mr. Jericho, sir?" Ensign Crash asked as he came up to Stephanie and Jeff, "When I went to welcome him back to Engineering, he just walked right past me and muttered something unpleasant under his breath," 

"What did he say?" Stephanie asked. 

"Oh gosh! I couldn't repeat it, Miss Stephanie, ma'am. It wasn't very nice," Crash leaned towards her, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Let's just say it involved a four-letter word, followed by 'OFF'," 

"Chris told you to Fu---!" Jeff's mouth was quickly covered by Crash's hand. 

"Shhh! Don't say that in front of Miss Stephanie ma'am! It's not nice, and she's a very delicate lady," Crash then removed his hand from Jeff's mouth. 

"Delicate?" Jeff started, "Yeah, Steph is real delicate!" 

Stephanie smacked Jeff on the back of his head, "Shut up, Hardly," she replied, then smiled sweetly, "I AM delicate. Crash was being a gentleman! Something you should learn, Jeffery!" she insisted. "But enough about that, what are we going to do about HIM?" she motioned towards Jericho, who was currently hunched over an Engineering station, his fellow Engineers carefully keeping their distance. Lt. Commander Jericho was practically radiating bad vibes. 

"I don't know," Jeff started, growing serious, "Maybe it's just a mood he's in?" 

"A mood doesn't last THIS long!" Stephanie pointed out. 

"Well, maybe his emotion chip is malfunctioning?" Jeff offered. 

"That's impossible!" Stephanie replied. 

"Why?" Jeff asked. 

"Because his emotion chip is—" she stopped. Should she tell Jeff that Jericho no longer needed an emotion chip? No. It was better if _no one_ knew, "Just trust me," Stephanie continued, "His emotion chip is fine," 

"I'll go talk to him," Jeff said, and headed towards Lt. Commander Jericho, "Hey, Chris?" Jericho ignored the rainbow-haired Aerialian. "Um… Chris?" 

Jericho impatiently turned to Ensign Jeff, "What the hell do you want!" 

Jeff took a step back, shocked at the venom in Jericho's voice, "Well… uh… Steph and Crash and me… we were wondering if anything was wrong," 

"I'm fine!" Jericho replied with a scowl, "Leave me alone. I'm busy. Maybe YOU should get back to work too, Ensign Hardy, or should I report to the Captain that you're too busy socializing and moping over your ex-girlfriend to do your job?" 

"Woah, Chris! Why so harsh?!" Jeff asked, stung by the reference to Lita. 

"You are here to do a job, Ensign. Now DO IT!" Jericho snapped, then turned back to his engineering station. 

Jeff backed away from the angry android and returned to Stephanie and Crash, "Uh… maybe we should just leave him alone. It's really cold in that particular section of Engineering," 

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Stephanie replied, and headed over to Jericho herself, hands on hips. 

"What do YOU want?" Lt. Commander Jericho asked, not looking away from his station. 

"I want you to stop acting like an idiot!" she snapped, "First you swear at Crash, then you threaten Jeff! What's your problem?" 

"My problem is that I'm trying to run Engineering while you and your little friends are over there chatting and not getting any work done!" 

"Hold on a minute… YOU are trying to run Engineering? Excuse me…" she pointed to the stars on her uniform, "This indicates that I'M the Chief Engineer, not you, so cut the attitude or I'll get Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq to throw your robotic ass out of here so fast, it will blow your positronic net!" 

The crew in Engineering stopped what they were doing, gasping under their breath at the confrontation between Commander Stephanie and Lt. Commander Jericho. This was DIFFERENT, not entertaining and fun like the other times they had fought. 

"Hey, Steph's getting tough!" Jeff whispered to Crash, surprised. Then he smiled, "Alright!" 

The Y2J Unit turned to Stephanie slowly, eyes like blue-ice, "Commander, don't bluff with me. I have neither the time nor patience for it…" 

"You think I'm bluffing?" Stephanie asked. She raised a hand to tap her comm badge, and Jericho quickly grabbed her wrist, his grip tight and painful. Stephanie clenched her jaw, trying not to cry out. 

"Don't," the Y2J Unit replied, his voice chilling Stephanie to the bone. 

"Let go!" Stephanie demanded through clenched teeth, her voice quiet and angry. 

Lt. Commander Jericho narrowed his eyes, then did as she asked. He turned back to his station, "If you'll excuse me, Commander, I have to get back to work…" 

Stephanie glared at him, "Let this be a warning, Lt. Commander Jericho -- If you DARE lay your hands on me again, I will throw you in the brig for insubordination! I am Commander Stephanie McMahon, damnit! And I will NOT let a subordinate treat me with disrespect! Is that UNDERSTOOD, Lt. Commander?" 

Jericho nodded curtly, "Yes… SIR…" he spat out the last word. Stephanie turned on her heel and headed back to Jeff and Crash, grateful she was able to save face in front of her crew. 

"Commander Stephanie McMahon reaches not-so-deep within and pulls out her bitchy tendencies," Jeff smiled, "Kick ass!" 

"Shut up, Jeff!" Stephanie snapped. 

Jeff looked hurt, "Looks like the bad Jericho vibes are contagious," 

Stephanie took a breath to calm herself down, "Listen, far be it from me to apologize to you… but…" 

Jeff smiled, "But... you're sorry for snapping at me just now?" he winked, "Accepted. It will be our little secret," he looked beside him, "Er… and Crash's too, right?" 

Crash nodded, "Oh yes, Miss Stephanie ma'am and Mr. Jeff sir," 

Stephanie spoke louder as she looked out over Engineering, "Ok people, show's over. Back to work!" 

*** 

CAPTAIN McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

A strange, amber liquid slithered under Captain McMahon's door and across the floor. In a few moments, it took the form of Ensign Raven and headed for the large redwood desk in the corner, "Let's see what's been going through your mind, Vince," he said, and picked up McMahon's log book. He quickly hacked into it, and watched the personal logs: 

"Captain's personal log, stardate 011520.01. I'm becoming a bit despondent as we go another week without seeing any other planets. I cannot let the crew know how I feel. I am the Captain and I must be strong for them. I haven't even shared my concerns with my dear Stephanie, or my son, Shane. They have enough to worry about with their own duties. At least my children have a few friends on board. I, unfortunately, don't have that luxury. As Captain, it would be unacceptable to socialize with lower-ranking officers," 

"At most I have my assistants, Brisco and Patterson, but I've been thinking of locking them in the brig as their sheer stupidity is an insult to not only myself, but all of WrestleFleet." McMahon's image sighed dejectedly, "I have considered speaking to Counselor Snow, but to tell Al I'm getting more pessimistic about our journey home would be counter-productive—as Al will probably take the news worse then I…" 

The image of McMahon looked at his padd, "The latest transmission Molly brought from Wrestlefleet is not very promising. Although they have sent the Extremeship to us, they only succeeded in traping BOTH myself and Heyman's crew in this quadrant. WrestleFleet is no closer to finding a way to get us home then they were last month. They have therefore ordered our ships to keep exploring this quadrant and report back." McMahon's image put the padd down. He rubbed his eyes, looking very weary, "End log…" he said quietly, and the picture fizzled out. 

"Poor Vince needs a vacation," Ensign Raven spoke with feigned sympathy as he copied the Captain's latest personal logs to a data chip, "And I know just the Commander to provide it," 

Raven quickly melted into his liquid form and slid up the wall behind the Captain's bed, taking the form of a picture. He would observe the Captain and report back to Shane as soon as McMahon was asleep… 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Stephanie actually threatened to throw Jericho in the brig?" Terri asked Crash as the Houdinian and his cousin, Molly, sat at the bar in the Smackdown. 

"Oh yeah! Miss Stephanie was real mad!" 

"I don't know him real well, but I always thought he was a nice guy," Ensign Molly started from her place beside her cousin Crash. 

"He is!" Crash replied, then shrugged, "I guess people change." 

"There's change, and then there's doing a total 180!" Terri said, "I should find out what happened," 

"Uh, you really don't want to talk to him, Miss Terri ma'am," Crash said. 

She waved that thought away, "Please, Crash, I'm not scared of him. Sometimes people need a friend to bring them to their senses!" 

*** 

LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS 

"What?" Jericho snapped when the chimes on his door rang. 

"Chris? Can I come in?" It was Terri. 

"Come," Jericho replied. 

The doors swooshed open and Terri entered. She looked at Jericho and smiled, "So... what's up?" 

Jericho raised his eyes from the padd he was reading, his expression unfriendly, "Nothing. What do you want?" 

"I just wanted to see how you were. Crash was worried about you. He told me what happened in Engineering. I just wanted to know if anything was wrong," Terri said. 

"Did I make the little Houdinian cry?" Jericho replied, "I don't know why he came running to YOU. It's not like you could do a damn thing about it!" 

"Chris..." Terri began, all lightness gone from her voice. _Now _she was getting annoyed. 

"If Crash has a problem with me, HE needs to tell me. He shouldn't get some 2-credit bartender to confront me on his behalf." 

Terri was taken aback at his tone, "What's wrong with you?!" 

"Go away," Jericho replied. 

Terri frowned, "No! You tell me what the hell is wrong with you first!" 

"You never listen, do you? Though I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, it's not like this is the first time you've ignored me! I remember I told you that Nurse Saturn was a loon when you first began dating him... and yet you still did! And looked what happened, he found a MOP more interesting then you!" he smiled coldly, "Though just about _anything _is more interesting then you.," 

Terri's eyes went wide. She blinked quickly, trying to hold back tears. Her _friend's_ words hurt her more then any physical blow ever could. He had never given her the 'I told you so' speech when she and Saturn broke up. In fact, he had been extremely kind and supportive... but now... now he was throwing it in her face, and adding insult to injury in the process! 

"I guess the tin man DIDN'T get his heart after all...." Terri said quietly, recalling a conversation she had overheard at the bar about a trip to the Kanatian mountains, and a certain book of wishes. 

Without another word, Terri turned her back on Lt. Commander Jericho, and walked out. 

*** 

CAPTAIN VINCE McMAHON'S QUARTERS – 23:30 

McMahon sat in his chair and looked out over his room. He frowned. Something wasn't right. 

McMahon quickly stood up and spun around. Why did he feel like someone was watching him? No. That was crazy. No one was watching him. Why would they? Since the Nytrons had become part of the crew, McMahon had his quarters swept for hidden microphones and cameras at least twice a day. 

Vince sighed and sat down again, rubbing his temples. Perhaps he just needed to sleep? Yes... that was it. Sleep would do him well. The stress of being lost and unable to find a way home weighed heavily on the Captain's mind. He knew he would not be able to forsee all the exterior problems that lay ahead for him and his crew, but at least the Captain could stake out _internal _problems. 

With that thought, McMahon closed his eyes and lay down on his bed. He was asleep within minutes. 

On the wall behind the bed, a picture of the Titanprize seemed to melt and slide down the wall. The melted liquid quietly changed form and within seconds, Ensign Raven stood at the head of the Captain's bed. Raven headed to the front of McMahon's quarters and began to melt once again. The liquid quickly seeped through the small space under the door and out into the corridor. 

*** 

TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Raven returned to his human form outside Captain McMahon's quarters and quickly tapped his comm badge, "Ensign Raven to Commander Shane McMahon. I'm ready to report on our latest--" he paused, his ears perking up at a voice down the hall 

"I need to learn more hand-to-hand combat techniques. Would you be able to show me, Spike?" 

"Molly," Raven said quietly. 

"Our latest MOLLY, Ensign Raven?" Commander Shane asked over the comm link. 

Raven quickly remembered what he was doing. Damn that little Holly girl! She had a way of distracting him, "I mean, I'm ready to report on our latest PROJECT," 

"Very well. Meet me in my office in twenty minutes," Shane commanded, "McMahon out," 

Raven closed the comm link, and leaned casually against the bulkhead as Molly came around the corner. "Hey Moll… you don't need to ask the extreme wimp to teach you when _I_ can," 

Molly looked at Raven, "Uh... well..." 

"She doesn't want _your _help, Raven," Extremeship Ensign Spike said. 

"Oh come on now, munchkin, shouldn't you let the lady make her own decisions?" 

"I think I'll ask Miss Jacquie instead. She's been moved to security with Mr. Bradshaw and Mr. Farooq," Molly replied, trying to be polite. 

Raven shrugged nonchalantly, "Why bother Jacquie when _I'm_ offering?" 

"I told you she doesn't WANT your help!" Spike replied. 

Raven pushed away from the wall and towered over Spike, "Do you _always _speak for her?" he asked, then smiled coldly, "You know you can't protect her forever, kid," he turned to Molly, "Can he?" 

Molly put her hands on her hips. Obviously, being polite wasn't working, "I'm sorry, Mr. Raven," she said sternly, "But Spike and I have to go! Excuse us!" 

"Oh of course… you go and have fun. Don't let me stop you…" he stepped aside and let the two go. Molly shot him an unfriendly look and he returned it with a smirk. Ensign Molly was a spunky little thing, and he wouldn't want it any other way. 

*** 

ENGINEERING - 02:00h 

Engineering was dark and empty save for the glow of the warp core, and Lt Commander Jericho going the over daily diagnostics and subroutines. 

She had to do this quickly and quietly, lest he hear her coming. She slowly walked up behind him, and raised her hand, holding high a shiny object . 

Jericho quickly spun around and grabbed her arm. The hypospray fell to the floor with a clatter, "What are you doing, Commander?" he asked, his voice like ice. Stephanie said nothing as she winced painfully, "I repeat --- WHAT are you doing?" 

"You're malfunctioning!" Stephanie replied. 

Jericho paused for a moment, then let go of her, "There's nothing wrong with me, Commander," 

"Yes there is!" Stephanie insisted, "What happened to you? One moment, you're in my quarters kis—" 

"THAT was a malfunction," he interrupted quickly, raising his voice again, "It's been corrected," 

Stephanie eyed him suspiciously, "WHO corrected it?" she asked. 

Jericho turned back to his console, "If you'll excuse me, Commander, I have duties to attend to here," 

Commander Stephanie put a hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face her again, "Don't you DARE dismiss me like that! I am giving you an order! WHO corrected your _malfunction_?" 

Jericho feigned sympathy, "Awww, poor little Stephie isn't getting her way today. I feel for you, I really do." 

"Shut up, Lt. Commander! I demand answers, and I will not leave until you provide them! I want you to---" 

"You want me?" Jericho interrupted with a smirk. He suddenly grabbed Stephanie and brought his face close to hers. Was he going to kiss her again? "You really have to get over this crush you have on me, Commander," his voice was a harsh whisper, "It's interfering with our professional relationship," he then pushed her away and chuckled quietly. 

Stephanie's eyes went wide as realization hit, "My god…" she gasped, "He did it!" She backed away from Jericho, hugging herself as a cold chill crept up her spine. 

"What's the matter, Steph?" Jericho asked with mock concern, "You suddenly don't like me anymore? Tsk tsk... such a shame... though I can't say I'll miss our friendship much... or whatever the hell you'd define our relationship as," he cocked his head to the side, and glared at her with ice-blue eyes, "But then, you never DID want to define it, did you, Stephie?" 

Stephanie stared at him, not wanting to believe the person before her used to be someone she--- it didn't matter. There was definitely something wrong with the Y2J Unit. 

Stephanie put a hand to her mouth, tears burning her eyes as she realized what had happened... and why! Lt. Commander Jericho's current behaviour was HER fault! All her fault. 

If Stephanie had been more careful with the anti-virus Lt. Benoit had given her... Commander Shane McMahon would never have successfully reprogrammed Lt. Commander Jericho! 

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	88. Season 10 Episode 2 A Royal Pain

TITANPRIZE: VOYAGERS ****

SEASON TEN 

****

EPISODE 2: A ROYAL PAIN 

By: Elektra

****

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Morale Officer, Commissioner Mick Foley 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 070120.01. We have received our latest data chips from WrestleFleet headquarters, thanks to Ensign Molly. We have further orders from WrestleFleet to explore this quadrant and report back. Same old, same old," Captain McMahon studied the data chips in his hand, then continued with his log, "Ensigns Edge and Christian received something from their home planet of Kanata. It is listed as high-priority for some reason. Maybe it's a new _Galaxy Beat_ contract, not that they'll be able to follow through on it. Either way, at least it will keep them occupied for a while. End log," 

Captain McMahon closed his log book and headed to the bridge. 

***

ENSIGNS EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

"Ensign Edge's log, stardate 070120.01. This is Kanata day! A holy day for our totally awesome planet of Kanata! It seems our fellow Kanatians have decided to celebrate on the holodeck by indulging in Kanata's traditional rituals while wearing the red and white finery of our people. Unfortunately, red and white clashes with my eyes, so I'm unable to join them as they try to hit a small black puck with large sticks while body checking one another," Edge smiled, "When the day is done, my countrymen will all be suffering from horrible helmet hair while Christian and myself will still have our golden locks in perfect order!" 

"Edge! We've TOTALLY got mail from WrestleFleet headquarters!" Christian called out as he ran into the quarters he shared with his brother. 

"End this totally awesome log," Edge said, then shut he his log book. He ran up to   
Christian, excited as a child on Christmas, "What is it?" he asked. 

"It's from the Government of Kanata!" Christian began. 

Edge's face fell, "I knew it! I haven't sent in my tax forms! I didn't think they'd catch me way out here! This is SO not fair! I mean, can I help it if I'm lost in space?" 

"I don't think that's what it's about! The data chip has the Royal Seal!" Christian   
said. Edge's eyes went wide as he saw the familiar logo - an extinct animal once known as a beaver, sitting on a throne and wearing a crown. Edge grabbed the data chip, leaving Christian to hold the large box that accompanied it. 

"We SO have to play this!" Edge quickly put the data chip into the padd on the   
dining room table, and watched the Government offical make his royal decree. 

__

The Kanatian Government in conjunction with The Crown must regretfully inform its Citizens that the King of Kanata has passed on as of stardate 061520.01. Upon careful search, the Government found that His Royal Highness did not have any offspring, claimed or unclaimed, to carry on the monarchy. The Crown began it's own investigation, and has found only two living relations to His Royal Highness. They are distant cousins of His Highness currently serving onboard the WrestleFleet Federation Starship WWF Titanprize. These relations hold the rank of Ensign, and are currently known as Edge and Christian of Trawna City, Kanata. 

__

Only one relation will be given the Title of His Royal Highness of Kanata. This   
_honour falls to Ensign Edge, being the eldest of the relations. The Crown has officially decreed that WrestleFleet's Ensign Edge of Trawna City, Kanata shall step up and rule as Kanata's new King._

__

The King is dead, long live the King. 

Edge and Christian stared at the padd before them, eyes wide. Christian then turned and stared at Edge. If Edge had been paying attention, he would have noticed the hint of unbridled hatred and jealousy in his brother's eyes. 

Glory hog. That's all Edge was! Damn him! Things always came so easy to big brother. 

"Bro?" Edge started as he noticed Christian seemed to have a far away look on his face. 

Christian quickly snapped out of his dark thoughts, and offered his brother a smile, "Edge, man… You're totally reeking of ROYALTY!" 

"KICK ASS!" Edge replied, then grabbed the box out of Christian's hands. He ripped the paper away to reveal a golden jewel-encrusted Crown, "Woah! This will totally go with my hair!" 

"Here… let me hold that for you, Edge!" Christian said, and grabbed the crown   
before Edge could put it on, "I'll be, like, the Royal brother!" 

"Alright!" Edge high-fived Christian, "Let the Era of Awesomeness begin!" 

***

HOLODECK 3 – CURRENT PROGRAM: KANATIAN HOCKEY 

"If I could be serious for a minute…." Extremeship Ensign, Lance Storm, began as he skated   
towards the penalty box currently housing Lt. Commander Jericho, "I was only playing according to the rules. You had no reason to high-stick me!" 

"He had every reason to high-stick you," Ensign Test spoke as he came up to the   
Extremer, "You got in his way! That, and you're on the opposing team. Reason enough."   
Lt. Commander Jericho smirked. He never thought Test would defend him. He guessed there was a first time for everything. 

"Boys, boys, boys…" Trish began, skating up to them in her 'two-sizes too small' referee's   
shirt, "There shouldn't be any fighting amongst ourselves! I made a fair call and gave Jericho the penalty. Lance, baby, you're supposed to return to your team and let it go," 

"Hey, c'mon, Lance! We have a game to win here!" Ensign Val Venis called out from   
the other side of the rink, "And stop crying about the high-stick! Or I'll high-stick   
you where it REALLY hurts!" 

"Hey, Val, what happened to the 'Etiquette training' EO Richards was   
giving you?" Test asked. 

"I realized EO Richards was insane. Simple as that," Ensign Venis replied, "Now   
can we get back to the game?" 

The holodeck doors suddenly swooshed open. Ensign Edge entered, nose in the   
air, followed by Ensign Christian. 

"Hear ye, hear ye…" Ensign Christian began, holding Edge's crown high, "I would like to introduce you all to the totally new King of Kanata! All Kanatians must bow before his Royal Awesomeness!" 

"Why are you not, like, BOWING before me?!" Edge demanded as his fellow Kanatians stared at him blankly, "I'm the KING!" 

Jericho, Test, Storm, Trish, and Venis shrugged... then returned to their game as the holo-timekeeper called for the 2nd period to begin. 

Christian walked onto the ice and stood in the middle of the rink, "You WILL bow to King Edge!" 

"Ensign, do you want my stick where the sun don't shine?" Lt. Commander Jericho asked, "Get your ass OFF the ice!" 

"Hey!" Edge snapped, "You can't talk to my brother that way!" Edge walked onto the ice himself, challenging Jericho. 

Jericho nodded to the officer beside him. Test smiled, knowing Jericho's plan. Both Kanatians were on the same wavelength as they proceeded to beat down the Blonde Royals who had dared interrupt their game. 

***

ENGINEERING - The next night 

"I hear you and Ensign Test delivered an especially brutal beating to Ensigns Edge and Christian. They'll be off duty for a week!" Commander Stephanie began as she and Jericho entered in the new Engineering subroutines WrestleFleet had sent in their last care package. 

Due to the hectic schedule during the day, the two Engineers were now stuck entering the subroutines after hours, and Stephanie was NOT look forward it. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone with a reprogrammed Y2J Unit. 

"Ensign Edge claims he has been declared King of Kanata," Lt. Commander Jericho replied, "I've never had much use for royalty..." His fingers flew over the console before him, "Now if you don't mind, talking is not only inappropriate at this time, but is distracting us from our current task... _Commander,_" 

"So in other words, you're telling me to shut the hell up," Stephanie replied, "God, I can't believe Shane reprogrammed you so easily! I thought there was more to you, Lt. Commander! I guess I was wrong!" 

"There IS more to me, Commander, but you will never eeeeeeeeeever find out WHAT..." Jericho replied, and continued inputting the WrestleFleet data at blinding speed. 

Stephanie looked up at him, trying to read his face... but saw nothing. Jericho simply continued his task, ignoring her. She looked away. "_It's my fault._" she thought, "_If I hadn't destroyed the anti-virus..._" she shook her head. Where had Lt. Benoit disappeared too anyway? She had tried to get a hold of him. Tried to get him to create another anti-virus... but he had vanished into thin air! 

"What the hell is that?!" Jericho asked as Stephanie's console started beeping. He quickly pushed her out of the way and studied the readouts on her screen, "What did you put in here?" he snapped, "Are you TRYING to destroy the warp engines?!" 

"I am entering the subroutines WrestleFleet gave us, and how DARE you speak to me that way?! I am Commander Stephanie McMahon, YOUR superior officer. I will NOT stand for your insubordination!" 

"Take it up with Shane then, Stephie!" Jericho hissed, "HE is the one who decided to give me my new attitude, remember?" 

"Are you this rude and crass to SHANE?" Stephanie replied. 

Jericho ignored her as his fingers glided over the keys gracefully, trying to correct the apparent malfunction. 

"Wait a second! These sub-routines have been tampered with!" Stephanie snapped.   
It was her turn to shove _Jericho _out of the way. She entered her security codes and quickly corrected the irregularites that had shown up on her screen. Stephanie studied the WrestleFleet padd by her monitor, "These subroutines give access to someone with the proper codes! Thank goodness the new security system Ensign Matt put in caught it before it was too late. Who would have--" she looked at Jericho as she realized what had happened, "YOU! Did Shane command you to tamper with the warp engines?" Stephanie asked. 

"Now why would I ever compromise Engineering?" Jericho asked, his voice dripping with false sincerity. 

Stephanie would not be fooled, "I know how Shane would like to get his hands on this ship and steal it right out from under daddy's nose!" 

"Tsk tsk, Stephie... to think so little of your brother. To think so little of ME, after all we've been through..." he shook his head in mock sorrow, "It's almost enough to break my non-existant heart!" 

"You think this is a joke, don't you? One great big joke?! Well I'm sorry, Lt. Commander Jericho... but I don't find it funny! Not in the LEAST! I'm disgusted even to share the same space with you!" 

"Space isn't all you've shared with me, Stephanie..." Jericho smirked coldly, "Shall I tell daddy and Shane about our stolen kiss that night in your quarters? You know, the one that had you begging for more?" Jericho's voice went into a falsetto as he imitated Stephanie, "Oh Chris... you can't leave... pleeeeeeese don't leave.... I won't let them reprogram you..." his voice returned to normal, "Nice try, Princess! A lot of help YOU were!" 

Stephanie looked up at him, eyes filled with unshed tears. How DARE he make fun of her like that! And to think... she had actually---NO. This heartless.... THING... wasn't even worth it! 

"Go to hell!" Stephanie shouted, then reared back and slapped Lt. Commander Jericho across the face. She quickly turned on her heel and stormed out of Engineering, trying to ignore the cold, mocking laughter that followed her. 

***

ENSIGNS EDGE AND CHRISTIAN'S QUARTERS 

Christian held an ice-pack to his face, trying to bring down the swelling Lt. Commander Jericho's hockey stick had caused. 

"I really hate this...!" Christian mumbled, wincing from the pain in his jaw. 

"No kidding. I mean, it totally reeks of suckitude," Edge added as he held his own ice-pack to his knee. 

"My face is bruised, Edge... can we NOT make up stupid words tonight?" Christian replied, "It's not fair, man! You can hide your bruises under your uniform! Mine are on my beautiful face for all to see. Gee, it must suck to have everything come to you so easy, huh, big brother?" 

"What are you talking about, Christian?!" Edge asked, surprised at the bitterness in his brother's voice. 

Christian frowned and quickly regained his compsure, "Nothing... nevermind..." he leaned his head back in his chair, closing his eyes. 

"I'm heading to the Smackdown to greet my royal subjects. Want to come?" Edge asked. 

"What, and have everyone laugh at my disfigurement?" Christian replied, "Forget it!" 

"Well, maybe you can borrow one of Commander Kane's masks..." Edge offered, then saw Christian wince, "Ok... kidding! Seriously, man.... you need to relax! Everyone knows what that lame-o Jericho did, right? So they'll be totally reeking of sympathy for you!" 

"Leave me alone! Go gloat by yourself!" Christian snapped. 

Edge grew concerned, "What's wrong with you, bro? I mean, other then the whole bruise thing," he hobbled over to Christian and put a hand on his shoulder, "You know I'm here for you man, if you ever need to talk," 

Christian shrugged Edge's hand off his shoulder, "Stop trying to get all big-brotherly and serious on me, Edge. It won't work! Not this time!" Christian replied. 

Edge was taken aback, "But I just trying to--" he stopped and shook his head, "Never mind. Maybe Terri can fix you up with some well-placed powder or something," 

Christian thought a moment, then nodded slowly and stood up, putting the ice-pack away, "Fine. Let's go..." 

Edge nodded and the two blonde brothers quickly headed to the Smackdown. 

***

COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Well, Jericho?" Shane asked as the Y2J Unit entered the room, "What's the latest?" 

"I tried to sabatoge the subroutines to give you complete access to Engineering, but the Titanprize's computers and your skanky sister caught the irregularities and corrected them," Jericho explained. 

"Damnit!" Shane cursed, "Is there any other way to enter the program into the system?" 

"No. The computer will catch it. There's nothing I can do to change the security settings. Only Stephanie's access codes can do that." 

"Well then you'll just have to get Stephanie's access codes," Shane said. 

Jericho let out a harsh laugh, "Easier said then done! Her and I haven't exactly been on friendly terms lately!" 

"You WILL get them, Lt. Commander Jericho...!" Shane replied, "That's an order!" 

Jericho nodded curtly, "Yes sir..." 

***

THE SMACKDOWN 

"Can you make me beautiful again, Terri? That stupid idiot, Jericho, made me TOTALLY hideous!" Christian started as he sat across from Terri at the bar. 

Terri looked at him with sympathy, "Awww, poor guy... let me see what I can do for you honey," she opened her makeup bag and searched for the necessary tools, "Let's see... some of this, oh, and this... and a bit of this..." 

As Terri worked on Christian, Edge put his crown on and walked around the Smackdown, head held high. The Nytron and WrestleFleet officers he passed turned away and snickered under their breath. 

"Why is it that no one seems to respect my total royalness?" Edge muttered. 

"What is all this then, my good man?" McMahon's Personal Commissioner, William Regal, asked Edge as he nursed a cup of tea, "Why are you wearing a crown?" 

"I am the King of Kanata!" Edge replied proudly, "And I totally rule supreme!" 

"King of Kanata?! Are you attempting to insult the Queen of England with your claims of royalty, Ensign?" 

Edge rolled his eyes, "Yeah... like I have nothing better to do then insult some old royal hag!" 

Regal jumped to his feet, "You will not speak of Her Highness that way!" 

"What way? I mean, c'mon man... she's TOTALLY old! And all wrinkly... and stuff. What is she, like, 200 or something? She's been around forever!" 

Regal seemed to be fuming, his face as red as his uniform. He turned to his personal assistant, Ensign Tajiri -- a young WrestleFleet officer from the planet Bazzushaw, "You cannot let this no good toerag besmirch Her Highness that way! Bloody well DO something!" 

With a polite bow to Regal, Ensign Tajiri introduced Ensign Edge to a Bazzushaw torture move called the Octopus. Edge screamed in pain but managed to wriggle out of the move. The Royal blonde then became victim to a spinning heel kick, which caused Edge to stumble back into Ensign Christian. Christian stood up to face Tajiri, but only recieved a kick to the face. 

"NOT AGAIN! This is SO not cool!" Christian cried out, and covered his face with both hands. 

Ensigns Taka and Funaki grabbed Tajiri from behind. The two Evil Ensigns then began to yell at him in their native Bazzushawin language, leaving Christian trying to cover the second bruise that had blossomed on his handsome face due to Tajiri's kick. 

"Christian... hey... you ok?" Edge asked. 

Christian glared up at his brother, "NO. I am so totally NOT ok! This is the ULTIMATE in heniosity! It's because of you and that stupid CROWN!" Christian grabbed the crown off Edge's head, and threw it to the floor, stomping it flat, "My face is RUINED, and I wasn't even the one made King! But of course, you're the BIG BROTHER, why should YOU care? It's always been_ 'Edge and Christian' 'E and C'._ 'Edge and HIS BROTHER!' Why do YOU always go first? What have YOU ever done? What makes YOU so damned special!?" Christian shouted. 

Edge put his hands up defensively, "Bro, I'm sorry, man. If I did anything to upset you---" Edge tried to calm his brother down. 

Christian wasn't listening, "I know you've been jealous, bitter, and resentful of me my whole life! I was the little baby! The boy who took mommy and daddy's attention away from you! You just HATED that, didn't you?" he shouted, "I've always been there for you! But were you there for me? NO! You let me get beat up on YOUR behalf! It's all YOUR fault! And what about that promotion you got a few weeks ago, huh?! What about that? Another example of you taking MY spotlight. MY glory! You get the royalty, you get the preferred treatment by mom, dad, and Grandma Edna, you get the---" 

"Geez, Christian...! Have some _whine_ with your bitchcakes why don't you!" Edge interrupted angrily, "I mean... seriously! You act like I did this on purpose! It's not MY fault your face just happened to get in the way of Jericho's stick and Tajiri's feet!" 

"Don't you DARE start with me, Edge! If it wasn't for your STUPID royal standing, this would never have happened in the FIRST place!" Christian snapped. 

"Speaking of which...." a voice started. 

Edge and Christian turned to see Ensign Angle, "WHAT?" they yelled in sync, causing the Olympic officer to jump. 

"Uh... well... Captain McMahon forgot to give you the SECOND Kanatian data chip," Angle replied. 

"What do you mean, Kurt?" Edge asked. 

"Well, the first data chip you got was from stardate 061620.01. The second data chip came to WrestleFleet a week later, but since Ensign Molly only gets the data chips once a month, WrestleFleet gives her whatever comes that month. This one," Ensign Angle handed the data chip to Ensign Edge, "Was dated 062120.01," 

Edge studied the chip in his hand, then quickly went to a free Smackdown monitor, "EVERYONE, PAY ATTENTION!" he called out, "This is going to rule... because once and for all, you will see that I AM the King of Kanata!" he put the chip in, and turned the volume all the way up as a Kanatian official appeared on the screen: 

_It is the duty of the Kanatian Government in conjuction with the Crown to inform its citizens that, due to a booking error, the honour of King was erroneously bestowed upon WrestleFleet Ensign Edge of Trawna City, Kanata, currently serving aboard the WWF Titanprize. Government and Crown lawyers have double checked the Royal books, and have found that WrestleFleet Ensigns Edge and Christian were, in fact, blood relations of the Kings' courtesan, not the King himself. Since this is not a relation that would allow a place on the throne, we have no choice but to renounce Ensign Edge of Trawna City, Kanata, as King of Kanata._

__

We appologize for the error and any inconvienience it may have caused. 

__

The King is still dead... 

The screen then went blank. 

__

Silence filled the Smackdown, and Ensign Edge slowly began backing towards the door. 

"Uh... well.. um..." Edge stuttered, "Hey... it was an honest mistake, right?" 

__

Nytron Ensign Storm, Ensign Test, and Ensign Venis cracked their knuckles as they glared at Edge. 

A cold smiled crept onto Christian's face as he grabbed a nearby chair and joined his fellow Kanatians, "This is gonna hurt YOU a lot more then it's gonna hurt ME," Christian replied. The Cocky Kanatian lifted the chair high, and brought it down on his brother's head with a satisfying crack. 

***

CAPTAIN McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Come!" McMahon called as the chimes on his door rang, "Ahh... there you are. Report..." 

The officer handed his report to the Captain, then spoke, "You do understand that people will been hurt due to my actions," 

McMahon took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes... I know. But surely _you_ understand what we'll lose if we don't stop what is going on here!" 

"I understand all too well, Captain. That's why I'm continuing my assignment. But... there is someone in particular I will need to hurt while doing this. I just wanted to inform you of that ahead of time," 

McMahon nodded, knowing who his loyal WrestleFleet officer was referring to, "I understand. I have accepted that there is no other choice. You will be relieved of blame for any harm your actions may cause," 

"I understand that, Captain... but that doesn't make me feel any better about it," the officer replied, "May I be excused now?" 

"Yes. Dismissed..." 

With that, the officer headed out of McMahon's ready room and back to his post. The Captain picked up the padd before him. 

It was time to see what his enemy was up to... 


	89. Season 10 Episode 3 Salvageable Future

**TITANPRIZE:**

**VOYAGERS**   
  


**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 3: SALVAGABLE FUTURE**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Morale Officer, Commissioner Mick Foley 

... And many more! 

WRESTLEFLEET SHUTTLECRAFT - DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL II 

"Chief Engineer's log, stardate... I don't know. I woke up in my shuttlecraft, slumped over the helm. The last thing I remember is being pulled towards a wormhole. I guess this is where it dumped me," Stephanie stood up slowly, steadying herself as a wave of dizziness came over her. 

She looked out the window of her shuttle, "I'm on a ship of some sort. No doubt pulled in by a tractor beam. I was sent on a mission to get readings from the aforementioned wormhole and report back to the Titanprize. Daddy was hoping the wormhole could lead home. Unfortunately, the wormhole had other ideas. I tried not to get too close, but the gravitational pull was too strong. If the Titanprize had dared enter it, it would have collapsed on the big ship, trapping it forever. I suppose I'm lucky I got out alive." 

Stephanie put a hand to her forehead, and winced at the large bump that now resided there. She 

went over to ops and read the readings, "Sensors indicate that the outside air is breathable. I'm going to try and find out where I am. I will record my findings and later enter them into the computer. End log," 

Stephanie headed to the back of the shuttlecraft and went through the supply box. She pulled out a phaser, and the medkit. She looked at the mirror on the wall and frowned at the black and blue lump on her forehead. Stephanie quickly tended to it, and put the medkit away. She charged the phaser, grabbed her recorder, and quickly stepped out. 

She looked around and saw she was in a shuttlebay of some sort. Derelict shuttles filled almost every section of the bay. Most shuttles were damaged beyond repair. She took a quick look at _Daddy's Little Girl II_, and her eyes went wide. Black scorch marks marred the hull, and pieces had been torn off. Stephanie was surprised life support was even working. 

Stephanie flicked on the recorder, "It seems I'm on a salvage ship of some sort. I have to find the Captain and see if he can help me return to the Titanprize," 

Stephanie walked out of the shuttlebay and down the corridors. 

*** 

SALVAGE SHIP CORRIDORS 

"Ugh, this ship is ugly!" she recorded, "The corridors aren't even finished. The wires along the wall are uncovered, there's hardly any light, and there's a strong smell of fuel. It looks like this ship should be in a salvage dump itself," She recorded, then came upon the turbolifts and wrinkled her nose. 

"The turbolifts are more like warehouse elevators. The kind that have cage doors. Geez... whoever bought this ship should get his money back! It looks like it was made from bits and pieces of other ships," she replied, then shut the recorder off for a moment, "Um... turbolift... uh, take me to the bridge," the computer didn't comply. Stephanie noticed the buttons on the side of the wall, and pressed the one marked "B". She took a deep breath, and waited as the rickety elevator made it's decline. 

Finally, the turbolift stopped and she stepped off. She went to a nearby window, and looked out at the stars. None of them seemed familiar to her. Stephanie continued walking towards where she though the bridge was. She stopped and backed against a bulkhead when she heard voices down the hall. 

"That blonde whack job insisted that some chick was on the WrestleFleet shuttle," the first voice, a male, spoke. 

"Well, we never DID scan the shuttle for life signs," a female voice replied. 

"Dayna, seriously! Did you see that shuttle? WrestleFleet stopped making shuttles like that 50 years ago. Do you honestly think anyone would be ON that thing? I mean, it was just FLOATING there dead!" 

"_They know about WrestleFleet! Did I make it back to the Alpha Quadrant?!_" Stephanie thought, allowing hope to bubble inside her. 

"Actually, WrestleFleet stopped making those shuttles _65 _years ago, but I see your point," Dayna replied. 

"Exactly! You know WrestleFleet destroys its old ships and shuttles when they design new ones! Now why would one of those ancient shuttles still be active?" 

"But David... still... the guy DID seem persistent!" 

"Listen, I don't care if the guy thought the Ruler of Alpha Terra herself was on the shuttle! There's no way I'm handing it over! We don't answer to WrestleFleet!" David replied. 

"But he's an ADMIRAL, David! Even if we don't answer to WrestleFleet, we still have to respect them! You can't interfere in their salvage operations!" her voice grew quiet, "Can you imagine if there WAS someone on that ship? She'd be a living piece of history!" 

"_History?_" Stephanie thought, "_What the heck is going on here? Where am I?_" 

"Listen, Dayna... finders keepers. They can't force me to hand over what I've rightfully found. It's just WrestleFleet space junk anyway!" 

"My shuttle is NOT space junk!" Stephanie snapped as she jumped out of her hiding spot to confront the two salvagers. 

"He was right!" Dayna started, green eyes filled with wonder and excitement, "The Admiral was right! Someone was on the shuttle! I TOLD you!" Dayna smacked David on the back of his head, "Why don't you ever listen to me?" 

"Dayna, stop!" David snapped, then furrowed his brow as he stepped closer to Stephanie, 

"Where did you come from?" he asked. 

"My shuttle is in your shuttlebay," Stephanie replied. 

"Look, David! She has a classic WrestleFleet uniform!" Dayna said as she walked around Stephanie, clapping her hands together excitedly. 

"The Uniform fits the age of the shuttle," David started as he studied the Chief Engineer, his green-eyes filled with confusion, "But, how did you get an old shuttle and uniform?" 

"I'll have you know my shuttle is the latest in WrestleFleet design! And so is my uniform!" Stephanie snapped. 

Dayna looked awestruck, "What's your name?" 

"I am Commander Stephanie McMahon, Chief Engineer onboard the WWF Titanprize!" Stephanie replied. 

"The TITANPRIZE?" Dayna gasped with a smile, "The ORIGINAL Titanprize?" 

"There's no other Titanprize!" Stephanie replied. 

Dayna opened her mouth and closed it again, unsure how to address the woman before her, "Well... um...." she took a deep breath, then spoke again, "Stephanie... er... Commander... do you know what the stardate is?" Dayna asked. 

"What is this, twenty questions? I demand to speak to WrestleFleet headquarters!" Stephanie replied. 

"Please, forgive my sister," David began, his voice soft as he looked at Stephanie with sympathy, 

"She gets a little too excited sometimes," 

Stephanie furowed her brow, "Ok... what is going on here?" 

Dayna turned her brother, helpless to explain the situation to the irate Commander. 

"The stardate is 082020.76," David started. 

Stephanie laughed, "Right. Ok. Good joke. Now get me WrestleFleet headquarters," 

"No joke, Commander," Dayna said, "I'm sorry... but---" 

"Impossible!" Stephanie interrupted, "When I went on my mission it was 070620.01," She glared at Dayna, "You'd better check your dates! You're about 75 years out...!" 

"We should contact WrestleFleet," Dayna began, looking at David for confirmation, "Maybe they could explain this better to her..." 

"Fine," David reluctantly nodded, "You contact WrestleFleet and I'll try to bring the Commander up to date," he turned to Stephanie and held out a hand, "Come with me. A lot has happened since you went on your last mission," 

Stephanie eyed the man warily, but took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her down the corridors. 

*** 

MESS HALL - SALVAGE SHIP LEVESQUE-P 

Stephanie stared at the data padd on the table before her. 

75 years. It had been 75 years. 

IT WASN'T FAIR! 

"I'm sorry, Commander," David began, "I really am," 

"Call me Stephanie, Captain Henal," she muttered, resting her head in her hands, "My rank hardly matters now," 

"Well, you can call me David then, Stephanie," he replied with a smile, "Would you like something to eat?" 

"I wouldn't mind a drink. Can you replicate a strawberry daquiri?" 

"No problem," David said, then went up to the replicator and returned with the large pink concoction, "Listen, if there's anything I can do to help you..." 

"Unless you can send me back 75 years in the past, there's really nothing you can do. I am Stephanie McMahon, damnit! This isn't supposed to happen to me!" Stephanie shouted as she angrily threw the padd across the room . The five crewmen on the other side of the mess hall jumped in surprise, and Stephanie quickly regretted her rude actions, "Sorry," she called to them. 

They nodded, but moved away nonetheless. Stephanie took a deep breath and turned back to David, "It might take me some time to adjust," she offered a sheepish smile. 

"I understand," David said, "You're actually taking it a lot better then I thought you would," 

"Yes, Wrestlefleet has a way of hardening people," Stephanie replied, "Hey, if I can survive my husband trying to kill me, then I should have no problem surviving _this_, right?" 

David's eyes went wide, "Your husband tried to kill you?!" 

"Well, EX-husband," she paused, "I guess he'd be my DEAD ex-husband now. He led a Degenerate rebel movement and kept trying to take over daddy's ship," 

"Wait... Triple H? Hunter Hearst Helmsley?!" David asked 

"You've heard of him?" 

David nodded, "Heard the stories about him at least. They called him the Cerebral Assassin in our history books. He liked to play mind tricks. Really messed up a lot of people," 

"Well, he sure played a few tricks on ME," Stephanie muttered, "If it wasn't for that jerk Chris, or the stupid little Hardy Ensigns--" she stopped, "Well, let's just say I wouldn't be alive today," 

"I've read about the Aerialians, but who was Chris?" David asked. 

Stephanie seemed surprised, then realized David's confusion, "Oh.... right. They probably don't call him that in the history books. You'd know him better as--" 

"Dayna to David," Dayna's voice interrupted through the comm, "I've contacted WrestleFleet Headquarters. They want to speak to you and Stephanie," 

"Ok. We'll be right there," David replied, then stood up and offered Stephanie his hand, "Shall we?" Stephanie nodded, and the two headed out. 

*** 

SALVAGE SHIP LEVESQUE-P - BRIDGE 

David and Stephanie stepped on to the bridge and turned their attention to the face on the screen, 

"Commander McMahon!" the petite blond Lieutenant began. 

Stephanie blinked, not sure she was seeing right, "MOLLY?" she gasped. 

The blond's cheery smile didn't waver, "I'm Lieutenant Holly-Dudley," she explained,   
"Molly Holly was my grandmother," 

"Right. Of course," Stephanie replied, trying to put on a brave face in an attempt to hide the loneliness that suddenly crawled into her heart. 

"It's so good to meet you, Commander! My grandmother spoke very highly of you when I was a child. It was her stories that made me want to join WrestleFleet!" 

"Your grandmother," Stephanie began hopefully, "Would I be able to see her?" 

"I'm sorry, Commander," Lieutenant Holly-Dudley replied quietly, "But she passed on ten years ago. She was the second-last remaining crewmember of the original Titanprize," 

"_Original _Titanprize?" Stephanie asked. 

"Oh yes. There have been four Titanprizes since then, including one that is still active. My father, Spike Holly-Dudley Jr., is the Captain," Holly-Dudley replied, "But I'm sure the Admiral will bring you up-to-date on everything. I'm simply calling to inform you that he's on his way. He should be rendezvousing with your ship in two days," 

"Thank you, Lieutenant Holly-Dudley," Stephanie replied, "You may return to your duties now," 

"May I just say again that it is an honour to speak to you, Commander McMahon. It really is!" 

Stephanie smiled at the enthusiastic Lieutenant, "Thank you again, Holly-Dudley," 

Holly-Dudley smiled back, then saluted Stephanie politely and disappeared off the screen. Stephanie's smile quickly disappeared, "I think I need another drink," she replied. David nodded and lead her back to the mess hall. 

*** 

GUEST QUARTERS - SALVAGE SHIP LEVESQUE-P (two days later) 

Stephanie lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, studying the bare pipes over her head as she tried to make sense of the last two days. She learned enough to know that everyone was dead. Mom, Dad. Those stupid Aerialians. And Lt. Commander Jericho... she had no idea what had even happened to him. She rolled on her side as she felt the tears coming again. Crying seemed to be all she had been doing since arriving on the salvage ship. 

"Commander McMahon," David's voice came from the other side of her door. Stephanie didn't answer. What was the point? "Commander?" he repeated. Still nothing. "Stephanie?" 

"What?" Stephanie snapped. 

"Had me worried for a moment," David replied with a chuckle, "Anyway, the Admiral is here from WrestleFleet headquarters," 

"So?" Stephanie replied, not really caring anymore. 

"So... he is the last remaining crewmember of the WWF Titanprize," 

Stephanie let out a harsh laugh, "Which one?" she asked. 

The door to her quarters slid open, and a familiar voice spoke. "The first one, Commander..." 

Stephanie shot up on her bed to see the Y2J Unit standing in her doorway. Did he actually look older? If she didn't know better, she'd say he had aged. Maybe not 75 years, but… quite a few years indeed! Odd… 

"Chris?!" she gasped. Someone was still alive! Someone she KNEW! Stephanie jumped up and threw her arms around him, grateful to see a familiar face, "They're all gone!" She sobbed into his shoulder, "Mom and Dad. And Jeff, Lita, and Matt. All of them! I felt so alone! I couldn't bear it!" 

Jericho returned the embrace. It had been so long! Maybe now he could finally tell her-- 

Stephanie quickly took a step back before Jericho could finish his thought. She wiped her eyes, smiling, "Sorry. I was just so happy---" she stopped and looked at him, noticing the uniform, 

"Admiral?" she replied, "You actually made it to ADMIRAL? God, I'm surprised they haven't fired you yet!" 

"No, Commander, they haven't," Jericho replied, then looked towards David, "Thank you, Captain Henal. I need to speak to her alone now though," 

"No problem," David replied, then headed out, the doors swooshing shut behind him. 

Stephanie furrowed her brow as she sat back on her bed, "Last time I saw you, you were acting like a complete ass... but now... you're acting like... a machine!" she shook her head, "What happened to you?" 

"There is much you need to know," Admiral Jericho spoke, his voice unemotional as he sat on the bed beside her, "Your mission into the wormhole was a failure, as you may have noticed," Jericho began, "You went through, but never returned. We realized too late that it was, in fact, a temporal distortion, not a way home as Captain McMahon had thought it to be. Unfortunately, when the distortion _swallowed you_, so to speak, it sent a shockwave throughout the sector. The warpcore destabilized, and we took on many casualties in Engineering," he paused, "Including Lita, Jeff, and Matt." 

Stephanie's face paled as she put a hand to her mouth, "God... that's how they died?" 

Jericho nodded, and continued, "Eventually, I was able to get the warpcore stabilized again, and we continued our journey, but not before many crewmen grew ill from radiation poisoning," he explained, "After losing you, your father was not the same. He believed he not only sent you to your death, but sent the engineering crew as well. Things began to fall apart shortly after. He began to rule with an iron fist, commanding the officers under his charge to continue their explorations instead of trying to find a way home," 

The Y2J Unit took a moment to allow Stephanie to let the information sink in, "Ten years later, your father gave up control of the Titanprize, citing it wasn't worth it anymore. Without you, he had given up on the ship. On everything. Eventually, he gave up on living. Shane took over the Titanprize after your father stepped down. The Nytrons, lead by Diamond Dallas Page, mutinied against Shane. Without you or your father to help defend the ship, Page ran the Titanprize like a worker ship. Everyone suffered under his reign. He would punish those who dared challenge his authority. As time went on, we decided to take the ship back. Lead by Molly, Spike, and their then teenage son, Spike Holly-Dudley Jr., the WrestleFleet officers defeated the Nytrons. The Titanprize was once again a WrestleFleet ship, but many had been lost in the battle, including your father and Shane," 

Jericho checked to see that Stephanie was still listening. She was, though with obvious difficulty, "20 years ago, WrestleFleet finally found the original Titanprize. It was derelict in space as our warp core had run out of energy some time prior to our rescue due to continuous attacks and general wear and tear. The ship was only running on a jobber crew, Captained by myself and my second in command, Spike Jr., his wife, and parents. Few of our original crewmembers remained as many of our people had settled on Class M planets during our explorations, having grown tired of Space Travel and losing all hope of ever returning to Federation space. As you know, WrestleFleet created other Titanprizes in our absence, having thought us lost forever," 

Stephanie let it all sink in, afraid to speak. But she had to ask, "And what happened to _you_? You're so---" she couldn't find the words. 

"Shortly after your disappearance and the deaths of the Hardys and Lita, Captain McMahon commanded me to create a firewall to block my emotions. He claimed I had become..._irrational_. My behaviour was unbecoming of a WrestleFleet officer," Jericho explained, "The firewall has stayed in place since then," 

Stephanie could feel the tears burning again, "You weren't allowed to grieve," she said, "Daddy didn't let you grieve!" her voice became a whisper, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," 

"In your absence, I became Chief Engineer prior to becoming Captain, and it was better that I had a clear head," Jericho explained, "With the hard times that had come upon us, I was needed to think clearly and follow my Captain's orders, instead of challenging him when he decided not to find a way home," 

"Damnit!" Stephanie hit the mattress with a small fist, "You SHOULD have challenged him! He SHOULD have tried to find a way home! If he had, maybe..." she shook her head, "Maybe the crew could have seen their home planets one more time!" Stephanie wiped her tears, then looked up at the Y2J Unit, "Can you... unblock your emotions?" she pleaded, "I need a friend right now..." 

"It might be difficult," Jericho replied, "I have not allowed myself to feel anything for 75 years," he explained, "I do not know how I will react to you if I unblock them," 

"Try it. See what happens..." Stephanie said. The Y2J Unit closed his eyes for a moment, and 

Stephanie could see movement behind the lids. He furrowed his brow, and concentrated. "Chris?" 

The Y2J Unit slowly opened his eyes, and stared at her, "Yes, Skankanie?" Stephanie smiled. Jericho suddenly took her in his arms, holding her tightly, "Steph... I--" he paused, then spoke again, "I _missed_ you," he said. It was the truth, "Even though you're still a dirty, filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding trashbag ho," 

Stephanie rested her head against his shoulder, smiling as she let her tears flow once more. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

Stephanie shot up in bed, her mind a blur. "Wha... huh?" 

"Commander, your shuttle is waiting! I suggest you get off your lazy ass and actually do your DUTY!" An angry voice snapped through the comm. 

Stephanie shook the cobwebs out, and spoke, "Your unacceptable behaviour towards a superior officer will be written up and reported to WrestleFleet, Lt. Commander Jericho!" 

"Am I supposed to give a damn what WrestleFleet thinks of me? Or better yet, what a dirty, filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottomfeeding--" Stephanie slammed a hand down on the comm beside her bed, cutting off the Y2J Unit before he could finish his insult. She turned to look at the date on her clock. Stardate 070620.01. 

Stephanie was to take readings from the anomoly that had appeared near the WWF Titanprize. 

_Wait.._. 

Stephanie flicked on the comm again, "Stephanie to Daddy," 

"Yes, honey?" Came Captain McMahon's reply. 

"The mission you wanted me to go on... I... I can't do it. We have to get out of here! It's not a wormhole, it's a temporal distortion!" 

"Are you sure of that, honey?" 

"Yes. Upon further study, I have assessed that it is dangerous. We have to get away from it and find another way to get home," 

"What tests have you run?" McMahon asked. 

"Just trust me, daddy! PLEASE!" Stephanie replied, "Call it Engineer's intuition or something... but I can't go in there, and you are not to send anyone else in there either..." she paused, "Well, except maybe Lt. Commander Jericho. He can go straight to hell for all I care!" 

"Stephie!" McMahon gasped. 

"Sorry, daddy. But he's been especially insubordinate as of late. I have to write him up and report him," 

There was a pause from her father, then he spoke again, "Give the report to me first, honey, ok?" 

"Sure thing, daddy. But... why?" Stephanie asked. 

"Because... I would like to screen everything that goes to WrestleFleet headquarters," 

Daddy had never asked to screen her reports before, but she guessed there was a reason for it, "Understood. Stephanie out," With that, Stephanie got to her feet, dressed, and headed to Engineering. 

She passed a window on the way, and looked out. It wasn't WrestleFleet territory, but it was home... for now. Stephanie had no doubt that daddy would indeed find a way to get his ship back to it's proper home -- Federation space -- before everyone was too old to enjoy it. 

Dr. Taker watched Stephanie as she headed down the corridors, a thin smile on his pale lips. 

At least that was one more catastrophe averted.   
  



	90. Season 10 Episode 4 Legends

**TITANPRIZE:**   
**VOYAGERS******

**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 4: LEGENDS**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)   
Morale Officer, Commissioner Mick Foley 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 081120.01. We are orbiting an unihabited Class M planet called _Bachiatari._ According to the starmaps and information we recieved a while ago from the Bookermen, I've decided this is the perfect place for some shore leave. We've set up temporary cabins and have run tests declaring the beach safe," McMahon paused, "I wonder if anyone else has vacationed on this planet. The Bookermen have not visited this planet for years. In fact, it seems they've tried everything they could to stay away from it. Nontheless, it's about time my crew was given a break from Starship life. End log." 

McMahon stood up and stretched out. He grabbed the beach bag sitting beside his desk, and tapped his comm badge, "One to beam down, Lt. Commander Debra..." 

Within moments, McMahon's ready room disappeared in a glimmer of the familiar transporter beam. 

*** 

BACHIATARI - COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S CABIN 

Stephanie stood on the porch and stared out at the ocean, enjoying the gentle breeze as it whipped her silken sundress against her legs. Everything was so beautiful here! It's too bad the crew only had one week. 

"Yo, Steph..." came a quiet voice. 

Stephanie turned to the Ensign who had just showed up on her doorstep, "Jeff? I thought you were out swimming," 

The Aerialian looked somewhat forlorn, "Lita and Matt showed up and began frolicking in the water," 

"Oh," Stephanie replied, "Well, I'm sure there are lots of girls on the ship who would love to frolick with you! Lord knows why," she replied, "I saw the way Trash Stratus was drooling over your swim trunks earlier, the tramp!" Stephanie HATED that woman. 

Jeff smiled slightly, "Trish.... mmmmm... she's hot! Lita HAS been looking kind of doggish lately," 

Stephanie raised an eyebrow, "Now you're just being immature, Jeff," 

Jeff grew serious, "If I don't insult Lita, how can I forget about her?" he asked, his voice quiet. 

"Well, speaking as someone older and wiser - you DON'T forget about her. You see it as another event in your life. An event that helped you grow as a person," 

"Geez, Steph. You're starting to scare me with 'adult talk'," 

"Well, I figured it's time ONE of us acted our age," she replied, "Anyway, you need to stop dwelling on Lita and go on to bigger and better things." 

Jeff smirked, "Well... Trish IS bigger," Stephanie rolled her eyes. Jeff noticed. "Well, to borrow a phrase from Ensign Angle," he said in response, "It's true! It's _damn _true!" 

Stephanie just shook her head, then paused. She furrowed her brow, hearing an odd sound, "Are you crying, Jeff?" she asked. 

"I'm not hearbroken enough to cry, Steph!" 

Stephanie stepped off her porch and began to walk around the perimeter of the cabin, "Hello?" she called out. 

"What is it?" Jeff asked as he followed, growing concerned. 

"Don't you hear it?" 

Jeff listened, and soon heard what Stephanie was talking about, "It DOES sounds like crying. It sounds like a _woman _crying, actually...!" He replied, "I can't believe you thought I sounded like a woman!" 

"Shhh!" Stephanie snapped. 

Jeff walked a few feet away from Stephanie, "Hello?" he called out, "Who's there?" 

The crying stopped abruptly, and Stephanie stood still, waiting for it to start up again. But she heard nothing, "It's gone!" 

The two Wrestlefleet officers looked at each other, both faces a mask of confusion, "Well... that was weird!" Jeff replied. 

"I guess whoever it was decided to cry in private," Stephanie shrugged, "Oh well. It's not OUR problem. Let's head back to the ship and grab something to eat at the Smackdown," 

Jeff nodded, and the two beamed back to the Titanprize. 

*** 

COUNSELLOR AL SNOW'S CABIN - 0300h 

Counsellor Snow was having a wonderful dream. He had become a Wrestlefleet champion, been promoted to Lt. Commander, and was being congratulated by Austin and Foley. Al was unsure which part he enjoyed more -- becoming a champion, getting a push, or Austin and Foley treating him kindly. 

Al was pretty sure none of these events would ever happen. 

In a few seconds, Al's blissful dream was interrupted by a voice. No - a chorus of voices. It sounded like hundreds. Maybe thousands. The voices were so quiet, it was hard to tell exactly how many there were. Despite that, however, they managed to speak intrusively to the WrestleFleet counsellor. 

_The waters did run_   
_with blood, dark and red_   
_By rise of the sun_   
_The Seas were soon dead_

Al shot up in bed, "What was that?!" he asked H.E.A.D. as it sat on a table beside him, "What do you mean, _you don't know_? You're supposed to know EVERYTHING!" Snow snapped, then quickly grabbed the padd beside H.E.A.D., "Do you remember what they said?!" he asked, then nodded and quickly entered it into the padd. He read it over, and frowned, "Kind of morbid, isn't it?" 

Al studied it once more, "This has something to do with Bachiatari,"he said. "I know it!" Al took a deep breath, "Maybe I'll have Lt. Commander Jericho try to figure it out," Al yawned, "Tomorrow though," he said, then put the padd away. Counsellor Snow then lay back in his bed and fell asleep once more. 

*** 

COMMANDER SHANE McMAHON'S CABIN (the next day) 

"Well?" Shane asked the Y2J Unit lounging on the patio chair in front of him. 

"I'm still having trouble finding her access codes, Commander," Jericho replied. 

"Damnit!" Shane hit the arm of his chair angrily. "Where the hell did she hide them?!" 

"Maybe she didn't write them down," Jericho answered, "She might have them stored up in the attic she calls a brain," 

"Please... my sister couldn't even store her own phone number up there, let alone access codes!" Shane replied. 

Jericho raised an eyebrow, "Well, she IS the Chief Engineer. I'm sure she must have _some_ form of intelligence to grant her such a position," 

"She has _Daddy_ to grant her such a position!" Shane replied, "And as far as graduating from Wrestlefleet Academy goes, I'm sure it didn't take much for her to _convince_ the board she was worthy of it!" 

"Are you insinuating that perhaps your sister earned her Wrestlefleet Uniform in less then honourable ways?" Jericho asked, "This is what I've been saying all along, Commander..." 

Shane shifted in his chair to acknowledge the Y2J Unit, "As you once said, Lt. Commander, she's a dirty, filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottomfeeding, trashbag ho." 

Jericho frowned at Shane stealing his favourite Stephanie insult, then quickly smirked, "Yes, well... you'll find it very rare that I'm wrong, Commander," 

"Good. Now back to business. Stephanie's access codes!" 

"Easier said then done," Jericho replied, "If she did manage to memorize the codes, then there is no way I could get access unless she tells me herself... and I believe I burned _that_ bridge when she found out I was following your orders," 

"I refuse to think she memorized the codes! Continue searching the ship's computer! I want them! You understand me, Lt. Commander?" 

Jericho nodded, "Yes sir," he replied, then tapped his comm-badge and returned to the ship. He would search for Stephanie's codes, AND look up the poem Counsellor Snow had given him, despite the fact that Shane would find the latter a waste of the Y2J Unit's time and resouces. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - LT. COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS (later) 

The Y2J Unit read the log on the padd before him: 

"_Chief Engineer's personal log, stardate 100820.00._

_ It seems the Y2J Unit has developed a personality without his emotion chip. How is that possible? It's a wonder of Engineering! Irvine Inc. would never have expected one of their AI Units to surpass its programming. Of course, Irvine Inc. would never have expected one of their units would be on a ship overrun by rebellious Nytrons – including one that would try to reprogram the Y2J Unit to be her own personal plaything – and then have that ship later lost in an uncharted region of space._

_ I will have to study Lt. Commander Jericho a bit closer. Perhaps I'll find some OTHER emotions to bring to the surface..._

_ End log,"_

Jericho threw the padd against the wall in frustration, shattering the electronic device into several pieces. He had hacked into Commander Stephanie's personal files and had been reading them since he had beamed back to the ship from the planet. It was an invasion of privacy, he knew, but he would do what Shane commanded. Jericho needed Stephanie's access codes and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to get them. 

Stephanie's personal files held her logs, her honours, her various heroic deeds (though few and far between), and a bit too much information regarding the Chief Engineer's thoughts on the Y2J Unit. 

Lies and exaggerations mostly. 

Still, there weren't any access codes. 

Jericho wondered briefly what Stephanie would think about his invasion of her privacy. She probably wouldn't be too happy about it. 

Well... Stephanie just wouldn't find out, that's all. Sometimes unpleasant things had to be done for the betterment of the Titanprize -- as Commander Shane McMahon would no doubt attest to. 

Jericho sighed. Enough of sifting through Stephanie's personal logs. He needed a break. Jericho called up all the files the Bookermen had offered on Bachiatari. He punched in the stanza Al had given him, and frowned at what came up. 

The Bookermen had been right to avoid the planet. There was a legend surrounding it, and an unpleasant one at that. 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S CABIN - 20:00 

Stephanie sat on the steps of her cabin and watched the Sunset, smiling at the pinks and reds that embraced the blue sky. It was perfect! Well... _almost_ perfect. 

Stephanie sighed as a twinge of lonliness tugged at her. It's not that she missed Hunter. In fact, she was glad he was gone from her life... but Stephanie DID miss sharing romantic moments like these. 

If she weren't alone, then this sunset truly WOULD be perfect. 

Stephanie furrowed her brow and quickly hugged herself. Maybe it was the memory of Hunter, or maybe the wind had picked up.... but for some reason, she shivered. A breeze brushed over her. It wasn't a strong breeze, but it was _cold_. 

Stephanie quickly straightened up. Were her ears playing tricks on her, or did she hear a whisper of some sort? A cry on the wind? 

"Jeff?" she called out. 

"Jeff isn't here," 

Stephanie gasped and spun around to the voice, "Damn you, Jericho!" She snapped as she took in the out-of-uniform Wrestlefleet officer, "What the hell do you want?" 

Jericho stepped closer to the Chief Engineer, "To watch the sunset with you, Stephie," he replied, his voice dripping with insincerity. 

"Oh please! You're so full of sh--" 

He put a finger to Stephanie's lips, "Ah ah ah. Wouldn't want to leave a bad impression with your _inferior_ officers, now would you COMMANDER?" he interrupted. 

Stephanie backed up a step, "Inferior is right! You're so inferior that... that---" Stephanie tried to think of an appropriate insult, but the way he was staring at her was far too distracting. 

"That... what? Come on, Stephie... you can think of something!" 

Stephanie frowned, "Shut up!" she snapped, then went to sit on the stairs, trying to ignore his presence. 

Jericho sat down beside her. Stephanie eyed him warily, inching away slowly. He grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving any further, "Nervous around me, Stephie? Can't imagine WHY!" 

"Maybe because you're a psycho working for Shane! Now LET GO!" 

Jericho ignored her request, "Why did you take off your communicator?!" 

Stephanie frowned at him, "Do you _not_ know what SHORE LEAVE means? It means I'm supposed to be resting and relaxing, and watching the sunset! I'm NOT supposed to be getting disturbed by some 'stick up his butt' reprogrammed Lt. Commander! Don't tell me you lost your intelligence when Shane gave you a new personality!" 

Jericho offered a cold smirk, "I assure you, Commander, my mental faculties are working just fine, as is the rest of me! Didn't mean to disturb you and your sunset, Stephie," 

"Yes you did!" Stephanie replied as she hugged herself, then returned to staring at the sunset. 

Jericho tossed a padd in her lap, "I found an interesting little poem about this _relaxing _planet. You might want to read it," 

Stephanie stared at him, incensed, "You came all the way down here and interrupted my quiet time to show me a POEM?" 

"Just read it," he hissed, an angry flash in his eye. 

Stephanie was startled. He seemed very insistent. She skimmed over the padd, her voice growing quiet as she read the story before her, "What the hell?" She started, then turned to Jericho, "You're a JERK! Take this stupid poem and go back to the ship, before I get Farooq and Bradshaw to beat you like the blonde bitch you are!" she snapped. 

"Well, if anyone knows about bitches, it's YOU, Stephie..." 

"SHUT UP!" she snapped, then looked at the sky. It was dark now, "I can't believe I had to share my sunset with you!" Stephanie angrily threw the padd at him. He caught it easily. She then jumped to her feet, and headed into her cabin, slamming the door behind her. 

Jericho picked up the padd and read the poem once again: 

**_Bachiatari - The Accursed Land_**

_In a time long ago_   
_Here a world once lay_   
_When day became Night_   
_And Night it would stay_

_The Seawater children_   
_And Earth spirit race_   
_Were peaceful and happy_   
_Living here in this place_

_This peace lasted not_   
_As the Night tore asunder_   
_The Earth and the Water_   
_In violence like thunder_

_The Darkness had woken_   
_Possessed water, land, and air_   
_And quickly commanded_   
_No others breathe there_

_The waters then ran_   
_With blood, dark and red_   
_By rise of the sun_   
_The Seas were soon dead_

_The sand was stained rust_   
_And Death did appear_   
_As the Earth Spirits flew_   
_For their lives they did fear_

_At night, souls would cry_   
_But were lost on the wind_   
_For the Darkness took over_   
_Earth and Sea having dimmed_

_Cold then lay that land_   
_Evil spirit within_   
_For the Darkness, unrested_   
_Destroyed all who came in_

Jericho thought it a rather morbid poem, but then most legends were. The Captain had apparently overlooked this little poem when studying the information the Bookermen had provided. No big loss. It was only a poem, after all. 

Lt. Commander Jericho got to his feet and turned towards the beach. For a moment, the water looked red. Jericho quickly decided it was only a reflection of the Planet's red moon. 

The Y2J Unit suddenly felt a violent tug on his braid. He spun around... but saw nothing. 

He took one more look at Stephanie's closed door, then quickly headed back to his own cabin. 

*** COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S CABIN 

Stephanie stared at the ceiling as she lay in her bed. Damn that stupid Y2J Unit! It wasn't bad enough that he had to torment her on the ship, but now he was doing it on her shore leave! 

"I HATE YOU, JERICHO!" Stephanie shouted to the ceiling, although it didn't make her feel any better. 

Stephanie sat up and frowned. Maybe she needed a nice cool swim to get her mind off the creepy poem Jericho had showed her. 

Yes. A nice swim. Perfect! 

Stephanie quickly put on her swimsuit, and headed out... 

*** BACHIATARI FOREST 

"Nothing like a nice spot of tea in a quiet forest, hmm, Tajiri?" McMahon's personal Commissioner, William Regal, asked his companion. 

"Hai!" Ensign Tajiri replied. 

"Would you like another cup?" he asked. Tajiri nodded, and Regal poured another cup of tea. 

"Domo!" Tajiri replied. 

"You're very welcome, my good man!" Regal replied, then noticed his friend looking off in the distance, "Tajiri?" 

Tajiri seemed lost in thought as he continued staring, "Nani...?" he whispered, then began walking away. 

"Tajiri! Where are you going?" Regal asked, then reluctantly stood up and followed the man. Tajiri froze in his tracks, almost causing the Englishman to smash into him. 

"Watch where you're going!" Regal commanded. 

"Sugoi!" Tajiri screeched as he stared off into the distance. 

"What's wrong?!" Regal asked, "Tell me what's going on, lad!" 

"Darku!" Tajiri whispered. 

"Well of course it's dark! It's night! Why are you so---" Regal stopped as Tajiri moved aside and allowed Regal a view of what he saw. Regal's eyes went wide as he took in the black fog that had gathered in front of the two Wrestlefleet officers, "Oh my!" he gasped, "Perhaps we should inform Captain McMahon of the---" he tried to think of a way to describe this strange fog, "The odd.... _weather patterns_," he offered. 

Tajiri nodded nervously. Regal quickly tapped his comm badge, and ordered two to beam up. 

*** BEACH SIDE 

Stephanie jumped in the water, relishing in the coolness against her hot skin. She was never a great swimmer, but she wasn't a bad one either. Stephanie headed away from shore, enjoying the peace... until she felt something brush past her legs. Stephanie quickly stopped swimming and tried to look through the dark water, but couldn't see much past her own hand. 

"Hello?" she asked quietly. No answer. Stephanie shrugged, then continued her swim -- until she felt it again. "Ok!" She snapped, "Stop it! Jeff? Is that you? Are you being an idiot again?" 

Silence. 

Stephanie shook her head, and began to swim back to shore... then found herself caught as something grabbed her ankle. Stephanie struggled, but to no avail. 

The _thing _felt slimey and cold. Stephanie screamed as it pulled her under. She fought to remain afloat, and it tightened it's grasp. Stephanie was barely able to grab a lungful of air before the water came crashing over her head again. 

Commander McMahon opened her eyes under water, but could barely see anything through the sudden red tinge the water had taken. The _thing _around her ankle looked like black mist... but was as solid as SHE was! Stephanie screamed underwater, and immediately wished she hadn't. A thick, coppery fluid filled her mouth, and her lungs began to burn. 

This wasn't water! 

The Chief Engineer thrashed violently, trying to break free before her lungs burst. The _thing, _whatever it was,wasn't letting up. 

Suddenly she felt a man pull her with one hand and rip the _thing_ away from her with the other. Whatever had wrapped itself around her ankle quickly disappeared. Her saviour grabbed her with both arms and swam back to the surface. 

The beating of a heart was the last thing Stephanie heard before darkness overcame her. 

*** ENSIGN JEFF HARDY'S CABIN 

Jeff leaned against a porch beam and looked around his little section of beach. The Ensigns weren't as close to the water as the higher-ups were, but that was ok. The only thing that really bothered him was the fact that only thirty feet away from him, Matt and Lita shared a cabin. 

Jeff closed his eyes for a moment, and felt something brush against his cheek. He opened his eyes quickly, and saw a flash of white move out of the corner of his eye. 

Jeff jumped down from his porch, and saw the white thing again. It disappeared around the back of his cabin. 

"Hey there! This is WrestleFleet property!" he called to it, but only received crying in response. Jeff quickly spun the corner, and saw a woman dressed in white. She was kneeling quietly on the sand, her face buried in her hands. "Woah... hey lady. Uh... what... what are you doing here?" She looked up at him, her eyes black and empty. Jeff jumped back, "What the hell!" 

He closed his eyes, thinking the darkness was playing tricks on him. When he opened them again, she was still there. The white of her dress was a stark contrast to the darkness. 

"The Night is coming," she said. "Leave here," 

"Umm... it IS night, in case you didn't notice." he said, "Who are you anyway? We were told this planet was uninhabited!" 

"It is," she replied. 

Jeff furrowed his brow, "But you--" 

"I'm not here," she interrupted, "None of us are here," 

"Us?" he asked. 

The woman stood up, and a small group of people suddenly gathered behind her, "None of us are here," she repeated. She turned her back to him and walked towards the others. She looked over her shoulder, "Soon, you will not be here either," 

"Wait a sec! You need to talk to our Captain. Listen, if we've come to an inhabited planet, we're sorry for not asking permission. We didn't know!" Jeff stopped, realizing she wasn't paying attention. The woman walked away with the group. Jeff headed after her, but they soon disappeared into the darkness. 

Jeff stared at the empty space where the woman and the others had once stood, then quickly headed into his cabin and tapped his comm badge, "Ensign Hardy to Captain McMahon. I think we have a big problem here, sir..." 

*** 

BEACH SIDE 

Stephanie's eyes opened slowly and she quickly turned on her side, retching up a lungful of water. It was clear. Normal. Not like the thick liquid she could have sworn she swallowed earlier. 

Stephanie fell back again and willed her pulse to return to normal. She gasped as she noticed a man kneeling beside her. He was the man who had rescued her from drowning. She had no doubt about that. 

Stephanie blinked quickly, but the saltwater stung her eyes. She could only see the blurred outline of the man's face through the darkness, and his long wet hair, "Thank you. Who--" 

"Stephanie!" A voice interrupted in the distance. The man turned towards the sound of the voice, then quickly jumped to his feet. 

"Wait!" Stephanie begged, but the man quickly ran off. 

"Hey, Steph? Where are you?" The voice called again. 

"Jeff.... I'm here!" Stephanie replied, recognizing the voice 

Jeff finally made his way to her, "What happened to you? You look like a drowned rat!" 

"Don't worry about it. I need something to wipe my eyes," 

"Here," Jeff offered her his bandana. 

Stephanie teared a few times, allowing the sand and grit to wash out, then wiped her face with the material, "Thanks. Now why are you out here?" 

"Something weird is going on," he said. 

"What do you mean?" 

Jeff proceeded to tell her about the strange people hanging around his cabin, "...and on top of that, there was some weird-ass fog in the forest," he finished, adding on Tajiri and Regal's accounts. 

"Jericho tried to scare me with some legend earlier, but I didn't believe it. I still don't ... but..." she sighed, "Well, SOMETHING grabbed me in the water and tried to drown me!" 

"Geez! Are you ok, Steph?" Jeff asked. 

"Yeah. Someone saved me," 

"_Someone?_ So... you've been seeing weird things too?" 

"No," Stephanie replied, "I think I recognized him, but..." she shook her head, "My eyes were a bit blurry from the salt water. He disappeared before I could get a better look," 

Jeff smiled, "Kind of like The Little Mermaid?" he asked. "Maybe he'll come back and ask you to be part of his world. Did he sing to you?" 

Stephanie slapped Jeff's arm, clearly not amused by his humour, "What did Daddy say about what you and Regal saw?" 

"He said that this is the only shore leave we'll be getting for a while. Take it or leave it. If we're too scared to stay on the planet, then we can enjoy our vacation on the ship!" 

"Typical daddy," Stephanie sighed, "Well, I know _I'm_ not leaving! I'm going to enjoy this vacation... even it if kills me!" 

Jeff winced, "You just had to say that, didn't you? In the mood to tempt fate, are we Steph?" 

"What can I say? I learned from YOU, Hardly!" 

*** 

CAPTAIN McMAHON'S CABIN - the next day 

"First Ensign Jeff tells me about some--" he couldn't think of the right word, "Some... _ghosts_. Then Regal tells me about a black fog. Stephanie informs me she almost drowned... and now YOU are telling me about legends coming true?" The Captain asked Counselor Snow. The Counselor had burst into the Captain's cabin unannounced, blabbering about a story Lt. Commander Jericho had shown him. 

"Yes sir. H.E.A.D. says something is here, Captain. Something that killed the Bachiatarians, and now wants US to leave!" 

"I'm sorry, Counselor. I don't believe in ghosts and monsters and evil spirits! Apparently there ARE inhabitants on this planet, as Ensign Hardy saw, and they're playing tricks on us and trying to hurt my daughter! I demand a meeting with these people! Attempted murder of a crew member... of my DAUGHTER... will not be tolerated!" 

"You seem to let a lot of _other_ people get away with it," Snow muttered. 

"Excuse me? What was that, Counselor?" McMahon asked. 

"Nothing sir," Snow replied quickly. 

"Good! Now go ask Ensign Hardy to find the inhabitants he saw yesterday and try to arrange a meeting for me!" 

"You don't seem to understand, Captain!" Snow started. 

"Follow my orders, Counselor... or do I need to write you up for insubordination?" 

Counselor Snow saluted the Captain, "No sir," he said, "I'll talk to Jeff right away!" With that, he quickly headed out to find Ensign Hardy. 

*** ENSIGN JEFF HARDY'S CABIN - 2300h 

"This is where I saw her... well, THEM..." Jeff started as Stephanie and Captain McMahon gathered behind his cabin. 

"Where are they now?" Captain McMahon asked as he looked around. 

"I don't know... I mean, they appeared out of nowhere and---" Jeff started, then froze. The woman stood before him again, "Um... sir..." he tapped Captain McMahon on the shoulder, "There she is..." 

McMahon turned and saw the woman Jeff had spoken of. The lady's white dress seemed to glow in the blackness, making her appear like an unearthly apparition, "Ma'am... hello..." 

"The Night is coming," she said. 

"Night?" McMahon asked, then held his hand out, "I'm sure you'll explain, but first, let me introduce myself. I am Captain Vincent K. McMahon of the Wrestlefleet Federation Starship WWF TITANPRIZE," the woman ignored his words. McMahon waited a moment, but saw she was making no attempt to shake his hand. He slowly brought it back to his side, and cleared his throat, "Yes, well... I want to know why one of your people try to hurt my---" 

"The Darkness is coming," she interrupted. 

"Listen, ma'am, I really have no idea what you're talking about! Maybe if you take me to your Ambassador, we can---" McMahon stopped. The woman wasn't listening. She was staring at him intently. 

McMahon suddenly let out a painful shout and fell to his knees. Images invaded his mind. Frightening, heartbreaking images. He tried to close his eyes, but they wouldn't go away. He opened his eyes slightly, and saw Stephanie and Jeff looking at him with great concern. 

"Daddy? Daddy? What's wrong!?" Stephanie asked, eyes wide as she knelt beside him. 

Stephanie's voice began to fade away, replaced by a poem: 

_In a time long ago_   
_Here a world once lay_   
_When day became Night_   
_And Night it would stay_

McMahon looked upon Bachiatari in its last days. 

_The Seawater children_   
_And Earth spirit race_   
_Were peaceful and happy_   
_Living here in this place_

Everyone lived together happily... until... 

_This peace lasted not_   
_As the Night tore asunder_   
_The Earth and the Water_   
_In violence like thunder_

Darkness came over the sky, blocking out the sun. 

_The Darkness had woken_   
_Possessed water, land, and air_   
_And quickly commanded_   
_No others breathe there_

The Darkness had warned the colonists to leave, but they had not listened. It warned them there would be consequences, but they paid no heed. 

For weeks, the sun did not shine. The crops did not grow. The sea did not bring forth life. In fact, the sea TOOK life. It grew violent. 

_The waters then ran_   
_With blood, dark and red_   
_By rise of the sun_   
_The Seas were soon dead_

The water filled with blood as the sealife went wild and tore itself and any hapless Bachiatarians apart - literally. The remaining inhabitants began to grow ill from the tainted waters and lack of food. 

But it did not end there. Once again, the Darkness struck. As the Bachiatarians packed up their Ships, the Darkness grew thicker. It wrapped around each and every living thing on the planet, invading their minds and bodies. Suffocating them. Forcing them to act violently and irrationally towards one another. 

Within one night, the entire planet was dead. The blood of the Bachiatarians now stained the land they had tried so hard to sow. 

_Cold then lay that land_   
_Evil spirit within_   
_For the Darkness, unrested_   
_Destroyed all who came in_

McMahon's eyes flew open, his breathing laboured, and his clothing drenched with sweat. Stephanie was still by his side, "Daddy?" she asked, her voice quiet, "Are you ok? Please be ok, Daddy..." 

McMahon turned to his daughter, "Gather everyone together," he said, "We're leaving. TONIGHT!" 

Shore leave or no shore leave... the Titanprize crew had to get off Bachiatari. NOW. 

Before the living planet took THEM too. 

*** ENGINEERING - the next day 

"Well, so much for THAT vacation. It was a good three days though, hmm?" Jeff asked Stephanie as she stood at her station. 

"It was better then nothing. Daddy said he'd find a nice planet for us to take a REAL shore leave on. One that ISN'T haunted," she smiled. 

"I sure hope so!" Jeff replied, "By the way, did you learn anything about your mystery hero?" 

"Whoever he is," Stephanie replied, "I think he was just as frightened as _I_ was! His heart was beating as fast as mine!" 

"Heart?" Jericho spoke up from a few feet away, pausing in his methodical work. Stephanie looked at him and furrowed her brow. Did the Y2J Unit look _startled_? 

Stephanie crossed her arms and frowned, "Yes. Heart. You know, that thing you _don't_ have!" She replied, then turned back to Jeff, ignoring Jericho, "As I was saying -- before we were so RUDELY interrupted -- If Officer _Whoever _had come forth, I could have thanked him. Daddy probably would've given him a push too!" 

Jericho let out a harsh laugh, "Since when did you ever _thank_ anyone, Commander?" 

"Excuse me, but I don't talk to traitors," Stephanie replied, then dismissed him with a wave of her hand. 

Jericho raised his eyebrows, "_I'm _a traitor? That's rich coming from _you_! I believe you were once referred to as Mrs. Traitor Hearst Helmsley, were you not?" 

"Go finish playing with your sub-routines, Jerkicho. I'm having a conversation here with a friend -- but then you wouldn't know about that. You LOST all your friends when you decided to buddy up to Shane!" 

"I don't need to hang around with people like you and Rainbow Brite there! My current associates are more powerful then either of you will eeeeeever be!" Jericho replied. 

"Yeah, whatever!" Jeff replied, "Like we're scared of Shane the Wussy, and his merry band of Dumbasses!" 

"I wouldn't be so quick to talk, Jeff. You may regret those words," Jericho warned. 

"Riiiiiight. I don't think I'll ever regret anything I say about Shane McMahon!" Jeff replied. 

"Come on, Jeff. Let's talk somewhere else," Stephanie replied. 

"Shouldn't you actually be doing your JOB, Commander?" Jericho asked. 

"I'm on break!" Stephanie snapped. 

"Then if you're on break, _I'm_ off duty!" With that, Jericho shut down his station and headed out of Engineering. 

"HEY! You can't do that! Get back here!" she shouted. "GET BACK HERE, JERICHO!" But the Y2J Unit was long gone. 

*** CAPTAIN McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Is this the latest report?" Captain McMahon asked the crewman before him. 

"Yes it is," he replied. 

McMahon looked over the padd on his desk, "Very interesting. Thank you for keeping me informed!" 

"You're welcome, Captain. May I be dismissed now?" the crewman asked. 

"Yes. Go ahead!" McMahon replied. The officer nodded, then headed towards the door, "Oh, and one more thing..." McMahon added. The officer turned to him, waiting. McMahon grew serious, "I want to thank you for saving my daughter from drowning. You'll be commended for that," McMahon said, "But... did she see you?" 

"I don't think she was in any state to recognize me, Captain. When Hardy showed up, I quickly made myself scarce," 

"Good. Don't speak to her of it. Not yet, anyway." 

"I understand, Captain... but..." 

McMahon furrowed his brow, "What is it?" 

The officer paused, then shook his head, "Nothing. There was just something I would have liked to ask her about. Regarding the rescue that is," 

"No! If she finds out it was you, she'll start asking questions," 

"I know, Captain. I'll keep my curiosity in check. Maybe I'll find out when this is all over," 

"And if things go as WE plan, then it will be over before Shane can start it!" McMahon offered a smile, "You're dismissed, Lt. Commander Jericho," 

"Thanks, Junior," Jericho replied as he headed towards the door. He stopped a moment and put a hand to his chest, ignoring McMahon's 'don't call me junior' rant. Jericho felt nothing _beating_ under his hand. What had Stephanie been talking about in Engineering? 

Lt. Commander Jericho shrugged, figuring Stephanie was probably too scared at the time to think or hear straight. The Y2J Unit quickly exited the Captain's quarters, deciding the matter was best forgotten. 

*** BACHIATARI 

A lone WrestleFleet beacon orbited the planet, sending a full log of the Titanprize's experiences, and a copy of _Bachiatari: the Accursed Land _on all known WrestleFleet and Alien frequencies - with one extra stanza added to the end: 

_Stay not too long_   
_Those who wish here to roam_   
_Heed this legend and warning_   
_And make this not your home_

_- _Ensign Jeff Hardy   
WrestleFleet Ship WWF Titanprize 1701-A   
Stardate 081420.01   



	91. Season 10 Episode 5 Mindgames

Creator's Note: My co-writer, X_C, has kindly granted me permission to post her episodes here on www.fanfiction.net in conjunction with my own since they are inter-connected. She is an excellent writer and I hope you enjoy her episodes! We love feedback, so give us as much as you like! – Elektra   
  
  
  


**TITANPRIZE:**   
**VOYAGERS**

**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 5: MINDGAMES**

By: Elektra and X_C 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Shane McMahon   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Diagnostics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Jericho   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more!   


WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM
"Captain's Log, Stardate 101420.01 _Operation Weasel Hunt_ reaches its final phase tonight with the arrest and disgrace of my son, Shane and that wretched traitor, Paul Heyman. Chris Jericho has finally proven he's worth the billions of credits WrestleFleet poured into his creation. He is simply the greatest intelligence officer in the history of the Federation, the shrewdest and most resourceful spy I've ever encountered. I will take great pleasure in promoting him to commander once he's lured Shane into my trap!" 

Vince immediately brushed aside the burning hatred and envy this promotion would engender in veterans like The Game, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Jericho _would _be his new first officer! 

"Most importantly, I can stop acting like a senile old fool who's lost his marbles! Jericho can stop alienating all his friends, er, if robots have friends. Finally, the crew will once again see the powerful genius I always was! They'll worship me for saving them from Nytron enslavement!" 

Vince kicked back in his chair, a smug smile plastered across his face. He'd just admire the glimmering stream of starlight flowing at warp nine past the windows, and wait for Jericho's devious plan to unfold.... 

*** 

SHANE McMAHON'S OFFICE 

Jericho watched Heyman leave Shane's office as he entered the room, his eyes suspicious. Shane noticed the look on the Y2J Unit's face, "What is it?" he asked. 

Jericho turned to his commanding officer, "What were you two talking about?" 

"All you need to know is that things are going as planned," 

"As planned, huh?" Jericho repeated, "Are you sure you can trust him?" 

"Who, Heyman?" 

"Yes, Heyman. I used to be under his command on-board the Extremeship. He made some questionable decisions. Had some of us wondering if he had his own agenda sometimes..." he shrugged, "Though I'm sure you have everything under control, Commander," 

"I have him under control," Shane snapped somewhat defensively. 

"If you say so, Commander," Jericho replied. 

"What do you want, Lt. Commander?" Shane asked impatiently, "Surely you didn't just come in here to chat?" 

"Ahhh, yes... here," Jericho placed a padd on Shane's desk, "Stephanie's security codes for Engineering," 

"I thought you said you were having difficulty getting them?" Shane replied. 

"Well... let's just say I have my ways," Jericho smirked smugly. He was rather proud of his lying talents, "With these, you have control of the Titanprize engines any time you want!" 

"Good!" Shane replied, "I'll have Ensign Raven take a look at them," This brought forth another frown from Jericho, "What?" Shane asked. 

"Raven is tight with Heyman," 

"So?" Shane asked. 

"So... wouldn't it be better to have someone else take care of those codes? Like myself? Someone you know isn't plotting behind your back?" 

"Who says Heyman is plotting behind my back?" Commander McMahon snapped angrily. 

"Well, no one... but... I HAVE seen him hanging with his Extremeship crew in the Smackdown. I've seen them conversing, then quickly clam up the moment I show up," Jericho shrugged, "Of course, it could just be an attitude problem," 

"Most likely, yes!" the young McMahon sighed, "My sister is already suspicious of you, Lt. Commander. If you start poking around in Engineering after hours, she'll grow even more suspicious. Ensign Raven can at least hide himself by shifting into an inanimate object. I can't say the same for you," 

"Up to you, Commander," Jericho replied, "But just keep an eye open, that's all," 

"You're dismissed, Lt. Commander!" Shane answered. 

"Yes.... sir," Jericho replied. He then turned and left the room. 

Shane studied the padd in his hands, but his mind was elsewhere as he thought of Jericho's words. Heyman wouldn't DARE conspire against him! He didn't have the grapefruits! Besides, Heyman was getting a sweet deal with Shane! He would be Shane's second-in-command! 

"_Though maybe he doesn't WANT to be second-in-command. Maybe he wants to be FIRST-in-command!_" Shane thought uncomfortably. Well, if that happened, Shane was very sure he could take care of it! 

Still... it wouldn't hurt to ask Lt. Commander Jericho to keep an eye on the crew of the ECW Extremeship. 

Better safe then sorry, right? And if Heyman DARED try to take Shane's power, then Pauly WOULD be sorry! He'd be VERY sorry! 

*** 

SICKBAY 

Now if there was one thing the Dead Man couldn't tolerate, it was when some little pup came into his yard and didn't show respect. Sad fact was, some guys didn't learn respect til you beat it into 'em. 

"_Tick tock, tick tock_." Lt. Commander Rock bellowed in Nurse Saturn's face. "Do you like pancakes, nursie? Well, pancake your ass on over to the medical cabinet and get me that antidote! The People's Officer has work to do!" 

Dr. Taker strolled into the waiting area, casually spit a wad of tobacco on the floor. Bad enough he had to straighten RVD's paralyzed thumbs out today, his last nerve was gettin' worked by these brutally inane catchphrases. "Let me explain somethin' to you, Dwayne." 

The Rock's head snapped back in alarm, as if seeing or hearing a ghost from the past. Dwayne...who...."What in the blue hell did you call me?" 

"This here's my yard." Taker said mildly. "And I'm the big dog in this yard. You're gonna wait your turn, boy, just like everyone else. And you're gonna keep your cakehole clammed up while you do it. We got ourselves an understanding?" 

Rock jumped to his feet and whipped off his sunglasses. He cocked one eyebrow and looked long and hard into the dead man's bottomless eyes. "Understand this jabroni! Get this through your twenty pound head! The People's Bridge requires the People's Champ! The People's Promos cannot be delivered when the Rock has been bitten on the leg by a damn scorpion!" 

Taker allowed himself a soft, dangerous sounding chuckle. "How in the hell did your lazy ass get bit by a scorpion?" 

Rock's eyes bulged. "Pardon your roody poo candy ass? The Rock was in HIS bar, the Smackdown! It crawled up the People's pantleg! The Rock dropped the People's Elbow on it!" 

The repetitition started a jackhammering in the dead man's skull that fueled a hideous anger. He kept his breathing even though, and stared down the gaping maw that was the Rock's piehole. "Bugs tend to flock to their own kind, I suppose. Now sit your ass down and can it til I call for you." 

Whoa. No one had ever dare out-insult the Rock! The comm officer grabbed Taker's huge arm and spun him back around. "You got the brains of a monkey's behind? You don't approach the Rock with your little redneck bandana wrapped around your head and your mickey mouse tattoos! You don't throw attitude the Rock's way! The Rock demands medical attention and the Rock gets what he asks for." 

"You got a point there." Taker acknowledged, self-consciously running a finger over the name painted on his neck, a mark from a long time ago, when he'd made the cruel mistake of falling for a mortal. _Mickey mouse huh? Oh yeah, you'll get just what you asked for...._

"Saturn, see to this officer." Taker snapped his thick fingers and it was like a thunderclap in Sickbay. He moved quietly to the corner where a civilian caretaker stocked the cabinets. The dead man prodded the young man's dark shoulder. "You." 

"Y-yes sir." Maven stammered the words out. An officer of Taker's rank had never acknowledged him before. 

"Go to the Smackdown. Find out who let that damn scorpion loose. I want the man who brought this kind of disrespect into my yard." 

"Right away, sir." Maven smartly saluted, then felt overeager and foolish. Fortunately the dark doctor had turned away to tend to Ensign Helms, who'd once again blackened an eye by walking masked and blinded into a door. 

The young earthling never thought he'd get an opportunity to prove his worth to a superior, and even though it was a small and personal errand, it was still a a glimmer of hope, a tiny chance to get noticed. Wait til he told Counselor Snow, who'd championed the mediocre academy student and gotten him on the ship, seeing his big heart instead of his average grades. 

He didn't even have a star on his collar right now, but if Maven could get on Taker's good side....if he had a good side..... 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

"What's the hold-up man?" Tazz looked nervously around him and hunched forward, his massive fireplug body blocking the slender black box full of glittering gemstones. "You just tell your guy that this is the hottest ice this side of Jupiter. I ain't gonna lower my price anymore!" 

"This isn't Red Hook, ensign." Jericho said with a mocking lilt to his voice. "And money is no object to a McMahon. In fact, Shane could buy all those diamonds and your jobber ass if he wanted." 

A vein in Tazz's barrel of a neck throbbed indignantly, but there was too much cash on the line to blow things now. "Maybe we could get a ladies' opinion, you know?" 

"Or Trish's," Chris said dryly, jerking his head in her direction. "Bring you and your two friends over here, tell me which of these you'd like to see shining on your fingers." 

Miss Stratus tolerated the mouthy droid because Shane needed him, but she'd welcome the sweet moment when Y2J was melted down in a puddle of solvent after he outlived his usefulness. "Did you say Shane was interested in an engagement ring?" 

Chris rather treasured the almost desperate hope in her question. He almost pitied his fellow Kanatian, what with her being caught between sucking face with Skippy Skittles for worthless information and a weasel who blindly loved another woman. "Oh yes, I thought you knew the final act of his ruthless master plan, Trishy." 

Trish's breath came a little too quickly and her pulse fluttered like a butterfly. She'd only dreamed of this moment since realizing Shane was her salvation from the dreary life of a serving wench. "I-I really think I should stay out of this one, Chris. I should look surprised when he proposes." 

"I doubt you'll be invited when Shane goes down on bended knee before Lita." Jericho said with a frown. "I think the greenish one matches her red hair, don't you?" 

The robot tried hard not to smirk as the curvy blonde went stone-faced. "Shane shares _everything _with you, doesn't he? I mean, you are his chief strategist. But, but Lita is-she's Aerialian _trash_! She's been handled by both those disgusting Hardyz! He'd never take Jeff's sloppy seconds! For god's sake she walks around with her underwear hanging out! She has no class! You're lying, Chris Jericho!" 

"I am programmed to never lie." Y2J said innocently. "I am telling the undisputed truth." Hmm, he liked that word...._undisputed_. "To set an example for the rest of the WWF officers, Shane is going to execute Jeff and Matt and then force Lita to be his bride. He's always loved her, with all his heart." 

"No!" Trish came flying around the bar and grabbed the box of rings from a startled Tazz. She threw it on the floor, scattering the jewels across the black floor like stars across the night sky. "I-WILL-NOT-LET-HIM-DO-THIS-TO-ME!" She picked each ring up and hurled them at the stoic android's chest like tiny poison darts. "I AM GOING TO DESTROY HIM!" 

Jericho offered up an insufferable smirk. "Do tell." 

"I've got documents!" Her eyes were wild with rage, the heat burning off her like a scorching desert wind. "I'll send them back to Linda with Molly. He'll be the one executed on pay per view tv when we get back to earth! After I slummed with that Aerialian freak for him!" Trish suddenly froze. "Why aren't you trying to stop me, 'bot?" 

Chris shrugged, watching her tantrum with detached amusement. "Earth's a long ways away, honey. Do your worst. No one will believe a bimbo over the first officer." 

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, slimebot!" Trish whirled on her high heel and stormed out, leaving Jericho to cringe with an awkward pain at the use of Stephanie's favorite slur against his character. 

_ When this is all over princess, I hope you'll forgive the things I've done...._

And then the android, with a hollow place where his emotion chip should be, wondered why he hoped for anything at all. 

Jericho's gloomy thoughts were interrupted as he saw Heyman and his fellow Extremers walk into the Smackdown. The group made themselves comfortable in a corner against a port window. Lt. Commander Jericho took a seat at a distance and turned up his auditory receptors, listening carefully to what the Extremers were saying. 

"When Shane takes over the ship, we'll have the power over these idiotic WrestleFleet officers!" Heyman spoke, "My my, it will be wonderful! Sit tight, boys. Patience is indeed a virtue. Our time will come," 

"And how long before it comes?" Extremer Rhyno asked, "Sometimes I think you'd do better running this ship, Pauly! And from what Raven's been saying, sounds like the Captain ain't all there! How do we know the _Commander _is all there? What's that old saying -- the apple don't fall far from the tree? How long 'till he snaps too?" 

Jericho smiled to himself. Good Ol' Vinnie-mac. He had become quite the actor! Of course, the Captain was aware he was being spyed on by the shapeshifting Ensign, thanks to the Y2J Unit's double-agent status. Leave it to Vince to turn it up a notch when the occasion called for it. 

"The Commander may be as sneaky as I am, but I trust him, Rhyno! Little does the Captain know that his son plans to destroy everything he's worked for! You'd think WrestleFleet would have hired someone with more marbles to Captain a ship like this," Heyman replied, "But I assure you, the young Commander is in complete control of his faculties! He's our IN!" 

"You know, this whole 'taking over the ship' thing," Extremer Van Dam started, "I'm beginning to think it is just not cool!" 

"And who asked YOU, Rob?" Ensign Tommy Dreamer snapped, "Listen, it's about time some of us got ahead! You got a problem with it, get out now!" 

"Enough boys!" Heyman snapped, "McMahon has no idea his son is messing with his mind and the ship! We're in the midsts of a new era! The era when all us underdogs get our just due! We've been over looked too long! I've no patience for waiting like a good WrestleFleet officer to move up the ranks! The Commander's offering, and I'm TAKING!" Heyman finished his drink, and stood up, "I got a meeting with Shane. I'll talk to you boys later," he said, and left the Smackdown. 

Jericho turned down his auditory receptors. Conversation heard, and recorded! Now it was just a matter of creatively editing a few words here and there. The Y2J Unit smiled. Things were starting to look up! The sooner this was over, the better. He could get on with his life, his friends, his Steph---er.... SHIP'S duties. 

Yes, ship's duties. That was it. 

*** ENGINEERING 

"Look, I know you hate me and wish the APA would hang me by my toes and slowly dip me in a boiling vat of acid so you could listen to my screams of agony, but this is a matter of life and death, and I'm really really sorry for any pain I've caused you, but you're the only person I can trust aboard this ship." 

"Hmmm..." Stephanie stood up and shaded her eyes, looking around the shadowy deck, looking everywhere but into Jeff's pleading puppy dog eyes. 

"May I help you find something, Commander?" Matt asked politely, trying to keep a straight face. 

"Yes, I thought I heard this annoying little fly squeaking about my ears, and I was wondering if you could swat it and then clean up its guts, if it has any." 

"Man, I thought we got past this after what happened on Bachiatari!" Jeff sighed, "Alright, Steph, I understand a simple apology won't win you over." Ensign Hardy sniffled and pulled a padd out. "So, on the off chance you resisted my charms, I wrote a poem to express just how sorry I am." He cleared his throat. 

"Dear god!" Stephanie snatched the padd away and sighed heavily. "I'll talk to you Jeff, just...just don't...ever. Now, go take this wrench and unscrew the malfunctioning plasma sockets under the main warp core control." 

Jeff stared at the tool dangling from her hand. "That's chromium. If I touch plasma with that, it'll stop my heart." 

"Are you refusing to obey a direct order?" 

"I see. Well, when you feel like having an adult conversation, I'll explain why I left you alone that night." 

Stephanie snickered scornfully. "I'm not an adult? This coming from a grown man with the emotional development of a twelve year old." 

"Don't flatter me Steph. Twelve year olds are getting more action than me these days." 

"I know why you ran off!" Stephanie jabbed a finger into his bony chest. "So you could score! I guess I shouldn't be shocked what little brains you have are in your pants. And I do mean LITTLE!" 

"Like you'd know." 

"Like I or any female with taste would want to know!" 

"This is too creepy." Matt said solemnly. "Even for me. You'll excuse me, Commander." 

"Oh sure, big brother!" Jeff called after him. "Run away and play kissy face with my girlfriend some more! That is if you can keep your lips off the food long enough! Don't think I didn't see you and Lita all up in each other last night! I wasn't asleep you know!" 

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "He thinks we were flirting, you moron. And what the hell were YOU thinking? That Lita would stick around and wait for you to tire of your new plaything? There's more vacant space between your ears than outside the Titanprize." 

"Flirting with you would be sickeningly incestuous." Jeff said with a shiver. Plus he didn't want Jericho kicking his ass. "Just take this and then you can decide whether to keep acting like a total bitch" 

Stephanie stared blankly at the tiny data chip resting in the palm of his hand. "What's that supposed to be?" 

"And they nickname me idiot?" Jeff pushed past her and inserted the silicin wafer into one of the comm consoles behind her. "It was planted in Trish's earring. A copy has already been sent to Wrestlefleet HQ via that Houdinian chick." 

"Molly." Stephanie corrected him. "You know she's a very nice girl, you should ask her out sometime." 

Jeff sighed. "Sure, Steph, can you see me running around in a cape and tights?" 

"Well...." Stephanie decided not to pursue that any further. "So you were spying on her the whole time." She suddenly turned on him. "Can't you just ever do something scummy for the sake of being scummy? Do you always have to be so damn noble?" 

"Yeah, but it doesn't get me any." 

Stephanie sank into a chair, her heart sinking as she listened. Granted, she wanted to see that husband stealing silicon freakshow imprisoned, but god.... "Daddy sounds like a damn fool here, Jeff. I can only imagine what Wrestlefleet will think when they hear how easily he was tricked by that bubblehead." 

"Oh come on. Maybe Linda will kick him to the curb, but he doesn't sound _that _stupid." 

"Oh yes he does." She sighed. "He sounds like some sugar daddy trying to recapture his last youth by chasing some twenty year old tail. He let the ship get away from him for some pitiful fling. He'll be the joke of Wrestlefleet." 

"Do you think he might blame me?" 

"I think I'd join the witness protection program as soon as I got back to the Milky Way." Stephanie said grimly. "Bad enough he looks too weak to even hold onto the precious android WrestleFleet dropped all that cash on." 

Jeff laughed. "You don't really think _Shane _is smart enough to reprogram Jericho, do you?" 

"Benoit is, whatever happened to him." Stephanie said miserably. "I've seen the hate in that robot's eyes, it's real." 

"Matt doesn't think it's possible. If you can't even develop a simple emotion chip for him, how could Benoit make precise enough modifications to his positronic net so that he'd obey Shane and Shane alone?" 

Stephanie considered that for a long moment. "No offense, Jeff, but Jericho wouldn't have his nose that far up my brother's backside unless he wanted it there. Besides, Matt's related to you, making his theories automatically suspect." 

Jeff shrugged. "Suit yourself. I lost something in the Smackdown. Mind if I go find it?" 

"Whatever." Stephanie pocketed the data chip as Jeff bounced away. He would be optimistic enough to defend his idol Chris Jericho to the bitter end, but she wouldn't forget the horrible names he'd been calling her or the callous way he'd commented on how it was a shame Russo's aim wasn't better. 

He'd stood over Stephanie in Sickbay, just to say that to her. There wasn't fake blood flowing through his veins; there was only ice. What she couldn't face was that his words hurt more than any blade piercing her skin ever could.... 

*** THE SMACKDOWN 

Jericho, who had stayed at the bar as he secretly reworded Heyman's _private_ conversation, eyed a familiar rainbow-haired Aerialian a few feet away. Jeff seemed to be quite the spy lately, spewing theories that the Y2J Unit couldn't possibly be reprogrammed. As much as Jericho wanted Jeff to know that he was right, he couldn't let the boy find out. 

Besides, if Shane ever ever heard Jeff's theories... well so much for that. Not only would Jericho be melted down by a trigger-happy Shane, but the young McMahon boy would take pleasure in doing the same to Jeff. Jericho put down his synthehol and sighed. 

Lt. Commander Jericho had a dilemma on his hands. Granted, there was only a mere few hours left until Shane was locked up in the brig, but his carefully woven web of deception was slowly unravelling. Why couldn't Matt and Jeff just keep their damn big mouths shut? All Stephanie needed was one little nagging suspicion planted in her brain and she'd go off half-cocked, unintentionally alerting Shane. 

_ Sorry Steph, but I know you a little better than I'm comfortable with. You'd want to help, and I can't let you do that._

He'd promised Vince that Stephanie would be safe and secure from Nytrons, that he'd go through hell and back to keep her sheltered from this dangerous scam. The Russo incident had seriously shaken Cap, even if he was loathe to admit it. 

Taking a deep breath, Jericho crossed the bar, cutting through the dancing crowds to where the younger Hardy was on his hands and knees under a table. He grabbed him by the collar and hauled him to his feet. "Looking to get your ass kicked?" 

"Er no," Jeff replied. "I lost something. Do you mind not wrinkling the uniform?" 

"Well, I got something else for you to find." Jericho hissed, tightening his fingers around the boy's neck until Jeff started to wheeze. "Your teeth. Here's a hint. In about five seconds, they won't be in that big mouth of yours!" 

"What the hell is your problem?" Jeff gasped out. 

"Don't you think I know what you're trying to do to Stephanie?" Chris demanded, fighting the instinct to let the kid breathe. "I'm spying on everything she does, you idiot! Do you really think I'm faking? Do you?" He clamped his fingers even tighter, like a vise, until Ensign Hardy's legs started to kick and squirm in his vain efforts to inhale. 

Jeff managed a nod. He couldn't help it if he was naturally honest. 

"Shane told me that if you gave me a reason, I should just kick your scrawny ass." Chris smirked. "Do you think Steph will go running to Shane and tell her I'm some kind of double agent? Do you think Shane will believe anything that comes from you or that pig brother of yours? All you'll do is get Stephanie killed on the spot, because she meddled in her big brother's affairs!" 

"I see." Even though his lips were going numb and turning blue, Jeff managed to smile. "By kicking my ass, you spare your true love. Then by all means, let's get this party started." 

_ True love? What the f- _Jericho had never been quite this blinded by anger before, so when he snapped out of it, he was genuinely shocked to see his friend Jeff lying in a broken heap six feet away from him, real pain twisting his features. Lita was kneeling beside him. 

Chris felt deeply ashamed of himself, suddenly realizing what human beings meant when they said the truth hurt, though Jeff hadn't really spoken the truth, it was just that......he refused to let his mind wander there. 

Jericho walked over to them, knowing he couldn't let up now, even if the guilt was almost too heavy a burden to bear. It took major damage to make a pain-resistant Aerialian wince. 

"I wouldn't pity him if I were you, Red." Jericho stared remorselessly into her blazing eyes. "Trish can kiss it and make it better. They share a special bond, since she took his innocence and all." 

And then the robot left, not bothering to look at the damage he'd left in his wake. 

_ They'll all forgive me, they'll all understand in the end...._

Right. And maybe if he kept repeating that to himself, he might almost believe it..... 

*** SICKBAY 

"Er, sir, I found part of what you were looking for." Maven said anxiously, holding the wriggling scorpion at arm's length across the bio-bed. "But I thought Rock said he dropped the People's Elbow on it." 

Taker looked up as he calibrated the diagnostic intruments that arched over the bio-bed. "You got a lot to learn, boy. Rock's got all the fighting skills of the Easter Bunny. He couldn't break an egg shell with that pathetic move." 

Maven was relieved when the dead man took the poisonous creature from his grasp and stared at it curiously. Then, without blinking, Dr. Taker dropped it on the floor, watched it get it's bearings, and dropped his big black leather boot on it. "Get rid of it." 

Maven shuddered and was about to reach for this distasteful little corpse, when Ensign Matt hurried in, supporting his kid brother, who was doubled over in agony. For just a brief sliver or a second, the civilian was certain Taker was envisioning Rock at his most flippant as he squashed that scorpion. 

"I honestly thought he was fine when Lita brought him back to our room." Matt was babbling, his words tripping clumsily over each other. "Jericho broke one of his ribs, but usually they heal in a couple hours, but then he falls on his bed and starts writhing around in pain and coughing up blood-" 

"Shut your mouth." Taker said calmly, as Jeff unceremoniously sprawled out on the bio-bed. The dead man stuck a hypospray in his skinny arm and the boy relaxed immediately, that is, until he saw what Maven was about to throw in the trash. 

"You found my pet scorpion!" Jeff said groggily. "Who murdered him! I demand an autopsy!" 

"That was yours?" Taker asked, opening a cabinet and pulling out a much longer, sharper needle. "Damn shame that was, he accidentally walked under my boot." 

"Shoot." Jeff was slurring his words badly. "I'd almost trained him to bite Matt too." 

"Here's hoping the cure hurts more than the injury." Matt said, glaring down at his goofily grinning brother. 

The Dead Man carefully selected the sharpest scalpel he could find, one that could melt mortal skin like butter. "Don't you worry about a thing, Ensign. I'll take care of your brother just fine." 

*** 

CAPTAIN McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Come!" Captain McMahon called out as the chimes on his door rang. He smiled when he saw who entered, "Lt Commander Jericho. Is everything ready?" 

"Yeah, Vinnie-mac," Jericho began. McMahon stared at the Y2J Unit, noticing he seemed somewhat distressed... if androids got distressed. 

"What is it, Lt. Commander?" 

"Well, by now you've heard that Ensign Hardy is in Sickbay," Jericho said. McMahon nodded, "I'M the one who put him there. He started spewing some lame-ass theories about me being a double-agent," Lt. Cmdr Jericho shrugged, "Ok, they weren't so lame-ass, but I had to stop him before Shane heard and grew suspicious," 

"Understood. You will be exempt from any punishment!" 

"But that's the thing," Jericho started, "I shouldn't be--" 

"Come on now, Lt. Commander!" McMahon interrupted, "Do you think your friends will still be angry at you after they find out you SAVED the entire ship?!" 

Jericho opened his mouth to reply, then paused. _Would _his friends forgive him that easily? "Well..." he started hesitantly. '_Well, they WOULD understand, right?' _Jericho thought. 

Of course, IF the Lt. Cmdr. knew what Dr. Taker was doing to Jeff in Sickbay, he would not have been so optimistic. 

Captain McMahon continued, "They should be HONOURED that you would go to such lengths to protect them from a hostile takeover! You will be a ROLE-MODEL to WrestleFleet officers everywhere! A HERO! A PARAGON OF VIRTUE!" Captain McMahon then winked, "AND... I was keeping this a secret, but...." he smiled, "You will be promoted to COMMANDER and take Shane's place by my side as my First Officer!" 

"First Officer?" Jericho repeated, not quite believing it. Could it be? After all his hard work! After everything he had gone through, was he finally going to get that big push? Jericho's good mood quickly faltered as a disturbing thought came to him, "But guys like Austin, Rock -- they'll question my promotion! They'll try and challenge my authority, they'll--" 

"As far as I'm concerned," McMahon interrupted, "Your promotion will be UNDISPUTED! I will ignore any questions or comments about it. If Rock and Austin don't like it, they will answer to ME! THEY are not the ones risking everything to save my ship!" The Captain replied. 

Jericho smiled somewhat smugly, feeling a bit braver now, "Well... I guess if you put it that way--" 

"That's it!" McMahon said happily as he noticed the change in Jericho's demeanor, "THAT'S the attitude I want from my First Officer!" he pat Jericho on the shoulder, "Now contniue on with our plans. I will make preperations with security! Good luck... COMMANDER!" 

"Thanks, Junior!" Jericho replied, and quickly headed out to finish his assignment once and for all! 

McMahon smirked. Some officers were easy to manipulate ... but others officers, like Jericho, just wanted a little respect and acknowledgement. 

Of course, the Y2J Unit need never know that Vince had NO respect for his officers - minus a certain doctor - no matter HOW many times they saved the ship. 

*** COUNSELLOR SNOW'S OFFICE 

"Just try and relax, Maven." Al Snow hastily handed the trembling young man a cool glass of water and then sank into a big leather chair, looking pensive as he tried to process the jumbled story that had spilled out of his protege. 

"I-I wasn't supposed to see it!" Maven cried out. "God, why did I have to hang around like I did? I'm usually so squeamish, but I-" 

He shook his smooth shaved head as if to clear the dark cloud away, but it hung too heavily on his mind. It wasn't so much the brutality and ruthlessness of the act, although it was the worst thing Maven had ever seen one man to do to another. The dead man had been so casual in his butchering, hurting and scarring as casually as one might discuss the weather. 

"Why was he so angry at Rock? Why didn't he just take it out on him?" 

Al frowned. "Lt. Commander Rock shouldn't have gone there on the mickey mouse tattoos. As usual, his lack of professionalism causes some kind of horrible chain reaction." 

"I did notice that Dr. Taker has a name tattooed across his throat." Maven said, glad to shift to a slightly more harmless topic. "What's up with that." 

"I can't say." Snow answered, recalling the tormented tale that had been told to him in a moment of despair and weakness, a weakness the dead man would never cop to. "But I fully understand the kind of demons mocking his tattoos could unleash, even if Rock didn't mean it that way. Unfortunately, Taker found himself a victim of opportunity to vent on." 

"I should have been quicker about getting rid of that scorpion." Maven said with a haunted look in his eye. "Why can't I just follow orders?" 

Al felt a sharp pang of guilt. Being on the Titanprize was supposed to be a wonderful learning experience for Maven, an experience Al had created for him. Instead, the young man was embroiled in a moral dilemma that basically amounted to a lose-lose situation. Ratting out superior officers who even Vince deferred to was career suicide, and Snow wanted Maven to excel. 

It was awful enough Snow had dragged him aboard a ship that was stranded in the middle of nowhere; but the therapist felt he had no easy answers to offer. When someone looked up to you the way Maven looked up to him, you owed them much more. 

"The worst part is, I wouldn't tell just to save my own skin." Maven was saying. "I don't want Taker to catch me alone." 

"Listen." Al said philosophically, settling back in his chair. "Jeff is still alive, and it's all the robot's fault. Jericho is the one who sent him there. I fear the android is becoming so violent I may have to recommend him being shut off…" 

"Sell out Jericho but not the doctor?" Maven demanded. "I don't understand, sir. Y2J is merely a machine and can't be held responsible." 

"Merely a machine." Snow chuckled, but did not explain his mirth to the civilian. "One of the first lessons you need to learn is nothing is black and white, son. It's easy to make a robot the scapegoat, but the Dead man is a whole other can of worms, one I recommend you don't open." 

"He performed an unnecessary operation without sedating or numbing the patient." Maven protested. "I know Aerialians handle pain well, but he cut Ensign Hardy so he'll be in pain for the rest of his life. He found it amusing!" 

The counselour sighed. He would be a horrible role model if he condoned Taker's behavior, and Maven would be torn up with his little secret unless something was done. "I'll pass this along to Lt. Commander Rock, Maven. Captain McMahon values his opinion, and then Taker will turn a hypospray sideways and shove it up his candy ass." 

"All these crazy angles…" Maven shook his head. 

"You'll have to excuse me now, son." Snow found opened his desk and removed his padd. "I have a substance abuse session with Stone Cold coming up…er…pretend I didn't say that, why don't you?" 

"What?" 

Al groaned. "And PLEASE don't do THAT again!"   
  
  
  


*** SHANE McMAHON'S OFFICE 

"You claim that Heyman is plotting against me, Lt. Commander? Prove it!" Shane demanded. "I want proof, and I want it now!" 

Jericho nodded, "I have the proof, Commander. I overheard Heyman and his boys speaking in the Smackdown," Jericho pulled out a small silver disc and handed it to Shane. "Listen to it, and decide for yourself," 

Shane frowned, but grabbed the disc from Jericho. He placed it in the console on the wall beside his desk, and played it. 

**Rhyno:** _The Commander ain't all there! How long 'till you run this ship, Pauly?_   
**Heyman**: _Sit tight, boys. Patience is indeed a virtue. My time will come._   
**RVD**: _Taking over the ship is cool._   
**Dreamer**: _It's about time some of us got ahead!_   
**Heyman**: _I'm messing with the Commander's mind, boys. He trusts me. Little does the young Commander know I'm taking over the ship. I've been overlooked too long! I've no patience for waiting. We're in the midsts of a new era! The era when all us underdogs get our just due!_

Shane eyes went wide as he heard the voices of the Extremers. Jericho was right! Heyman WAS plotting against him. 

It was time Heyman learned that you DON'T cross the boss! 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – SICKBAY- THE MORGUE 

Shivering, Maven kept his eyes directed at the morbid chemicals lining the cold metal shelves, silently counting their numbers. He tried to keep Counselor Snow's promises echoing in his head, but they rung hollow in this chill icebox that held only one escape: past the Dead Man. Even though the ghoulish Dr. Piro also kept the night watch, the custodian's pulse leapt madly everytime he heard a creak or scrape. 

Why had he confessed? Taker seemed happy to wallow in his sick crimes, but surely he felt the janitor's presence as he sliced up the Aerialian. Maven felt his blood turn slick and icy as he strained to remember whether those gray eyes had sought him out- 

Suddenly a body slumped at his feet like a limp boneless sack. Maven jumped away, revulsed, wondering stupidly why he hadn't heard the door fly open. 

"Don't you be worrying about zipping that one up, boy. He'll live. He'll just wish he hadn't." 

Rock! The Maivian laid lifeless and twisted before him, a crimson stain on the back of his head. A steel pipe with a matching red gouge in it clattered to the glistening floor. 

Taker laughed, a rasping, joyless thing that left plumes of white smoke in the crisp air. "You ever hear of survival of the fittest, punk?" 

Maven realized he was about to learn a whole other meaning as clammy bloodless fingers clased his neck and lifted him four feet in the air. 

"This here's my yard. I'm the big dog that runs the yard. You're just the little rat. You see where this is headed?" 

As the first blow landed with a sickening crunch against his jaw and darkness hovered, Maven held onto one single thought like it was strand of light. 

_ Al Snow was going to teach him how to fight!_

*** 

HEYMAN'S QUARTERS 

Paul Heyman and his fellow extremers, Dreamer, Rhyno, and RVD, were hanging out in his quarters, going over what they would do once Shane gave them high ranks on the Titanprize. Well, all except RVD, who still seemed to think this whole 'take-over' thing wasn't as cool as it once was. 

"To Shane McMahon and Titanprize Domination, my friends!" Heyman toasted as he held up a beer stolen from Lt. Commander Austin's personal stash 

"To Titanprize domination!" Rhyno and Dreamer repeated, and guzzled their Stevewisers eagerly. 

"Titanprize domination?" a voice shouted angrily. The ECW group turned to the sound of the voice. Commander Shane McMahon had barged into Heyman's quarters, the door having been forcibly opened by Lt. Commander Jericho, who stood glowering behind his Commander. Shane held a phaser at Heyman and his fellow Extremers, "You're NOT taking this ship! NO ONE crosses me, Pauly! You got that? NO ONE!" 

"Shane," Heyman began quietly, trying to defuse the situation as he held his hands in front of him in a gesture of peace, "Calm down, sir! We're NOT plotting against you!" 

"LIAR!" Shane snapped, his eyes wild, "I heard you! I heard your conversation! '_I'm messing with the Commander's mind, boys. He trusts me. Little does the young Commander know I'm taking over the ship'._ That's what you said in the Smackdown! I have PROOF!" 

"Proof?" Heyman asked, obviously baffled at the accusation. 

Shane nodded to Jericho, who pressed a button on his padd and played the edited recording the Y2J Unit had worked so hard to make. 

"That's NOT what we were saying, Shane-o!" Heyman started, "That recording has been ALTERED!" He looked at Lt. Commander Jericho, and narrowed his eyes, finally putting the pieces together, "You want to find a traitor? Perhaps you should look behind you!" 

"Why? The traitor is right here! It's YOU! How DARE you! I'M the one who's been doing the planning! I'M the one who's been messing with my pop's mind! I'M the one who will take over this ship, damnit! ME! Shane McMahon! And if you think you're going to take all my planning and pull the rug out from under me, you're WRONG!" 

"Thank you for that lovely admission, Commander," Lt. Commander Jericho spoke up. 

Shane spun around to glare at the Y2J Unit, "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. 

"Got it, Vinnie-mac?" Jericho asked the thin air. 

"Got it, Lt. Commander Jericho," Captain McMahon's voice came through Jericho's open comm, "And I have Molly ready to transport it to WrestleFleet headquarters at this very moment!" 

"I TOLD you, damnit!" Heyman snapped at Shane, "I TOLD you it was him!" 

"What?" Shane now stared dumbfounded at Jericho, "You... and my DAD? You were... WORKING together? Impossible! I reprogramed you!" 

"Did you now?" Jericho asked, "You never quite got the job done. Probably because you SUCK when it comes to computers, Junior!" Jericho tapped his skull, "It'll take more then a little tampering to reprogram THIS beautiful brain!" he smirked, "You can't break through my new and improved Walls defenses. I remember a little group called DX trying to reprogram me about a year or so back. It didn't work then either," 

"Damn you!" Shane snapped, "DAMN YOU!" Shane's hands shook visibly, his trigger finger twitching. 

Suddenly, the doors to Heyman's quarters burst open and Lieutenants Bradshaw and Farooq grabbed Shane, forcing the phaser out of his hand, and dragged him to the brig. The Captain would decide punishment at a later date. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – THE SMACKDOWN 

"I suppose you'd like another tea, Commissioner Regal?" Terri asked with a roll of her eyes, as she brought an old fashioned kettle over to where the Brit sat, pouring over a stack of padds. These Englishmen were certainly predictable and boring. 

No wait, SHE was boring. After all, anything Jericho said was UNDISPUTED. 

Regal sniffed at it. "This is as weak as Ensign Palumbo's wrist." 

"Perhaps I didn't keep it over the _flame_ long enough." she retorted. "What are you doing anyways?" 

"As if it's some bloody tart's business." Still, William liked the sound of his own voice. "I fear it's that tiresome time of year again. Time to start considering applicants for a lieutenant's star." 

"Why isn't Ensign Tajiri helping you?" 

"Too busy with that Wilson wench." Regal said with disgust. "A true gentlemen would only worship the Queen of England, but I suppose a right good flogging will set the lad straight." 

"Who are the front runners" Terri asked. A juicy bit of gossip to spread always kept people flocking to the bar and buying that extra drink. 

"I haven't even administered any tests or put the little ruffians through their paces." William said. "Edge and Christian's ancestors did serve royalty nobly, so I might consider it. Rob Van Dam is a crack pilot who can thread the eye of a needle with a ship, so I musn't weed him out." 

"He is good." Terri mused. "You'd be a dope to reject him right away." 

"Ensign Angle is a superior athlete who wears the gold." Regal went on. "But give a bloody Yank a mile, and he'll demand a light year. Uncouth colonist ingrates!" 

"I happen to be a yank." Terri said coldly. "And why aren't you taking part in Jericho's promotion ceremony?" 

Strangely enough, most of Chris's supposed friends were dutifully ignoring Captain McMahon as he pinned another star to the android's collar. Only Christian and Lance Storm and Kurt seemed to offer half hearted applause near the stage. 

"I rubber stamped it." William said haughtily. "If you ask me, there's something just a touch eerie about treating a machine like a human being. Besides, I find such arrogance in a bridge officer a trifle maddening." 

Terri rolled her eyes. Jericho did look mighty handome up there in his new scarlet dress uniform, his blonde hair braided in a way that seemed to highlight the flawlessly sculpted angles of his face, and unfortunately, a full-lipped smirk. She noticed, too, that a certain Chief of Engineers seemed to be struggling to avert her eyes. 

The android stepped down off the stage after accepting the warm congratulations of Vince and walked over to where his best friends sat, all brooding over synthehols. 

"Cheer up, Princess. That's an order from your undisputedly _superior_ officer." 

Stephanie took a deep breath and turned to face him. Good thing she was sitting, she thought, the drink made her knees a bit wobbly…and her face flushed, not to mention her stomach seemed to be a tad fluttery…"May I respectfully suggest you take an undisputed long walk off an undisputedly short pier, sir?" 

The smirk softened slightly. "Don't be such a child, sweetie. Don't you appreciate the heroic lengths I went to in order to protect your sizeable behind?" 

"Didn't you tell me just yesterday all my extra weight had migrated north?" she asked with a frown. "You're slipping, Chrissie." 

"Stephanie, please-" 

"And aren't I a child to you and Daddy?" Steph continued. "I killed Vince Russo and still you shelter me. You lie to me. Only Shane could turn you into something so low and slimy." 

Jericho's face hardened. _She _was the one person who knew him! Didn't she know better than this? "Fine. I order you Aerialians to stand up, look your superior officer in the eye, and salute him. Now!" 

"I hope your power trip has a one way ticket." Lita said coldly, standing up and splashing her drink in his eyes. "We'll chat later, Steph." 

"I guess those night long games of musical Hardyz makes her cranky." Jericho remarked. Sure, he was being immature, but so were they! They were the ones who believed nothing could alter his gorgeous programming! 

"Why don't you go choke on some humble pie, sir?" Matt asked quietly, brushing past him on his way after Lita. 

"Humble," Chris repeated incredulously. "Humble? I'm an invaluable scientific miracle with the strength of 100 crewmembers and the wisdom of an entire planet. I am insufferably humble." 

"Just insufferable." Jeff waited until the 'bot had wiped his eyes clear and then flung his stinging liquid into his, flinching slightly as he did so. Jericho flinched inside, wishing he could take the pain he'd caused for Jeff as his own. 

"Please Stephie, don't keep me in suspense here." 

She smiled and picked up her tall frosted glass. "Engineering will feel a hell of a lot less suffocating without your ego weighing us all down, Chris." Stephanie stood, running her finger lightly over his new star. "Oh, and I'm a lot more creative than my Aerialian friends, dearest." 

Without another word, she spilled the contents of her glass down his collar, watching as the cold syntheol darkened the front of his precious uniform. "Consider our fighting lessons cancelled. I'll find someone with _honor_ to show me how to protect myself." 

Instinctively, the android's hand reached up to his chest, feeling the frigid wetness. A vaguely sad thought flitted across his positronic net. 

_ I hope nothing's broken…_


	92. Season 10 Episode 6 Memories

**TITANPRIZE:**   
**VOYAGERS**   


**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 6: MEMORIES**

By: Elektra and X_C 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Jericho (Unit Y2J)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 01120.01. I have spoken to Dr. Taker about his behaviour regarding Lt. Commander Rock, and Custodian Maven. I have also spoken to him about his blantant unprofessionlism regarding Ensign Jeff Hardy. He listened to my words with an amused smirk on his face, explaining that he was merely showing Rock, Maven, and Hardy how to RESPECT him. I fear Dr. Taker is veering out of control. Even Nurse Bearer cannot seem to handle the man. I can't help but feel this has happened before. That Dr. Taker has a history of unprovoked violence..." McMahon shook his head, "I wonder who could possibly reign him in..." 

McMahon looked at the clock on his desk. 14:00h. It was time for the weekly meeting. He quickly ended his log, and headed out. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE – DECK 17 – CONFERENCE ROOM 

The polished marble weathered phaser burns, jagged cracks, deep, slashing cuts, and chipping by lead pipe and steel chair. It was amazing that most senior staff meetings didn't report more casualities. 

Nobody here much liked each other. Old grudges died hard and took a few people down with them. Hostile, suspicious stares snuck back and forth. No one let their hand stray far from a weapon. 

"Remorseless pig." The Chief of Engineers muttered under her breath, taking her seat. 

"Scuzzy slut." First Officer Chris Jericho said cheerfully. 

Stephanie's eyes bored into him like two hot blue lazers. They only seemed to fuel the smirk on his face. 

The Captain stifled a sigh. He was so disappointed in his daughter. Stephie sat across from a hero, a model officer, and she treated him as crudely as a clumsy cadet. She'd never been a shrewd judge of character; smart girls didn't marry leeching apes like Hunter Hearst Helmsley. 

Dr. Taker sat at the other end of the table, his lips twisted in detached amusement at god only knew what. Everyone carefully looked at points unknown around him, and Vince didn't blame them. You only looked into those bottomless pit-eyes once and then never again. A mere glance drew out the ghosts hidden in your brain. 

McMahon still felt rubbed raw by the scolding he'd given to the chief medical officer. The dark doctor hadn't uttered a damn word, but the captain knew he was being laughed at, knew the dead man would cut open any ensign he pleased, keeping them awake while he sliced away just for kicks and giggles. Taker would beat respect and vengeance into civilians and lieutenant commanders alike at his leisure. Vince could swallow it smooth or choke on it. 

The Dead Man didn't care. 

The doors swooshed open and the Communications Chief strolled in, five minutes late. 

"_Tick tock_, Crock, _tick tock_. " Y2J said mockingly. "My time is too valuable to waste waiting on a prima donna like you." 

"The-" Rock paused. "I apologize, Commander. It won't happen again." 

Even Kane was stunned into speaking. "Don't you mean, _The Rock_ apologizes?" he asked gravely. 

"Where in the bl-blessed lord were you raised, you big red retard?" The Maivian said peevishly. "Good grammer is no joke." 

"Bravo." Regal offered a polite golf clap. 

"Er, before we all give our section reports and short lists of potential lieutenants, let's have some refreshments." It was McMahon's experience that men rarely argued when slightly buzzed. "Terri?" 

"Beer!" Austin bellowed at the chief of bartenders. "What? I said get me a damn beer woman!" 

Terri's eyes narrowed as she moved onto Rock. "Sir?" 

"Why don't you walk on over to that replicator there and get the- me, a nice big glass of….." 

Terri sucked in her breath. _Don't even….._

"…of orange juice." Rock smiled pleasantly. 

Vince coughed. "Uh, I assume you're fully recovered from your unfortunate head injury, Lt. Commander?" 

"Only man I ever met with a blank catscan." Taker said softly. Contemptuous snickers made the rounds; even Stephanie and the robot chuckled. 

"I'm ready to assume my role at the comm." Rock kept his gaze on the captain. "Which I know very well." 

McMahon blinked. He was lost in this sea of _first person_ speech. "Do you remember how we were going to discuss improving the Titanprize's initial hails to alien ships out here in deep space? Perhaps it would be more tactful not to refer to new species as "jabronis" and "hermies." 

"Ja-what?" Rock snorted. "Hermies? What? Which juvenile ensign has sullied the good name of Wrestlefleet with such grade school stupidity? I'll lay-" 

The other senior officers were exchanging wide-eyed expressions and murmuring among themselves. Didn't they agree such an Ensign should be punished? 

"I'll lay a demotion on their permanent record so fast their heads will spin!" The People's Lt. Commander declared. 

"I think we'll postpone this meeting until tomorrow." Vince said hastily, gathering up the stack of padds in front of him. "Report to Dr. Piro immediately for a follow-up check-up, Rocky. Get some rest." 

"What do you make of that?" Stephanie whispered, dazed as she and Jericho squeezed through the door together. 

"What do I make of that?" Chris said, arching an eyebrow. "I make that we should find the lead pipe the good doctor Taker bashed Rock over his thick skull with, dip it in holy water, and put it on an altar to worship at. That thing has wrought an undisputed miracle!" 

"Dr. Taker?" Stephanie echoed. "Are you nuts? He heals people. He doesn't bitch slap them with blunt objects." 

Jericho laughed, a laugh that cut through her. "He's a sick puppy, little one. Doesn't your father ever share anything with you?' 

Stephanie's ears burned as the android walked away, still relishing his quaint little joke. _Oh I get it, Chris, I get it loud and clear_. 

Her dear old daddy has just replaced one slimy weasel with another and left his baby girl out in the cold! 

Dr. Taker offered Stephanie a cold smile as he walked past her. She shivered under his gaze. Yes, the dark doctor DID creep her out... but was the man really as sick as Jericho claimed he was? Stephanie refused to believe it. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER'S QUARTERS (2 hous later) 

"Chief Medical Officer's personal log, stardate 112220.01 Prior to our weekly meeting, McMahon took it upon himself to reprimand me for operating on young Ensign Jeff Hardy without anethesia. Of course, not much Vince could do about it. The Titanprize is _my_ yard, and McMahon knows that. I just LET him command it," Dr. Taker smiled coldly, "That punk Maven, and Lt. Commander Rock paid for sticking their noses in my business. I wonder if THEY were watching - the ones who pretend to spy on me every so often. Stupid sons of bitches. They probably already regret giving me my little 'gifts' when I returned to my... what the hell did they call it? My 'mortal soil'?" 

Taker fingered the tattoo across his throat. Four letters that had meant something to him... once, "Sometimes I wonder if those gifts were more of a curse," he spoke, "Ain't never done me a damn bit of good. Not where SHE was concerned anyway..." he stopped, and quickly deleted the last paragraph. It would do no good for anyone to see that should they accidentally hack into his private logs. He didn't know who'd be stupid enough to tempt his wrath, but one could never be sure. 

"End log..." 

Dr. Taker sat on his couch, and allowed his thoughts to travel. 

And travel they did. To the day he first met HER... 

*** 

PLANET DAYTROAIT, MISHOGUN CLINIC - 14 YEARS AGO 

Stardate: 112219.87 

"Emergency patient, Doc," A young intern known as Ro spoke as he lead Dr. U. Taker behind the curtains in the emergency room. A girl lay on a gurny unconscious. She looked to be in her twenties. Only a few years younger then Dr. Taker. 

"What happened?" Taker asked in his usual dark tones. 

"Mugging," Ro spoke, "Broken arm. Nasty little bump on the head..." 

"Simple injuries. Couldn't you have taken care of it, boy?" Taker asked, then noticed that even in her unconsious state, the woman's face still contorted in pain, "Never hear of pain killers, Ro?" Taker asked 

"Sorry, sir... I... I didn't think of it..." Ro replied. 

Dr. Taker studied Ro. There was something about this young intern that just didn't sit right with Taker. First rule in WrestleFleet medical -- make your patients as comfortable as possible! Ro seemed to enjoy watching his patients suffer. 

Although Taker would admit he took pleasure in such a thing himself once in a while. He wondered if the boy was more like him then he wanted to admit. "Move your stank ass and get me a damn hypospray, son!" 

"Yes sir!" Ro replied, and headed off to get the pain killer. The intern seemed to take his time looking through the various hyposprays, but eventually found the one he was looking for and handed it to the doctor. Taker entered the drug into the woman's system. She looked less pained now. Taker set her arm and took care of the ugly bruises that had blossomed over her otherwise pleasant face. He then headed back to his desk to go through the various files that he had yet to open. 

Now where had that emergency patient's file gone to? 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – THE SMACKDOWN (PRESENT STARDATE) 

"Where in the name of awesomeness were you this afternoon, dear brother?" Oh yes, the big ass sunglasses were gone; Christian wanted Edge to see the fury blazing in his greenish eyes. "Two o'clock? Holodeck 9? I left the message pinned to your mirror where you SO could not miss it!" 

"I'm good enough to speak to now, eh?" Edge said mildly. "Now that Heyman is reeking of criminality? Now that Shane O'Mac has been demoted lower than Stephanie McMahon's panties on a Friday night? I'm flattered." 

"Blood is thicker than water." Christian said haughtily, slamming his syntheol on the table so foam dribbled onto Edge's scattering of ponderous looking Wrestlefleet tomes. 

"And your skull." Edge muttered, snatching his books out of the flood. "I didn't see any note because I combed my hair in the shower and didn't check the mirror before I left, okay? What's your damage?" 

Didn't check the mirror? Had the Edgester been dipping into RVD's locker? "My damage?" The younger Kanatian bit his trembling lower lip. "My DAMAGE? I wanted my big brother to play hockey with me! Why don't you like me anymore?" 

"Like you?" Edge hissed. "My god, who do you think pulled your bacon out of the fire? Have you gone totally toolshed? Can you possibly even comprehend the alibis I had to invent to keep your butt out of jail?" 

"You owed me that much." Christian said insolently. Ever since Captain McMahon had announced there would be a single lieutenants star up for grabs, Edge had stuck his pointy nose in his books and never looked up. He didn't even stand up for poor, persecuted Christian when people spread ugly rumors that he was a traitor! 

"I think I've paid in full." Edge said coldly. He made a point of checking his watch. "Oops, you're fifteen minutes of fame as Edge's brother has just run out. Bug off. I need this promotion to get our family's honour back." 

"Our honourable family consisted of serving wenches and fools in some royal reekazoid's court, bro!" Christian smoldered with quiet rage. "Or do you only recall that phony sissified little tiara you pranced around with? _King _Edge!" 

The elder brother ignored his sibling's sneer. "Why are you wasting time here, Christian? Shane's successor is on the Bridge. Better get some extra lip gloss for that frosty titanium ass of Jericho's." 

Impulsively, Christian reached out and sprayed his brother's padds and pages all over the carpeting. "Ha!" 

Edge calmly pretended his kid brother hadn't just done that. They were already getting enough furtive stares without him taking this childish bait. 

"Pay attention to me!" Christian stomped one foot on the floor, pouting. "All you care about is your stupid career! What about me! I'm more important! Me, me, ME!" 

Edge's face paled. What was this totally uncool heinosity? Other ensigns, even those drunken Nytron scumsuckers, were pointing and giggling. Christian was jumping up and done in a full blown tempremental body heave. "Stop it! You're a Wrestlefleet officer! You're embarrassing us!" 

"I-don't-care!" Dear sweet awesomeness, did his thumb just slip into his mouth? "They always look at you! Edge is the center of the universe! Edge is so popular, handsome, and chairalicious! Edge, Edge, Edge! I hate you! I wish you were never born!" 

"Don't make me take you over my knee!" Oh lord, what was he saying? 

"I wanna be the favourite!" Christian wailed. "I want the shiny star! If you don't let me be lieutenant, I'll, I'll-I WILL QUIT!" 

Edge looked down at his brother with a mixture of pity and horror as he hastily scooped up his study materials. He couldn't be associated with this! Spearing his way through the laughing, dancing, mocking crowd, the Kanatian felt hot tears stinging his eyes. They were all jeering at his baby brother and he hated it, but- 

"Watch where the bloody hell you're going, lad!" 

Too late, Edge stumbled clumsily into Personnel Commish Regal full force, a sickening crunch filling the space between them as a padd collided with the Brit's ample sniffer. 

"Reprimand me later, dude." Edge said impatiently. "I have got to get out of here!" 

"Pardon me?" William smartly unfolded the silk kerchief he kept nattily tucked in a suit pocket and caught the blood pouring from his nose. "Why does it not surprise me that the bastard children of England have no couth? This is why we sent you Kanatians to your own little galaxy. You have all the manners of a brain-damaged farm goat!" 

"Uhhh…" Edge furrowed his brow. "I guess I could….help you here if you'd…you know…speak English…or something?" 

"How dare you mock the Queen's tongue!" Regal roared. 

"Hey," Edge held his hands up in a gesture of appeasement. "What you and the Queen do in your spare time is your own business!" 

"She is a lady beyond reproach!" The commissioner retorted, cheeks on fire. "You'll report to my office at 0500 hours tomorrow and be my new gopher. I need an Ensign who will put his nose to the grindstone, or in your case, it looks like your teeth could use a right proper whittling down!" 

Well, well, well, Mister Regal had just crossed the line no man crossed with Ensign Edge. "If I wanted to lose some teeth, I might consider adopting English standards of dental hygiene." 

"Bloody fool." William's voice became chillingly quiet as he removed the sticky napkin from his broken nose. An odd glaze coated his eyes. "I must warn you, Master Edge, that you're about to wake a very angry beast. My British ancestors were warriors and savages when the curtain of civility was raised. It is unwise to poke an enraged animal, for he shall most certainly bite." 

"Did you get a hold of some bad clotted cream, sconehead?" 

"You're merely a boy, sunshine. No real man would throw the gauntlet down before an opponent they could not defeat." 

"I'm sure you intimidate the sheep you shag, but not _moi,_" Edge pushed past the bleeding commissioner and fled from the sound of his brother's sobs. 

Regal could not flee from the crude cackling of the APA, who were clinking their beer bottles together in celebration of Edge's obscene joke. 

Vengeance, William decided, was best served in the form of a cold hard knuckle sandwich! 

The coppery taste in his mouth reminded Regal he would need to seek the services of Dr. Taker, a kindred spirit who understood the pleasures of disciplining ensigns at the scalpel's edge, if Vince's mutterings could be believed….. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY 

Taker eyed the scalpel in his hand. He looked across the room at Dr. Piro, who was tending to an ex-Nytron. How he longed to drive that scalpel into the skeletal doctor's chest... 

"Hello?" a voice called out as it entered Sickbay. It was Personnel Commissioner Regal, "Dr. Taker? If you don't mind... I have an emergency that needs tending too..." 

Dr. Taker sighed. Everyone always seemed to have an emergency... everyone... 

*** 

PLANET DAYTROAIT, MISHOGUN CLINIC - STARDATE: 112219.87 

"Hello?" a quiet voice croaked. Dr. Taker didn't bother looking up at the sound. The voice grew slightly louder, "Hello? Doc?" 

Dr. Taker sighed and turned around to see his emergency patient standing a few feet away, her arm in a sling, "What is it?" he snapped. 

"Are you the doctor here?" she asked. 

"What do YOU think?" he replied with a frown, "You think I just sit here and go through files for no damn reason?" he indicated his desk and the stack of paperwork that sat on top of it. 

"Well, excuse me!" She replied, annoyed, "Not exactly the best beside manner you got there, doc," she muttered. "I don't suppose MY file is there? Under _C_? My first name is Sara," 

"I have other files to go through now. Get back to your cubicle and I'll get to you when I'm ready," he replied, then turned back to his desk. 

Sara didn't budge, "Listen, doc. I'm in a rush here. And since I seem to be the only patient actually AWAKE, can you fill me in on what the heck happened to me?" 

"Mugging," was all Dr. Taker said. 

"I KNOW that. Bastard took my WALLET! What happened _injury_-wise? Broken arm, obviously, but anything else? I have a headache. Concussion?" 

"If headache automatically equalled _concussion, _I'd be brain-damaged right now! Get back to your cubicle!" Dr. Taker wasn't used to people ignoring his orders. Once he gave them, he expected them to be obeyed, no questions asked. This one, however, had lots of questions. Too many questions, if you asked him. 

"What is your problem?" she asked, "You're supposed to be helping and healing, not pissing off and annoying!" 

_Annoying?_ Did this mere mortal woman DARE call HIM _annoying_?! 

Dr. Taker stood up and stalked towards her, but she stood her ground.... then the pain killer wore off and she grabbed her broken arm, her knees buckling with the pain. Taker scowled and looked around for Nurse Bearer or Ro, but neither where in sight. Taker sighed and reluctantly helped the girl back to her bed, not happy at all to make physical contact with her. This was beneath him! 

Obviously this girl would be more trouble then she was worth. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – DECK 10 – CREW'S QUARTERS (PRESENT STARDATE) 

"Bang!" 

For a surreal second, the corridor was raining padds and Wrestlefleet text books. Breathing hard, Ensign Jeff Hardy clutched at his heart to make sure it hadn't jumped out of his throat. "Damn you, Van Dam. Cut it out!" 

"What a wuss!" Rob chuckled and cocked his thumbs at the Aerialian. 

"Are you going to thumb wrestle me to death or something?" Ensign Hardy hoped RVD would get bored quickly and go away. Swallowing hard, he wondered if the hotshot pilot had seen him limping. 

"Victory ain't so sweet when you kick the crap out of someone who spends more time in the ring posing like a supermodel instead of pulling wrestling moves out of their bony ass." 

Jeff felt himself shrinking under Van Damn's withering, scornful stare. "This is an extreme hand gesture." He cocked the pointy guns at his tormenter. "Thumbs ruin the artistic flow." 

Rob shook his head in disgust. "Check this out." He dramatically turned his thumbs inward, punctuating his words with a well-placed point. "I-am-R-V-D. See how it emphasizes my greatness? Then again…" His eyes swept critically over Jeff. "You call enough attention to yourself. I'd point away." 

Ensign Hardy glowered at him. "Why are you wearing a ceremonial dagger? Are you mocking me?" 

"I'm Aerialian, dumbass." Van Damn said. "Surely you noticed that when I was pounding your face into the mat a week ago. Maybe you didn't recognize me cause I'm not from the cow pastures of Aerialia and don't go around saying 'kiss my grits y'all' and don't have that carnival freakshow hair." 

Jeff's anger was only magnified as he knew his mood-ring mop was flushing deep furious crimson. 

"Studying to be a lieutenant?" Van Dam chuckled as he strolled down the hall. "Guess you'll be doing double time under Stephanie's sheets, if she'll do it with some broken squeak toy." 

"I didn't do her!" Jeff yelled after him. "Aaaaargh!" Oh who cared anyways. People only said that to piss him off, and he played their stupid game every time. He gingerly bent over to retrieve his things, only to double over in agony. 

"Let me help you with that, Ensign." Rock smoothly began picking up the mess and sorting it all into neat piles while Jeff slowly uncoiled himself. 

"Don't you mean, "Let the Rock help your roody poo candy ass?" 

Rock sighed. "I can see Commissioner Regal will need to start giving grammar and vocabulary lessons. Listen, I'm doing a survey to see which weapons we should retain and which we should dispose of. With a coup recently thwarted by the heroic Chris Jericho, I feel it's important to arm our crew in the way that makes them most comfortable." 

"The sharpshooter sucks. It's unwieldy, ineffective, and looks just plain idiotic. Whoever uses it looks like they never handled a submission weapon before in their life." 

"I feel the youth of Wrestlefleet have a lot to offer, and I want their input." Rock handed him his padds, nodding approvingly. "Now, go on, what else do you think?" 

"Er, you want the opinion of a midcard officer?" 

"Tell the-me what you think, son." 

"I think…." Jeff paused and took a fearful step back. 

"You Aerialians are a strange lot." Rock said, amused. "Don't you Ensigns realizes you're the future of Wrestlefleet and it _does_ matter what you think?" 

"It's just that…sir, I should tell you that the scorpion that bit you was mine. I apologize. It caused a lot of trouble." 

"Nah." The comm officer waved him off. "The-I love nature, all animals, all species." 

"Especially llamas and monkey's, right?" Jeff wondered if they'd been invaded by pod people while he'd been napping. 

The Miavian looked slightly baffled. "Don't know what you crazy kids did back on that farm on Aerialia, but the-I don't have any…preferences. I haven't hit rock bottom yet! Get back to me with an opinion, please." 

"Aye, sir." 

The Rock nodded and walked on. He was somewhat surprised to find Stone Cold Steve Austin sitting on a cold, wet cooler further down the hallway, trying to cram a few six-packs into yet _another_ cooler. 

"The little woman throw you out again, Austin?" 

"What?" The Rattlesnake's eyes spat pure venom as he looked up. 

"I asked-" 

Steve sprang to his feet. "Shut up! What! Let me tell you a little story! Would you like to hear a story? What? Guess what I did today?" 

"I have no-" 

"I drank a beer. Then guess what I did." 

"Um-" 

"I drank another beer!" Austin said. "And another and another and another and what! And another! Guess what I'm gonna do now, you dumb son of a bitch?" 

Goodness. How feisty. "Drink-" 

"I am gonna drink more beer on the Bridge if I can get this damn thing packed! What? I need to stuff it full of Steveweisers. What? I've got to make the cans of alcohol conform to the square space of this here cooler. What!" 

"It's clearly very simple, Austin." Rock said calmly. Damn, didn't the man have an original catchphrase kicking around that liquor addled brain? "Take them there six packs-" 

"What?" 

"Turn them sumbitches sideways-" 

"Watch it." Steve growled. 

"Might want to shine em up reeeeal nice-" 

"What?" 

"And shove them straight-" 

"I'm warning you!" 

"Into that cooler." Rock cocked his eyebrow at the bald tactical expert. "What in the bl…blue heavens did you think I was going to say?" 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - DR. TAKER'S QUARTERS 

"Chief Medical Officer's log, stardate 112520.01. It seems Lt. Commander Rock as been acting overly polite lately -- most likely from the beating I gave his stank ass," he let out a harsh laugh, "What does Captain McMahon think of me now? Has he realized I deserve respect yet?" 

He paused. It wasn't Captain McMahon's opinion he found himself concerned about. It was HERS. 

But then, why the hell did it matter what she thought of him? She was gone! He had only wished she had been gone SOONER. He would have done well if her first visit had been her last. 

Unfortunately, the doctor had not been that lucky... 

***

PLANET DAYTROAIT, MISHOGUN CLINIC - STARDATE: 031019.87 

Dr. Taker frowned to see who had entered his clinic again. It was that same girl, Sara. Her arm was healed, but she seemed to be stepping gingerly as she walked. 

Sara smiled triumphantly as she saw him, "Got it back!" 

Dr. Taker furrowed his brow, "What the hell is your stank ass talking about?" 

Her smile didn't waver, "Got my wallet back!" 

"I don't give a damn. What the hell happened to you THIS time?" 

"Well, I had to fight to get it back!" she replied. She motioned to the cubicle beside her, surrounded by drapes, "He's in there," 

Taker raised an eyebrow, and looked in the next cubicle. Sure enough, a man lay there with a black eye, giving Ro a hard time and ranting about an insane 7-foot monster of a woman who attacked him from behind. Taker looked back to Sara. The girl was no more then 5'4! 

The dark doctor was truly amused for the first time in his grim life... but realized that this would not be the last he saw of her. And he was right. She was back a few weeks later after fighting off ANOTHER mugger and spraining her wrist in the process. Personally, Taker was getting sick of tending to her and her would-be attackers. 

Perhaps it was time the woman learned how to fight WITHOUT taking a beating in the process. 

Against his better judgment, he offered to teach her. 

**** 

"Why are you wasting your time on this?" Ro asked him a few days later when Dr. Taker had informed the intern that he would be indisposed for a few hours. 

"Do YOU want to tend to that girl day in and day out? My clinic ain't a damned hotel!" Taker replied. 

Ro raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure that's all it is?" he asked. 

Taker eyed the young intern, "And what would your stank ass be implying, son?" 

"Maybe you LIKE spending your spare time with a pretty woman?" Ro asked, "You've been alone for a long time. Now finally this spunky woman shows up who ISN'T completely repulsed by you, and you fall so easily!" He smirked, "Not that I can blame you... I wouldn't mind teaching her a few things myself..." his smirk faded, his face growing hard, "But you've gone SOFT, Taker. Soft... and WEAK!" 

That was all Dr. Taker needed to hear. He slapped Ro across the mouth and grabbed the man by the throat, "And when the hell did you become such an expert on ME, son? You don't know a damned thing!" Taker offered a cold scowl, "You have NO idea what you're dealing with, boy!" 

Ro smiled through his gasps, "But I do, don't I, doctor?" 

Taker glared into the man's eyes. What was going on here? Why was this intern as cold as death itself? If Taker didn't know any better, he would say Ro seemed downright evil. A cold, calclating mind in a human body. A mind that could destroy with a thought. Death and destruction lived in these eyes. Nothing resembling humanity, not that Dr. Taker was one to talk. He wasn't one for humanity himself. But Dr. Taker had seen this man in action. Had seen how much pleasure he took in causing undue pain to his patients. 

Of course, once in a while, Taker could be a bit vengeful himself... especially if he disliked his patient, or something else had made him angry. 

"Go on... kill me, Taker! Kill me!" Ro taunted, "Snap my neck! DO IT!" Taker squeezed tighter still... 

"Doc?" a voice called from the door. Taker turned to see Sara. She looked confused, and somewhat frightened at the scene before her, "What's going on?" she asked.. 

Taker didn't answer. He turned back to Ro, "Get the hell out of my sight!" the doctor hissed, tossing Ro aside. 

Ro jumped to his feet easily and smirked as he walked past Sara, eyeing her with great interest. For some reason, Dr. Taker didn't like that. He didn't like it at all. "I'm sure I'll see you around," Ro replied. 

Sara watched the intern leave, then turned to Taker, "What was THAT all about?" 

"Nothing!" He snapped. 

Sara put a hand up defensively, "Ok. I won't ask," 

"What do you want?" Taker demanded. 

"Umm... we had a lesson?" 

Dr. Taker took a deep breath, and reluctantly began the lesson. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – DECK 6 – COUNSELOR AL SNOW'S OFFICE (PRESENT STARDATE) 

"Counselor Snow is currently teaching a lesson now. What is the nature of your emergency, Lieutenant Commander?" Michael Cole asked politely, his lazer pen poised between his fingers. 

Rock absent-mindedly rubbed the back of his head, his fingers prodding the rigid scar under his dark hair. The last thing he remembered about that mysterious evening, before everyone started acting funny, was a sharp blow to his skull, darkness, cold…and waking up in his own bed shivering and bleeding onto a pillow. Who had just brought it to the-him? Maybe Al Snow could unlock the memories. 

"What are you staring at, Cole?" he demanded irritably. 

"Nothing!" Cole hurriedly started shuffling papers and padds, blushing hard. "I swear to god I don't find you attractive, sir!" 

Rock blinked. "I'll certainly sleep better at night…I think." _Freak_. 

The People's Comm Officer stared curiously at the door to Snow's inner sanctum. Strange noises bounced off the walls, thuds and thumps and the sounds of bodies slapping against canvas. 

"I don't mean to pry, but that's not some new form of therapy, is it?" 

"No." Cole seemed afraid to move his eyes away from the surface of his desk. "As I said, Counselor Snow is in a lesson. He's teaching Maven self–defense." A blank stare from Rock. "He's a custodian aboard the Titanprize. Got jumped in Sickbay-I-I need to know my role and shut my mouth now." 

"If you say so." The Maivian rose respectfully as Al emerged, sweaty and breathing hard. A bruised, stiff looking young man followed him, but he didn't seem unhappy to be as battered as he was. Rock felt a twinge of unease as he gazed upon that open honest face; he'd not met this Maven character before, yet somehow Rock knew he was familiar…it was the same little knot in his gut that had been tied when he'd helped Jeff….. 

It was like staring at all these crazy puzzle pieces that should fit together, but his mind couldn't arrange them….. 

"How can I help you, Lt. Commander?" Snow feared this day would come, so did the rest of the crew. "You're dismissed, Maven." 

The boy practically fled from the room, and Rock shuddered. Maven…. 

The comm chief took a deep breath. "I want to remember who bashed my skull in, Al. I want my memories back. People are treating me like I'm defective somehow. It ain't normal." 

Al nodded solemnly. He was about to walk a fine ethical line here….he was about to open the great gaping maw into catchphrase hell and release the demons. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - TAKER'S QUARTERS 

_Everyone had demons_, Taker thought... though he wondered if theirs were as close to the surface as his was. His memories haunted him. Memories he'd rather not have. Memories that ended in violence and death. 

Memories that reminded him of the one thing he wished he had not lost... 

*** 

PLANET DAYTROAIT, MISHOGUN CLINIC - STARDATE: 082219.88 

After months of training together, Taker and Sara had grown close. Closer then the doctor had been with any other living person - including his own parents and Nurse Bearer. He had become protective of her and began to realize that there was still a bit of humanity inside him. That he had not grown completely cold over the years. 

He didn't like it. 

"Doc?" Sara asked when she notice Taker had stopped walking. He seemed to be staring at her intently, as if there ws a great weight on his mind. Her voice became softer, "Doc? What's wrong?" 

Before she recieved an answer, however, a disrupter appeared beside her... held by the same mugger who had attacked her all those months ago and first brought her to Mishogun Clinic. 

"Fancy meeting you again," the man spoke, then looked at the doctor, "Now don't try anything funny! You see, me and the woman got some unfinished business here. Try anything, and she gets a lovely new facelift," the man held out his hand, "Gimme your wallet, babe. It's time you paid my hospital bills!" 

"She won't pay," Taker spoke. 

"How about you just shut up? Ain't a damn thing you can do about it anyway!" 

"Is that so?" Dr. Taker asked, and before the man could fire the disrupter, the doctor grabbed the man by the neck, lifting him off the ground. Taker narrowed his eyes, and glared at the would-be attack. "I don't suppose you want to TEST that theory... would you, little boy?" the doctor hissed coldly. "If you get off on violence, then I'm sure I could make things VERY interesting for you!" he smirked coldly. 

The man's eyes went wide with fear. The doctor wasn't kidding, and he knew it! "Wha -- what the hell! You're.... you're INSANE!" 

Taker tightened his grip around the man's neck. "You didn't answer my question! Want me to make things interesting for you? Want that I should kick your stank-ass back to Earth?" 

"No! No man! I'm sorry! I.... I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" he gasped, "I won't... I won't do nothing ever again! I'll... I'll turn myself in! I swear!" He looked at Sara pleadingly, silently begging her to do something. 

Sara smiled sweetly, "Cross your heart and hope to die?" she asked. 

He nodded, "I promise!" 

Taker looked at Sara. For some reason, she trusted that this thief would keep his word. He seemed too scared to do otherwise. Sara nodded, and Taker let the man go, pointing to the WrestleFleet-issue hovercraft down the street. The man immediately ran to it and allowed the officer inside to take him away. 

"You're suddenly my guardian angel or something?" Sara joked lightly. 

The doctor let out a harsh laugh, "Hardly! Do you see ANYTHING in me resembling an ANGEL?" he asked, "Most people see only darkness when they look at me... like your friend over there!" he indicated the mugger who had turned himself in. 

Sara grabbed his arm and forced him to face her, "I see a lot of things when I look at you. I see how much you help people despite your claims to detest it. I see how much you've been through, how you've seen places that no normal man will ever see... " Taker tried to digest her words. Odd. This woman saw him in a way he couldn't even see HIMSELF! 

He wondered if she could teach him to--- 

"So, you HAVE gone soft," a voice spoke behind Taker's back, interrupting his thoughts. Sara stared at the owner of the voice, her eyes wide with fear. Taker turned around ever so slowly, a cold, dark aura practically radiating from him. 

"Ro!" Taker hissed. 

Ro smirked, "I suppose you ARE only human after all, Taker!" He pulled out a phaser, "Let's see, shall we? Let's see if THEY gave you anything special. If THEY made you impervious to pain. What about a point-blank phaser blast to the chest? Think that'll work?" Taker's eyes went wide, which caused Ro to laugh, "You don't understand how I could possibly know, do you? Let's just say... I work for the competition!" Ro's voice became harsh, "So close. You were SO close to chosing OUR side," 

Dr. Taker had a brief memory flash: _"We will send you back with a gift. How you chose to use that gift will determine where you belong..."_

Ro was still talking, "Hell, people were even calling you SADISTIC! Your attitude went BEYOND having a terrible bedside manner. You think I haven't seen how many times you've purposely caused pain to a patient you didn't like? I thought we were on the right track -- But then... then SHE came along!" he indicated Sara, "And made you start FEELING things!" he said the word as if it was a plague, "And now, I have to get rid of her! With her, you will NEVER reach your full potential! Well, at least not the potential WE want you to reach!" he aimed the phaser at Sara. 

Dr. Taker shoved Sara aside, pulling out his own weapon, "You will leave now, Ro," 

"No... see... I don't think so!" with that, he fired his weapon. Taker ducked the blast and returned fire. Soon, a full-fledged battle broke out between Ro and Taker. 

"Stop!" Sara cried out. "STOP IT!" 

She tried to run in between the two men in an attempt to stop them... but it was the last mistake she would ever make. A golden beam seared through her chest. Who's weapon had it come from? It didn't matter now. It was too late. The pain burned her up from inside. She felt it through every nerve. Every vein. It was unbearable. 

Ro smirked. Mission accomplished. Ro made a hasty getaway, before Taker could compose himself enough to end the intern's life. 

Dr. Taker kneeled beside the fallen woman, "Sara?" he began. She didn't respond. He put a hand to her wrist and felt how weak her pulse was... saw that she was in great pain. The doctor looked to the sky, eyes almost glowing with anger, "How DARE you!" he hissed. "How DARE you, you sons of bitches! You CANNOT let her die like this!" he shouted. 

"We do as we please!" a voice spoke... a voice that was actually many voices. "Perhaps one day YOU will be able to stop death... but that day has not come yet," 

Taker stared down at Sara, concentrating. Willing her eyes to open. 

Instead, her face grew peaceful... as peaceful as one entering eternal sleep. 

Dr. Taker's eyes went wide. Before he could say goodbye, Sara was gone... quite literally. 

With Ro's help, THEY had taken her. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – THE SMACKDOWN (PRESENT STARDATE) 

"I don't know how much good this recommendation will do." Stephanie said with a sigh, passing the padd across the table into the waiting hands of Ensign Matt Hardy. "Daddy treats me like I'm eight years old with Jericho egging him on." 

Matt shrugged. "I don't really expect to get promoted. It just looks good on my record if I try. I'm no personnel expert, but I'm sure throwing a drink in your superior officer's face is no way to get ahead." 

"He should've gotten a disruptor to the face." Stephanie muttered. 

"How can he get promoted after he breaks my brother's ribs?" Matt asked to no one in particular. "Vince seems to like the 'droid more now that he's completely out of control. And Jericho is dead inside! Jeff wasn't threatening the Titanprize or the captain, so why attack him? Y2J is just not capable of anger." 

Stephanie wasn't so sure of that. "I don't understand why I always catch Jeff limping or flinching though. I thought you Aerialians healed lightning fast." 

"We do." Ensign Hardy said mournfully. He lowered his voice. "I know this sounds paranoid, but after I was dismissed from Sickbay, I think someone…did something to Jeff." 

"Like Piro?" Stephanie suppressed a shudder, remembering the bleak, terrifying nightmares that wrenched her from sleep, tangling her in a sweaty mass of sheets. The gaunt, grey-eyed ghoul hovered over her bed, smiling as a bony finger traced an X over her pounding heart. 

_ It will only hurt forever, princess._

"Pain is the only thing Vamp obeys." Stephanie said shakily. "He's inflicted it on countless planets…someone like that probably experiences withdrawals and doesn't mind toying with the occassional Ensign to feed the craving for screams of terror." 

"Jeff wouldn't scream." Matt said defensively. "Do you think Piro would find himself alone with a pain-resistant alien species and not go off like a kid on Christmas morning? He wouldn't waste his sickness on a little nerve damage. How come the Dead Man hasn't done anything about it? He doesn't let someone cause death and destruction in his yard." 

"Don't go there!" Stephanie's face drained of colour. "You musn't ever go there. He's above that kind of accusation. If he hears you…." 

"I don't care. I'm not afraid." 

"Don't expect me to stick around for this." Stephanie practically ran from the Smackdown. Why did it seem that Taker's healing came with such a strange and frightening price? No one the Dead Man had cut open came out of it the same. 

"I guess I'll have some pancakes." Matt said flatly as some nameless Nytron blonde passed by. They all looked alike to him. 

_Pancakes…_The Rock's head spun around slowly. _Who liked…pancakes?_

As if under a spell, The People's Champ drifted towards the warm, buttery smell, the sticky sweetness of the oozing syrup, the fluffy golden texture….visions of shut-up juice, sammiches, and rockburgers danced merrily in his head. 

Llamas and monkeys glided across his vision as he floated towards his true mistress. _Pancakes…._

"Matt Hardy!" The ensign froze in mid-forking. "Do you….like pancakes?" 

Matt looked around warily. "They're alright." 

"So you do, indeed, like pancakes?" 

"Yeah, I like pancakes." 

"Well, the Rock says this! The Rock says PANCAKE YOUR FAT ASS ON OUT OF HERE!" 

Ensign Hardy's eyes went very very round. His feet moved of their own accord, pounding away from the Rock. Yet there was no true escape from the madness, the madness he'd foolishly resurrected…. 

The People's Lt. Commander slid into Matt's chair and tucked into the people's pancakes like a man possessed. When he finished, he rose from his seat. "FINALLY! The Rock has returned to HIS bar, the Smackdown!" 

There was a weak smattering of applause and slowly, the chant proceeded to build. 

"Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!" 

Dr. Taker could have his lead pipe and mickey mouse tattoos, for he, The Rock….he had the _people_! 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - TAKER'S QUARTERS (2 hours later) 

Dr. Taker had heard the latest report from Sickbay. Apparently Lt. Commander Rock had gotten his memory back -- his advanced Maivian healing abilities kicking in... as usual. 

Rocky's catchphrases were once again a curse on the Titanprize, but Taker didn't care about that right now. 

For the last few days, Taker had become reflective on the past. Dark thoughts clouded his mind. His recent behaviour had made him wonder who truly was worse - Ro, or himself? 

Ro. It was definitely Ro. 

Taker had been keeping tabs on the intern since he had left Daytroait and moved to Langeles. Even after he had begun his tenure aboard the Titanprize, Taker always knew where that pissant was. 

Now, lost in space millions of lightyears away from any WrestleFleet planet, he STILL knew where Ro was... for the traitor now resided with Dr. Taker onboard the WWF Titanprize ... though the man was different in name and apperance. 

Whether Ro realized Taker was aware of his past-identity or not, the man would be unprepared when the dark doctor decided to exact his revenge. 

Ro would pay for costing Taker the only living thing he had ever cared about. 

Yes, the ex-Nytron now known as Dr. V. Piro would pay dearly! 

Taker smiled coldly. 

_And what a nice painful payment it will be..._

*** 

ELSEWHERE 

"He has become unacceptably violent once again," the omnipotent voices spoke to one another as they saw the starship Titanprize before them, watching their servant take pleasure in harming his fellow officers, "Perhaps the guide we have provided for him is not suitable. Nurse Bearer has seemed to let his charge fall by the wayside once more. Taker may yet need another guide... like last time..." 

"I would be honoured to volunteer my services again, " a feminine voice spoke. The female had been quite useful in the past dealing with other possible problems Dr. Taker represented. In fact, she had outright prevented him from going into THE OTHERS service, as he had seemed so close to doing at one time. 

Unfortunately once Ro had destroyed her human body, there was little that could be done to keep her on mortal soil. She would not be able to return until THEY sent her back. 

"It is not time yet," the voices replied, "We shall study him further, allow time to change him," there was a pause, "Your offer shall be noted, and considered should we have need of it. You have been a faithful servant to us, but if you are to assist us in this matter, you are not allowed to grow close to your charge as you did before," 

"I understand," she replied. 

"Very well, Sara..." the voices answered, "Should we need you, you will be notified..." 

With a nod, Sara disappeared from THEIR presence. Even if THEY did not need her to intervene, she would keep watch of him. She would _always_ keep watch of him... until the day she was called upon once again 

NEXT EPISODE 


	93. Season 10 Episode 7 In with the Old, Ou...

**TITANPRIZE:**   
**VOYAGERS******

**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 7: IN WITH THE OLD, OUT WITH THE NEW**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Jericho (Unit Y2J)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 122820.01. We are currently orbiting the planet _Idou_. Several of my officers have beamed down, as it is a planet of barter and exchange. Many have decided a change is just what they need. In other news, a new year is descending upon us. We are having our New Year's celebration in the Smackdown in a few days. Let's just hope my officers don't get antsy with the ex-Nytrons - especially now that I have made them unofficial WrestleFleet officers. Well, we'll see what happens," Captain McMahon smirked, "It should be VERY interesting! End log." 

*** THE SMACKDOWN 

"Should that go there? I mean, really... that looks kind of clashy!" Ensign Chuck Palumbo spoke as he and his new best friend, Ensign Billy Gunn, looked over The Smackdown. 

Terri rolled her eyes as she held out the 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' streamers she was taping to the wall, "Would you two like to do this?" 

Chuck and Billy looked at each other, and smiled, then Billy turned back to Terri, "We'll make it look GREAT!" Billy said, and quickly grabbed the streamers from Terri. He furrowed his brow, "Got any rainbow coloured streamers?" he asked. 

Terri threw her hands in the air and headed back to the bar, only to see First Officer Commander Jericho sitting there, gulping down the synthehol Terri's assistant, Stacy Kiebler, had given him. The ex-nytron girl was currently leaning on the bar, smilling and batting her eyelashes at the android officer, who seemed too lost in his own thoughts to pay her much attention. 

Terri sighed. Sometimes Stacy could be such an air head. Actually, ALL the time. It didn't help that she had become buddies with Ensign Bubba Ray Dudley and his brother, Ensign Devon Dudley. Terri had even caught Stacy slipping them free synthehols once. 

"Another synthehol, Terri," Jericho ordered as Terri made her way behind the bar. 

Terri asked Stacy to tend to the APA at the back of the room before she turned her attention to Jericho, "And why should I get you anything, _Commander_?" Terri finally answered, spitting out his new rank. 

Jericho looked up at her, "Listen, I've had a bad few days as it is. Right now, I--" 

"Don't talk to ME about bad days! I remember one bad day I had. It was a few months ago when a certain Y2J Unit told me, and I quote 'just about _anything _is more interesting then you' " Terri replied. 

Jericho frowned, "You have to know by now that I did it to get on Shane's good side. To help the ship!" 

Terri sighed, her voice growing softer, "Listen, Chris. I understand you were following orders, but if I didn't know better, I'd think you ENJOYED it! Maybe a little too much!" 

"ENJOYED it?! Yeah, I ENJOYED beating the crap out of Jeff and alienating all my friends!" he snapped angrily. 

"Did you even APOLOGIZE to anyone?" Terri asked, "ESPECIALLY Jeff?" she asked, "I mean, we know that it was a plan, but still... your words hurt, Chris! And your actions hurt MORE! You have to understand that! Did you even give anyone a simple 'I'm sorry'?" 

Jericho got to his feet, "No one ever gave me the chance, now did they?" he replied, "They poured their drinks on me and stormed out of my promotion ceremony!" he shook his head, "Why am I wasting my breath? I've taken enough from the inferior officers on this ship lately, I don't need to hear it from YOU!" He began to walk away, then stopped and turned back to her, "You know, instead of giving me grief, maybe everyone on this ship should be grateful that I was willing to sacrifice everything for WrestleFleet! I am the _First Officer_, damnit! And it's about time people started to remember that! I will go down in the history books as the hero who saved the Titanprize, and no one is treating me as anything but a heel!" he turned to the crew in the Smackdown, "You can all kiss my undisputed ass!" he finished, then stormed out of the bar, not bothering to look back. 

*** 

PLANET IDOU - Achari's Clothing Store 

Stephanie looked in the mirror as she spun around, studying the dress she was trying on, "What do you think?" 

"The colour is all wrong," Lita replied as she watched Stephanie. Stephanie sighed and headed back into the dressing room, changing out of the outfit. 

Stephanie handed the dress back to the Idouian sales lady as she emerged, and turned to her friend, "I need _something_ for the New Year's party!" Stephanie whined, "Something NEW!" Stephanie studied herself in the mirror again, "Should I get a haircut? You know, just chop it all off. That would be new at least," she said. 

"Uh... NO!" Lita said quickly. 

Stephanie turned to the sales girl, "Do you know who I am?" Stephanie asked, but didn't wait for an answer, "I am Stephanie McMahon! I should have my choice of brand-new party dresses! But look at this!" She indicated the store, "There is nothing here suiting a woman of my class," 

"Steph," Lita started, ready to chastise her friend's attitude. 

"No, Lita. I'm serious!" Stephanie sighed, "What I wouldn't give to be at a Saks 5th Avenue, or a Macys ... or anywhere else but HERE. Here in this stupid quadrant onboard a stupid ship, with stupid Engineering duties, stupid brothers, stupid ex-husbands, and stupid androids!" Stephanie shouted, then threw her hands in the air hopelessly, "I wish I had a new life to go with the new year!" 

"Um, excuse me... I'm going to assist another customer," The sales girl said quietly, then quickly headed off. 

"I think you scared her away, Steph," Lita pointed out, frowning. 

"Do I care? She wasn't helping me anyway!" 

"No one can help you, Steph," Lita said softly, "And I'm not talking about clothes," 

Stephanie ignored the red-head as her attention wandered to a rack a few feet away. "Oooh," Stephanie squealed, "This looks nice!" she headed over and saw a long, elegant silver Idouian gown. She quickly pulled it off the rack, "I'm going to try it on," she disappeared into the dressing room and emerged a few minutes later. 

"Beautiful!" the sales lady replied as she passed Stephanie on her way to the counter, "You look like a Princess, ma'am!" 

Stephanie turned to Lita, and Lita nodded her head in approval. 

"Great!" Stephanie smiled, "I'll take it then!" She changed back into her regular clothes and headed to the checkout, "I wonder why this was hidden on that rack anyway," she asked Lita, "I could have sworn I didn't see it there before," 

"Maybe someone else just tried it on and didn't like it, then left it there," Lita replied. 

"Maybe," Stephanie replied as she paid for her purchase, "Well, their loss is my gain," 

*** 

ENSIGN STORM'S QUARTERS 

"Ensign Lance Storm, stardate 122820.01. New Year's is on it's way, and speaking of new, I am now a _WrestleFleet_ Science Ensign thanks to Captain McMahon. I believe this change is for the better. It's much easier for the Captain to control insubordinate officers when we are under the order of ONE commander -- Captain McMahon in this case," 

Ensign Storm's communicator suddenly beeped, "Commander Jericho to Ensign Storm," 

Storm paused his log, "Ensign Storm here, sir," 

"Hey Lance, are you up for a game of Kanatian hockey on Holodeck 3 at 18:00 hours?" Jericho replied. 

Storm hesitated a moment. Here he was, trying to pick up the slack that Lt. Benoit's sudden disappearance caused, and the First Officer wanted to play Kanatian hockey with him? "May I ask if you're going to high stick me again, Commander?" 

"No, you'll be on MY team -- with Ensigns Test and Venis," Jericho replied. 

"If I may be serious for a moment... why the sudden interest in playing Kanatian hockey with myself and Test? I thought joining with Shane was merely a cover for spying on the Captain's behalf," 

"Yeah, well I figure it's time I made some new friends," Jericho replied, "Out with the old, in with the new. Bring Ensign Christian and whoever else you want while you're at it. We need players." 

"Yes sir," Ensign Storm replied, then turned back to his log, "Although I have much to do in the lab, I am currently off duty and my first officer has requested my presence. Commander Jericho and myself served together many years ago on the _SMW Thrillseeker_. Perhaps we will be able to rekindle our friendship now that we are both on the _WWF Titanprize_, serving as WrestleFleet officers. I will be looking forward to it. End log." 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

Stephanie tried her new dress on again. It flattered her figure quite nicely, she had to admit. Stephanie smiled. It DID look like a dress for a Princess. Now all she needed was a crown. 

_"Princess..."_

Stephanie gasped, looking around her room. No one was there. She shook her head and turned back to the mirror, cursing her overactive imagination. Stephanie quickly changed into her WrestleFleet uniform and headed to Engineering, leaving the dress on her bed. 

*** 

HOLODECK 3 - 19:30 

Jericho sat fuming in the penalty box. Another 5 minutes for fighting. Why didn't he just program the holodeck NOT to include penalties? How could the ref give HIM a penalty! HIM of all people! Jericho decided he would erase that particular ref from the program the next time he played. 

"Commander Jericho, sir, if I may be serious for a moment... perhaps we would win this game if you stopped berating the players on the opposite team. You're instigating fights, sir, and it doesn't bode well for our team," Ensign Storm spoke. 

"They're just holograms. What does it matter, Lance?" Jericho asked. "You know, I could program them to get down and kiss my skates if I wanted to. They'll at least respect a paragon of virtue like myself! A WrestleFleet hero, a---" 

"It seems Commander Jericho is on a slight ego trip tonight, Ensign Storm," Ensign Angle interrupted as he came up to the penalty box. 

Jericho looked at Angle, then turned back to Storm, "Did you have to invite him?" he asked. 

Christian, who had also accompanied Storm, spoke up, "He wanted to come along, and you DID tell the totally serious Ensign Storm to bring whoever he wanted," 

"Whatever," Jericho sighed. He didn't care. Let Angle play. Angle could be useful if he was on the same team.... although Angle did need to learn a little something about speaking to the First Officer with more respect. 

"I figure I'm an Olympic Ensign, so why not try yet another olympic sport?" Angle replied, "You DO know they play hockey in the Olympics, right?" he asked Jericho. 

"Yes, Kirk, I know," Jericho replied. 

Ensign Angle smiled, "I never realized how much fun Kanatian hockey could be!" he said, then skated off with Ensign Storm as the whistle blew for the game to continue. 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN - The next night 

"Hey baby," Test started as he slinked up to Ensign Molly Holly, who was sitting at the back of the room, "How's it going?" 

"It's going ok, Mr. Test, but my name is Molly, not baby," Molly replied with a sweet smile. 

"Ok then," Test replied, "Molly baby, how 'bout I buy you a synthehol?" 

"Oh, no, that's ok, Mr. Test. I don't drink. I'd just like to have a chocolate milk," Molly replied. 

"Really?" Test asked, then smirked, "Well, what else would you like to have?" 

"There's nothing else I want, Mr. Test," Molly replied. 

"I know something you DO want," Test started smugly. 

Molly furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?" 

Test put an arm around her shoulders, "You want ME, baby! On a cozy holodeck. Alone. You know what they say -- when you have Test, you can forget about the rest!" 

Molly shoved his arm off her shoulders, jumping to her feet, "Mr. Test, I don't think I like what you're insinuating! I'm not that kind of girl! And I would appreciate it if you wouldn't treat me like that!" 

Test got to his feet, angry at her dismissal, "What's wrong with you, babe? You gonna pass up all this?" he asked as he flexed his muscles, "Since when did you become Miss 'high and mighty',Molly?" 

"Ensign Test, you will talk to the lovely Molly Holly with more respect then that! How about you be a good WrestleFleet citizen and leave the lady alone?" A voice interrupted Test's rant. 

Test spun around to see Ensign Helms standing beside him, hands on his hips, wearing the oddest green uniform... and a mask, "Citizen?" he snickered, "How about _you _stay out of this!" 

"Well I just can't do that. She's obviously very uncomfortable around you," Helms replied. 

"You suddenly her knight in shining armor? Some great big superhero or something? Didn't you used to dance with your Nytron buddies Evan and Shannon?" Test asked. 

"Well, I've grown past that. I have found something more important then dancing!" Helms replied, "Now if you'll leave Molly alone, it would be much appreciated," 

Test frowned, then turned back to Molly, "Forget YOU! You obviously don't know what you're missing!" he turned to Helms, "And you, you can have her if you want her, little man!" With that, Test stomped angrily out of the Smackdown. 

"Little man?" Helms repeated, "Wassupwitdat?" 

Molly shrugged, and the two sat down at the table, both ordering a fresh chocolate milk. 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

Stephanie tossed and turned in her bed. Images flashed before her eyes. A woman in a long silver gown stood before her. The woman looked like Stephanie. Same blue eyes, same McMahon chin. It WAS her. A diamond studded crown sat atop her head, making the light dance with every sparkling movement. 

The woman smiled as she was waited on hand and foot. It was a carefree and happy smile. A smile that had no worries. No responsibilities. No heartache. 

All around her, people worshipped the ground she walked on. She danced at a ball with beautiful men, and was watched by envious women. Women of all standings. 

Stephanie shot up in bed, looking around her room. No ball. No servants. No crown... but yet, over in the corner on a chair, there sat the dress. The dress Stephanie could have sworn she had put away earlier. 

The dress that belonged to a Princess. 

*** 

HOLODECK 3 - Stardate 123120.01 

"Why are we playing hockey right now, man?" Ensign Christian asked Jericho as he gathered with Angle, Test, Venis, and Storm on the holodeck, "We've got a New Year's party to get ready for tonight!" 

"I'd rather play hockey," Jericho replied. 

"You can't do that!" Angle protested, " I mean, aside from it being a ..." he made quotations with his fingers, "... _phat _party - as First Officer, it's your duty to attend all the social functions on board the Titanprize," 

"Well, I know everyone would be HONOURED to see a living legend like myself," Jericho replied smugly, "But I just rather not go, if it's all the same to you, Kirk," 

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with ANOTHER Commander, would it, sir?" Storm asked curiously. He had heard rumours... 

"Commander Shane? Shane should be grateful to breath the same air as me after what he did to Vince!" Jericho replied, "Besides, he's not a commander any more. Remember? Good ol' Vinnie-mac demoted him to Ensign!" 

Test raised an eyebrow, "Vinnie-mac? I didn't know you were so informal with the Captain," 

"Yeah, me and Vinnie-mac are pals," Jericho muttered, his sarcasm going unnoticed by his present company. The First Officer then chirped up, "Hey, did I tell you the Cap's credited me for single-handedly saving the Titanprize?" 

"Many times, sir..." Storm replied, "but when I said 'another commander', I was actually speaking of Steph---" 

Jericho clasped Storm on the back, interrupting him, "Ah Lance, so many stories going around the ship now. You can't be sure which ones to believe. You can believe ME though. If it weren't for ME, this ship would be under Shane's control," he looked at the group around him, "And I'm sure most of you would have liked that," He looked pointedly at Test, Storm, and Christian, "but since we're now all WRESTLEFLEET officers, you should be grateful to me for stopping Shane when I did! If he took over, do you think he would have been as fair as Vinny-mac?" 

"Well, probably not, "Angle spoke up, "But, with all due respect, sir, perhaps you should be less vocal about your accomplishments. I mean, people are starting to get a bit---" 

"Enough chit chat," Jericho interrupted, "Let's play, boys!" The whistle blew, and the game began. 

*** THE SMACKDOWN 

"What did you do to my BAR!" Terri screeched when she saw the glitter ribbons, and rainbow streamers Billy and Chucky had hung on her walls and from the ceiling. "I leave the bar for a few hours while I attend to the New Year's catering, and THIS is what I come back to?" 

Chucky and Billy exchanged glances, "Well," Billy started, "Isn't it nice though?" 

"Nice?" Terri asked, "NICE? This isn't NICE. This is.... well, I don't even have a word for it!" With that, Terri ripped a shiny snowflake off the wall, threw it to the ground, and stomped it flat. 

"Hey!" Chuck whined, and picked up the destroyed snowflake as Terri headed back to her position behind the bar. 

"So, Terri," Bradshaw began, "What's with letting the blondie-boys decorate the Smackdown for tonight's party?" 

"I just left the bar to them for a few hours! I didn't realize they'd do THAT!" Terri fumed. 

"Want us to introduce them to our boot leather?" Farooq asked. 

Terri sighed, "No, they might like that too much," 

"She's got a point," Bradshaw said to Farooq. 

"DAMN," Farooq replied, disappointed. 

Terri shook her head, "What am I going to do? It's too late to redecorate. The party starts in a few hours and I have to make the final preparations," she hung her head, "Why me? Why why why?" 

"There now," Bradshaw said as put an arm around Terri, pretending like he wasn't trying to cop a feel, "Have yourself a drink and you'll feel better," 

Terri nodded, then grabbed one of the New Year's champagne bottles, and gulped it down. 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS - 20:00 

Stephanie put the finishing touches on her lipstick, and headed out of her quarters. The Smackdown party would be starting soon. She was going to get there early. At least she'd have SOME fun before Hunter arrived and made her night a living hell, "Princess, may I say you look lovely tonight?" a voice spoke. 

Stephanie spun around to see Jeff standing in the hall, yet he seemed different. Especially his clothing. He was wearing a long tunic with a coat-of-arms embroidered on the front, and leggings -- although she shouldn't have been surprised. That was probably formal wear for the Aerialian, "Jeff? What are you wearing?" 

"_Jeff_, highness?" He asked. The man bowed politely, "You have never addressed me so formally, M'lady!" 

"Listen, Hardly, I--" 

Jeff furrowed his brow, "Are you not well, M'lady? You are acting oddly. Surely you will be in top form for tonight's festivities, will you not? Your betrothed will be there," 

"My betrothed? You mean my EX-betrothed. Did you have to remind me?" she muttered, "But don't worry, I'll be fine for the party," 

"Party? Surely you mean BALL!" He replied, then bowed with a flourish, "I have been ordered by your father to stay with you at all times and protect you from the unwanted advances of the visiting princes, highness," 

"While I can protect myself," Princess Stephanie started, "I should like your company very much, Sir Hardy! Now if you would be so kind, I must speak with my father," 

"Very well, M'lady, I shall take you to him," Sir Jeffrey Hardy of Aerialia held out an arm, and Stephanie took it, then stopped. Something seemed odd, "Highness?" Sir Hardy asked with concern, "Should I take you to the royal medical practitioner?" 

"No... I..." she took a breath, and spoke again, "I am well, Sir Hardy, thank you," with that, she let the man lead her to her father. 

*** HOLODECK 3 

"Hey, Jericho, I'm outta here! I have to make myself look good for all the ladies at the party tonight," Test spoke as he skated to a benched Jericho. 

"But you can't leave now! We're only in the second period!" Jericho protested. 

"Well, man," Christian began, "I wanna get ready too. Can't you save the game and we'll continue another time or something?" 

"Hey guys! What's with the sudden urge to get out of here? As your commanding officer, I--" 

"As our commanding officer, you need to take a chill pill, man!" Christian said, "You can stay here if you want, but I'm going to get ready to par-tay!" 

"Yes, I think I'm going to get ready to party too," Storm replied as he headed to the small group. 

"You've never partied in your life, Lance," Jericho answered. 

"What are you talking about?" Angle asked, "Have you seen Lance's award winning smile? He's a total ..." Kurt made quotations with his fingers once again, "_Party animal_," he finished, "And I have to get my olympic self ready as well," 

"So you're ALL leaving then?" Jericho asked, "You too, Val?" he called out to the Kanatian skating up to him. 

"You think I'm going to miss the ladies? You've got to be joking! See ya, Jericho!" Ensign Venis replied. 

With that, the group headed out of the holodeck, leaving Commander Jericho alone. 

"Fine!" Jericho snapped angrily at the empty holodeck, "Who the hell needs you anyway?" he reprogrammed the holodeck controls. He would just play by himself, that was all! 

*** 

CAPTAIN VINCE McMAHON'S QUARTERS 

"Come," McMahon spoke when the chimes on his door beeped. Stephanie stepped through, accompanied by Jeff, "Steph... Jeff?" then something came over him as Stephanie's gown glittered in the light, "Daughter," he smiled, then nodded to Jeff, "You may wait outside, Sir Hardy," 

Sir Hardy bowed respectfully and took his leave, "Father," the Princess began, returning her father's smile, "I wish to have your opinion on my dress," 

"My opinion, daughter?" he asked, "Well surely a female would be more suited. Your friends, perhaps? What about Lady Lita?" 

"Well she is the one that helped me pick out the dress, father! She would be biased," Stephanie smiled, "Besides, I want a _male_ opinion," 

"Well, then any of the knights could give you an opinion on your dress," 

"Father," Stephanie whined, "They will not be truthful! They are loyal knights and that loyalty extends to complimenting the princess as well!" 

King McMahon smiled, "But what is there not to compliment! You look lovely, my daughter!" 

Princess Stephanie smiled once more, "Thank you, even though I know now you speak as a loving father and are therefore not truthful either," 

The King hugged his daughter, "That IS the truth, my daughter! Now be off with you! Your royal protector, Sir Hardy, is waiting to chaperone you to the New Year's ball tonight!" 

Stephanie nodded, then quickly left her father's quarters. 

*** TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Jericho wandered the corridors aimlessly, lost in his own thoughts. Should he even go to the New Year's party? It would be pointless, wouldn't it? Nobody even wanted him there! Well, maybe Vince did. 

Y2J had grown tired of his game on the holodeck when he found that his holo-team were sadly lacking any conversational ability whatsoever. But then, what else did he expect from a hologram? He'd rather hear Angle prattle on about his medals, or Storm go on about how seriously Jericho should take his duties, or heck, even Christian yap about how dull his hair looked in the fluorescent light of the holographic skating rink. 

If only Jeff was still talking to him---but what did it matter? Lita and The Hardys could be damned for all he cared! THEY were the ones with the problem, not HIM! They should be grateful to be friends with an officer like Commander Jericho! An officer who would sacrifice almost anything for the right cause! He was a HERO, and if his so-called friends couldn't see that, then forget them! 

Besides, it's not as if he missed them. Not at all! 

*** 

"Sir Hardy," Princess Stephanie began, "How do I look? Truthfully now!" she asked her royal protector as he walked beside her. 

"You look beautiful, Princess!" Sir Hardy replied. 

"It seems no one wishes to say anything other then compliments. And everyone is so very agreeable. It is a tad dreary not to have anyone to verbally spar with, Sir Hardy," 

"If you wish me to verbally spar, I shall. A debate, perhaps? What would you like to debate, highness? And what position should I take in the debate?" 

"You should not need to ask ME what position to take! You should have your OWN position!" 

"My position is whatever my highness's position is," he replied. 

Stephanie was silent, curious to find herself waiting for someone to make an off-colour remark about what Sir Hardy had just said. But there was nothing. Princess Stephanie sighed, "Why does no one challenge me, Sir Hardy?" She asked. Before Sir Hardy could answer, the Princess was hit by something hard, and soon found herself knocked to the ground 

"You should bow and offer your appologies to her Highness immediately!" Sir Hardy ordered as he assisted Princess Stephanie from the ground. 

"The hell I will!" An angry voice snapped. Princess Stephanie looked up to see a handsome blond man glaring at her royal protector. "And did you just call Skankanie '_her highness_'?" the man asked, then eyed Sir Hardy curiously, "I know you have no fashion sense, Jeff, but that getup is just ridiculous!" 

Sir Hardy was ignoring the blond as he attended to the Princess, "Are you all right, highness?" Jeff asked. 

"I am fine, Sir Hardy! I am able to stand on my own!" she stepped away from her doding protector and stared at the rude man before her, "Surely this civilian could learn a few manners!" 

The man smirked, "So you're a _princess_ tonight, Steph? When did YOU grow such an ego? Oh wait, you've always had one. I forgot!" 

Stephanie's eyes went wide as a gasp of shock escaped her. How could this man have the audacity-- 

"How DARE you speak to the Princess that way, Citizen Jericho!" another voice spoke up. The now identified _Jericho _turned to see who spoke to him. The man was wearing a green tunic, green leggings, and a long green cape. He showed off the "H" embroidered on his chest as he stood with both his hands on his hips, accompianied by a similarily clothed female in pink. 

"And what are YOU supposed to be, Helms?" Jerichoasked. 

"You will address me as Sir Hurricane of Helms!" the green clad man replied, then indicated the woman beside him, "And you will address my companion as Lady Molly of the Mighty Hollys!" 

"Note to self," Jericho started, "Never play hockey on the holodeck alone eeeeeeever again!" he felt his head, "I wonder if I got hit with the puck. I hope not! A bump would mess up my good looks!" 

"Good looks you have, good _manners _you do NOT!" Princess Stephanie snapped, then headed off angrily with Sir Hardy. 

"What the HELL happened to the Titanprize since I've been on the holodeck?" Princess Stephanie heard Jericho mutter to himself, but she chose to ignore him. 

Besides, nothing he said could be of any importance, could it? 

*** THE SMACKDOWN - 23:50h 

Jericho entered the Smackdown, smoothing out his WrestleFleet dress uniform -- it being the only formal wear he owned. He quickly found, however, that he wasn't quite fitting in with the rest of the officers. 

Everyone was dressed to the nines. Ladies were wearing gowns, men were wearing tuxes. And each outfit had a distinct Medieval appearance to it. He looked around and noticed the security officers were dressed in chain mail, swords at their sides. 

The Smackdown itself was decorated differently. Golden candles and silver ribbons lined the walls, crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The room looked as if it had been decorated right out of a fairy tale. 

Maybe he shouldn't even be here. Maybe he should be off investigating the strange change in the ship and it's occupants. 

Then again, maybe he'd feel better after a synthehol -- if anyone knew what that was anymore. 

*** 

Princess Stephanie noticed the blond man right away. Jericho. What was he doing here? And how DARE he insult her earlier! Was he not one of her loyal subjects? 

Well, obviously not... though for some reason, the Princess couldn't help but find that fascinating. No, this Jericho wasn't loyal. Not at all. He was rude and crass --- and so unlike the others, who always behaved as they were expected too! 

So why did she have the urge to confront this man when she could simply ignore him and speak to those who were more agreeable? 

"I do not believe you were invited... _Jericho_, was it?" Princess Stephanie spoke as she came up to Jericho. "I would kindly ask you to leave," 

"And I would _kindly_ ignore you!" Jericho replied, "As your Commanding officer, I DEMAND to know what the hell is going ON here, Steph!" 

"You do not have permission to address me so formally! I am daughter of King McMahon, Princess of the realm _Titanprize_! I am to be treated with the respect due to someone of my standing!" 

He laughed harshly, "If anyone should be treated like royalty, it's ME! _I_ saved the ship! _I_ am the first officer. And _I_ should be given the respect due to someone with my achievements! But that didn't stop Jeff, or Terri, or YOU from turning on me, now did it!" 

"Princess! Why are you speaking to such a man?" Sir Hardy said as he quickly came to Stephanie's side, "I shall get him to leave!" he turned to Sir Farooq and Sir Bradshaw, who were currently mingling with Lady Torrie and Lady Trish, "Good Knights," he called out, "Please assist this intruder out of the gate!" 

Bradshaw and Farooq quickly came up to Jericho, daring him to resist. 

"I'm not leaving until I know what's going on! Or until all of you... ANY of you, admit that I deserve my just dues for what I did!" Jericho shouted. 

SirBradshaw and Sir Farooq grabbed Jericho by the arms, pulling him towards the doors. He resisted, his inhuman strength catching the so-called Knights off guard. 

Jericho grabbed Stephanie by the arms, "Tell me what's happening here! Tell me what I did to deserve ANY of this! Tell me--" 

"I shall TELL you to GET OUT!" Stephanie shouted angrily, looking very un-princess-like. Bradshaw and Farooq grabbed at Jericho again, pulling him away from Stephanie. Jericho refused to let go of the satin material of her dress... and in the struggle, an audible rip was heard, followed by an embarrassed scream. 

Suddenly, everything shifted. The clothing of the partygoers melted and reformed into modern dress. The music, which was previously a classical waltz now became hard rock. The decorations, which were once so elegant, were replaced with gaudy rainbow streamers, glitter, and snowflakes. 

_23:59h_

Everyone froze, trying to make heads or tails of what had just happened. 

Stephanie glared at Jericho, lower lip trembling along with the rest of her scantily clad body as she tried to stand proud despite being stripped down to her lacy black undergarments. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. 

"Uh.... HEY," Jeff broke the silence, "It's almost the New Year!" he turned everyone's attention to the large clock on the wall as he threw his tuxedo jacket over Stephanie's shoulders. 

The crew of the Titanprize let out a collective cheer, the current drama unfolding before them forgotten for now. 

"Get the hell out of here, COMMANDER!" Jeff spat, "Before I--" 

"Jeff--" Stephanie gave Jeff a pleading look as she hugged the jacket around her. He took the hint, reluctantly walking over to join Helms and Molly in the countdown. 

_19, 18, 17, 16, 15_

Jericho looked at the remains of Stephanie's dress in his hands, "It was THIS!" he said, "THIS is what---" he stopped when he caught Stephanie's angry eyes. He had just literally torn her dream world away from her. 

_14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9_

"SHUT UP, JERICHO!" Stephanie hissed angrily, "Just SHUT the HELL UP!" Jericho's face was then met with a hard slap, though the rest of the Titanprize seemed oblivious to anything but their New Years countdown. 

_8, 7, 6, 5_

Stephanie grabbed her torn dress from Jericho and stormed out of the Smackdown -- though Jericho could have sworn he heard sobbing as she rushed past him. 

_4, 3, 2, 1 -- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Should auld acquaintance be forgot---_

"Yeah, Happy freaking New Year!" Jericho muttered to himself, then quickly headed out of The Smackdown, not looking back. 

*** 

COMMANDER STEPHANIE McMAHON'S QUARTERS - 01:00h 

Stephanie sat on her bed in a towel, staring at the dress in her hands. It had been nice while it lasted. The life of a Princess. A new life to fit in with the new year. It was what she had wished for only days ago. And her wish had been granted. 

But now -- now she was lost in space again, on a ship full of people who could either tear out her heart, or turn on her in a second. 

Damn it. 

She would have liked to be a Princess for a little bit longer. She had no worries then. No one who could hurt her with a harsh word or a cold glare... or a phaser. Everyone was so kind and agreeable... 

Everyone... 

Except Jericho. 

But then again, _First Officer_ Jericho had recently become an arrogant, egotistical jackass who thought the world owed him something, so that didn't count. 

Stephanie stood up and looked in her mirror, running a hand through her wet hair. She threw off her towel and pulled on her white 'Property of WrestleFleet' tank top and flannel pants she used as pajamas. Stephanie sighed, then turned back to her bed. 

The silver dress lay there, as if challenging her to mend it and put it on again. She picked up the satin material and held it for a moment, reluctant to let it go. 

When she was a little girl, she had wanted to be a princess. A REAL Princess. And her dream had come true... briefly. Stephanie's fantasy world had freed her from her duties and worries and fears for a few hours, but....Stephanie also realized one could not live in a fantasy world. 

As much as she was loathe to give Jericho credit for anything, it was better that he had torn her illusions away and brought her back to reality. If she had stayed in that fantasy for much longer, she would have lost herself in it. 

Completely. 

With a resigned sigh, Stephanie tossed the torn dress down the disposal chute. She allowed herself one last look in the mirror and smiled sadly, "Happy New Year... Princess," 

  



	94. Season 10 Episode 8 Where There's a Wil...

**TITANPRIZE:******

**VOYAGERS**

**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 8: WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WHAT**

By:X_C 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Jericho (Unit Y2J)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"_We'll talk at home, Vince_!" Captain McMahon mimicked his wife's robotic voice as he flipped her fading holographic image the stone cold salute. Even from millions of light years away, the old hag could nag. 

As far as Vince was concerned, they had nothing to discuss. The castrating bitch better not have anything waiting for him besides a hero's welcome, complete with red carpet. And _then _Linda could apologize for those two worthless children she'd spawned. 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 022702.02. I've just sent a very warm gesture to my lovely wife, and speaking of which-" McMahon paused to smirk. "My tactical chief, the Rattlesnake, may have found his own personal venom - beer. I don't cross that Texan lightly, but dammit, we can't have our top war strategist falling down drunk when the photon torpedos start flying! He's goin' on synthehol injections whether or not-" 

The doors chimed softly. 

"What?" Vince barked. 

And so it began….. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – HOLODECK 6 

Stephanie was indeed _filthy _and _dirty._

The so-called princess stood victorious over her fallen opponent, gold-coloured Wrestlefleet warm-ups splattered with mud and dirt. "Awww come on, Jeff, stop letting me kick your ass so easily. Can you get up?" 

"Gee, I don't know," he said innocently. "No girl has asked me to before." 

Stephanie curled her toes up in the cool, squishy earth beneath her feet. "So this is where you and Matt taught each other to fight. I expected your backyard to have chickens or rusted out tractors on cinder blocks in it." 

"You know Matt." Jeff gritted his teeth as he pulled himself to his knees. "Happy as a pig wallowin' in mud, y'all. Sir." 

Stephanie frowned. Perhaps it hadn't been wise to request Skippy as her fighting teacher. Every time she got within an inch of him his hand instinctively reached for the cut at his side, and if she did touch him, he folded like a house of cards. "I'd like to be challenged this century." 

"Keep your zipper up for five minutes then." 

"Perhaps RVD could give me a fight." she suggested airily. "He is the whole damn showboater." 

"Show." Ensign Hardy corrected her with a grimace as he staggered to his feet. "I simply felt that by pathetically jobbing to a far weaker opponent, I could raise your self-esteem." 

"Save it for the lieutenant's exam." Stephanie sighed. She wouldn't go crawling back to Jericho, even though he was a flawless warrior. "I'm sure Kurt's dying to teach me some Olympic intensity." 

"He'd love to be relieved of his fourth I." Jeff said brightly. 

"Huh?" 

"Innocence. And you could use his third eye for that." 

Stephanie's eyes narrowed slightly, but she let it pass. "You could see Dr. Piro about the sliced nerve. He probably has a keen understanding of Taker's handiwork. The student always emulates the master." 

Jeff's face paled. He'd rather take his chances with a housecall from Kurt than risk either healer in Sickbay. _Healer. _A girl was kicking his ass despite his so-called size advantage. 

Steph watched the blood drain from behind his terror-stricken eyes. _It will only hurt forever, princess…_

The red slash across Jeff's heart would be his eternal torment, too. Piro, not Taker, lived for eternal suffering, just like in her horrible dreams….why the hell would that stupid 'bot accuse the chief medical officer of assaulting ensigns so flippantly? 

Jericho'd lied about the Dark Doctor's "sickness," the same way he prevaricated about everything else. He probably told his fibs cause he liked how evil and bitter they tasted on his phony tongue, the jerk. He lied about protecting her, about helping Shane, about being her friend, his kisses lied…. 

"Remember when that ugly flouncy dress of yours got torn off in the Smackdown?" Jeff asked suddenly. 

"I bet you do." 

A little smile crossed his face. "Um, the way I acted….." 

"Like a frilly, pandering, sycophant who could sprout wings, fly away, and leave a sparkly trail of dust behind him? I should have knighted you the Lord of the Dance." 

Jeff flushed. "Ever since then, Chuckie and Billy keep hinting at me that they need a valet. What's up with that?" 

"Maybe it's the manner in which you articulated your thoughts like a Camelot reject." Stephanie told him. "Could it be, perchance?" 

"They used to stone whores in the middle ages. " he sniffed. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – SICKBAY 

"There, there young man." Kurt said patiently, covering the tender bruise with a brightly-coloured, dinosaur print bandaid. "I just knew you'd take your shot like a brave boy." 

"I want my balloon!" 

Ensign Angle selected a cherry red balloon from the floating bouqet, which the patient snatched up greedily. "I wanna sucker too!" 

"That's not fair to the other kids-" 

"Boo on other kids!" Ensign Christian kicked Kurt in the shins, grabbed a raspberry tootsie pop and sprinted for the door. "How many licks to the middle, bitch?" 

Angle frowned and rubbed his knee. There was an _I_ he didn't need - _immaturity_! 

"What?" 

The Olympian busied himself stashing away the candy and hiding the balloons until the next child came for their immunization. 

"What!" 

Kurt looked up and found himself eye to eye with Stone Cold Steve Austin. There was an intensity to the Rattlesnake's stare that unnerved him. "Er-huh?" 

"What?" 

"I don't know….what?" 

Austin grinned suddenly and hopped up on the bio-bed. "Ol' Stone Cold's got a confession to make! An admission! What? A secret! What? A sob story! What? I got a problem! What?" 

"I think I can make an initial diagnosis." Kurt said warily. "Want that I should cut out your tongue?" 

"My tongue? What?" Steve cackled. "Get me a beer? What? I said get me a beer." 

Little beads of sweat shined on Kurt's forehead. "You're here for a synthehol shot cause you're a lush, Lt. Commander. I refuse to get you some beer." 

"You refuse? What?" The Rattlesnake jumped up and started pacing. "You denied me. You refused me. You rejected my request. You said no. You-" 

"Stop that." Angle whispered, starting to tremble. 

"What?" Stone Cold arched an eyebrow. "Let me explain a few things, son. Let me expound on something. Allow me to elaborate. I AM an addict. I'm addicted to kicking ass! What? I'm addicted to taking names after! What? I'm addicted to cans of ice cold whoop-ass! What? I'm addicted to stomping mudholes! What! What! What!" 

"Where are his gold medals." Kurt murmured over and over again as he closed his eyes. "Where are his gold medals? Where are his gold medals…" 

Austin took a hold of Angle's prized medals and hauled him so close the medical ensign could smell the reek of Steveweisers. "What? I'm a sick son of a bitch alright, but you ain't sticking no needles full of warmed over piss in the Rattlesnake's blood WHAT!" 

Several hours later, Stephanie McMahon found Kurt Angle huddled in a shadowy corner, hugging his knees to his broad chest, shaking and staring into outer space. His mumbling was almost incoherent except for….. 

"What?" 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – THE SMACKDOWN 

"What?" 

Stephanie swallowed hard, and almost choked on her pride. Austin sat alone in the bar, surrounded by twelve of his best friends, each of whom had its silvery pop top ripped off. 

"Ensign Lita said I should talk to you, Lt. Commander," she said. "She told me you were the most hardcore, experienced hand to hand combat master in the federation. I understand you're sadistic, sneaky, and brutal, but I'd like you to teach me self-defense." 

"WHAT?" Stone Cold roared with laughter. "Austin 3:16 says…What?" 

"You heard me!" Stephanie snapped. "Cut that out." 

"Oh hell woman, sit down and drink a beer with ol' Stone Cold." He gestured to the chair across from him. "Go on! What the hell you waiting for?" 

She wrinkled up her perfect little nose. "Beer is yucky." 

"Okay…what?" The Rattlesnake calmly got to his feet and went nose to nose with the McMahon princess. "WHAT? WHAT? WHAT the hell did you just say? Beer is yucky? WHAT?" 

Stephanie cowered, wilting under his menacing glare. "I-" 

"Shut up!" Austin took one of her silky dark curls and flung it back in her face. "Daddy's little girl wants to learn how to fight? What? Just pay your way out of trouble! What? You're pathetic! What? You're weak! What? You're yella'! What? Go play with your damn dollies! WHAT!" 

Everyone in the Smackdown was staring at her, dumbfounded. 

"Stone Cold Steve Austin is _the _LAST son of a bitch you wanna fight! Oh, and WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT-" 

Stephanie pressed her hands over her ears and began screaming as she fled from the bar. The commander exploded through the swinging double doors and nearly trampled Matt and Jeff in her panic. She froze, face white as melted snow, baby blues wide and mad. 

"Steph?" Matt said worriedly. "What-" 

"Oh god!" she rasped. "You're one of _them_! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" 

And with that, Commander McMahon dashed away, swallowed up by the dark corridors…. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – SHUTTLEBAY 8 

"Fingers. Not thumbs." 

"Dude, when people say I'm all thumbs, it makes me proud." Rob Van Dam retorted, but he obediently touched his index finger to the warp speed indicator on the Shuttlecraft Last Ride's master console. "This is crap. I was an ExtremeShip lieutenant with a gold wing pinned to my collar. Now I need some degenerate showin' me stuff I can do in my sleep? Screw that." 

"I'm no longer a degenerate." Hunter said icily. _At least, not so anyone would notice….._"Regal knows I'm the best damn pilot in the Universe, and he wants me to get you little jerk-offs prepped for the flight sim on Monday. Deal with it." 

"Why aren't you going for the star? Some little clause in your divorce settlement?" 

The Game's face burned as he slammed the shuttle door shut behind him. "Zip it, Van Dam. Zip it before I take that dagger of yours and cut you a second smile." 

"Hands off the talent, Helmsley." 

Hunter stiffened at the sound of that glass-breaking shriek. God, she was always waiting around, waiting to castrate him again and again at every turn, always defending those Aerialian freaks…. 

"Rob, I need an extra hand in Engineering." Stephanie said, keeping her glare fixed on the ex. "I've given Ensign Hardy some sick leave, and I need someone to cover for him." 

"You should cover that one with a big old paper bag." RVD muttered. Her flashing eyes met his. "I mean, aye sir." 

"Something you gave him, Stephanie?" Hunter leered. 

"Yeah, yeah Helmsley, I suppose it was easier to believe I was under ensigns, wasn't it?" Steph asked sweetly. "Easier than acknowledging your, um, _tiny_ problem." 

"What?" 

She shuddered. "The reason our bed was so cold, darling…..you never made any, well, _sizeable _contributions." 

The Game smirked, despite himself. This one always had more guts than brains. "A starship seems small when it flies into a black hole." 

"I don't follow." Stephanie said blankly. 

Hunter snorted. "I'm all for exploring the great wide open, but damn, I don't think search and rescue could've found me-" 

Stephanie's blood was on fire suddenly, her brain fevered with rage. She felt detached from the hand that cracked across his face, splitting his lip and spilling bright red blood down his chin. "I came here to ask you to teach me how to fight. I was willing to lift the restriction on getting a promotion. God knows you like to beg for scraps from the McMahon family like a dog!" 

Hunter stood very still, trying to ignore the roaring between his ears and the crimson haze before his eyes. _I do not need McMahon charity. I refuse to owe the million dollar princess anything…._

"Do you know how I learned to fight, Steph?" he asked softly. 

"You don't fight." she seethed. "You cheat, you lie, you steal, you use, you-" 

"Got my ass beaten over and over again til I learned how to shut my ignorant mouth and take the respect I deserved." Hunter growled. His hand closed around her throat and slammed her up against the cold titanium of the shuttlecraft. The Game felt a rush as her neck snapped back, the metal refusing to yield. 

_ Only bent, never break them right away. _The Cerebral Assassin had longed for this day, he could taste the fear hot and wet on the tip of his tongue, smell it in her sweat. _All alone….and dead girls tell no tales…._

"You wanna walk out of here?" Helmsley let her body slide to the floor. He reached behind a stack of of supply crates until he felt that bite of black metal. _The hammer…_"Hope that mechanical bastard taught you to run, baby." 

Stephanie was half-conscious, twitching from the pressure applied to her now black and blue throat, just like a fish flopping around on the ground, struggling for air. _Pathetic…._

"Fight or die, _sweetie_." Hunter sneered, nudging her ribs with his boot, pressing the hard leather against her heart. He trembled slightly, excited by feeling it's erratic pulsing. "Didn't that asshole father of yours ever tell you….always be careful what you wish for?" 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – THE SMACKDOWN 

_ Face your fears, Ensign, don't let a single word have that much power over your life…._

Al Snow was undoubtedly a doctor with much integrity, but his intelligence was sorely lacking. A single word? The big W was a demonic incantation, summoned from the bowels of catchphrase hell. 

But tonight was open mic night at the Smackdown, and Booker T was delighting the masses with his patented dance move, the Spinerooni. Kurt could dig it, sucka. 

He found a small table in a pleasantly lit corner and ordered himself some cookies and milk. He chuckled heartily as Lance Storm launched into his "But Seriously" routine. Funny guy, that Lance. Too bad Taker couldn't deliver a similar sense of humor and stop planting his boot in his Olympic ass…. 

The sweetness of the evening quickly curdled into sourness. Angle longed to flee, but one never fled within sight of witnesses. Stone Cold Steve Austin staggered onto the stage, beer leaking from an aluminum can as he throttled the mic. 

"Let me tell you a little story about a man named Jed-" 

_ I do not provoke. I am in control. Catchphrases are a crutch for lesser men. You're better than him-_

"What?" 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO MORE!" Kurt would not remember lunging at the stage, spearing the Rattlesnake to the ground, pummeling him crazily with his fists. "How's that for a story, bitch? There's no happy endings here, damn yooooooooou!" 

The crowds gasped as Angle rolled Austin over on his back, cinching his ankle in a death grip, twisting it and torquing it until the muscles tore. "What Austin? What? You tapping Austin? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? You son of a bitch! What? WHHHHHHAAAATTTTTTTT? Beg for mercy! WHAT?" 

"Stand back! Let me through!" Al Snow cried, whipping out his tranquilizer dart gun. "He's gone Olympic! Please people, nothing to see here!" 

It was too late. Security Chief Kane was already peeling Kurt off Stone Cold, but the American's fury burned hotter than the flames within the masked man. "DO NOT TOUCH ME!" The Big Red Machine found himself suplexed and splintering the stage. 

"It's over, Kurt, it's over!" Snow laid a gentle hand on his shoulder as he slid the needle in…. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – SHUTTLEBAY 8 

"You are an undisputedly stupid _stupid _man, Trip!" The 'droid's phaser moved in a lethal arc, catching The Game up under his rib cage, catapulting him into one of the unforgiving bay doors. "I thought you _always _saw it coming?" 

Hunter groaned, but moved heavily to his feet. No tin man was going to mock him. Jericho leaned over the bleeding broken Stephanie McMahon, touching her hair with a gentleness that belied his cruel strength or the bloodlust humming through his steely veins. 

The Cerebral Assassin darted quickly and pushed the 'bot's blonde head into his own knee, crunching the metal jaw with such force that blood spurted from Chris's lips. "It'll be just like Romeo and Juliet, prick, you can die together!" 

Jericho spat out the hot coppery liquid. 

Blood. 

_ REAL blood._

The synthetic stuff was tasteless, like water… 

What the hell was happening to him? 

"Shakespeare?" Y2J raised a mocking eyebrow. "Hooked on phonics really came through for you, didn't it, junior?" 

"I'll write your confession out in her blood ." The Game said thoughtfully, the hammer now clutched tightly in his sweaty hand. The two men circled each other warily, bodies tensed like plasma coils. "You can perish a traitor and murderer, you freak." 

Jericho merely smiled. He didn't need to talk trash. Actions spoke louder than words. Swift and smooth, he ducked Hunter's clumsy, vicious hammer blow and locked his arms around his waist, german suplexing him to the blood and sweat slicked floor. He kept the hold on, driving him into the steel again and again without remorse. 

"I heard everything, dumbass. _Everything." _Chris grabbed that lank mane of dirty blonde hair and smashed Helmsley's head against the floor. "Sonic hearing, Trip. I could hear your putrid crud from light years away if I wanted…a beautiful thing, aren't I? I'm sorry, what was that?" 

The Game moaned. 

"I'll thank you to SHUT THE HELL UP!" Jericho rolled him onto his stomach, drilling a knee into his spine, inverting it to the point of paralysis. He could feel it ready to give….."Now who can't run, huh Hunter? Who's helpless? How's it feel, you coward?" 

Chris eyed the writhing girl on the floor, almost through another's eyes. 

_ God help me, I cannot control my rage…_

Drawn by it's warmth, his metallic fingers found the flowing panel next to the launch door. He ignored the Game's strangled sobs as it whooshed halfway open. 

"Tell me, Trip, can you fly?" 

"Oh god, I'll die if you don't-" 

"I heard Stephanie beg too, but still, you were going to crack her skull _wide open_." Jericho thrust Hunter's bug eyes into the biting void of space. "You will be ripped apart or frozen to death in 29.5 seconds." 

"Please-" 

"Shut up." Y2J hissed in his ear. "Mortality is hardly a concern of mine, scumbag, so you'll want to listen." 

The Game's head bobbed frantically, lips a pasty blue. 

"If I ever hear you speak to Stephanie McMahon as if she's a slut, skank or whore again, I will rip your chest _wide open _with my bare hands and feed you your shrivelled up little heart, are we clear?" 

"Oh yes-" 

"Lay a hand on her, Helmsley……." Jericho held the man's body so it dangled over a billion miles of empty nothingness, a cold, endless fall that would dissolve him slowly molecule by molecule. 

Chris yanked him backwards suddenly. The rush of oxygen into his lungs made Hunter scream in agony, as the robot knew it would. He ignored the pitiful display and knelt over Stephanie. 

"Princess?" 

She was blissfully unconscious. 

_ Thank god for that…if Steph had heard me, she might actually think I gave a damn…_

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – SICKBAY 

"Should have come to me sooner, Austin." Taker spat on the ground and stepped back from the bio-bed. 

"I feel like an old man." The Rattlesnake muttered, touching his ear absently. The hearing implant itched slightly. 

"You always was a stubborn son of a bitch." The Dead Man chuckled. "But that little _what_ of yours was taking too damn many people down with it. It ain't a toy, Steve." 

"You rat me out…" Austin's voice trailed off ominously. "I am the last son of a bitch you want to cross!" 

Taker's smile was chill. "Dead men tell no tales, Lt. Commander…." 

******** 

"You're free to go." Piro laced his bony fingers behind his back, the urge to maim and disfigure something so beautiful and innocent almost too much for even an immortal to bear. _There are so many others…but this one, this one would be the ultimate prize…_

Because _the other _fought so hard to protect her, the same way he fought for the blonde girl so long ago…. 

Stephanie hesitated. She felt emboldened by the fact Stone Cold and Dr. Taker stood a scant few feet away. "Why did you cut Jeff?" 

"You should go, child." Vamp smiled softly. "You have no idea what you're talking about." 

"I do. I should tell Dr. Taker what you did!" 

Hollow laughter. "Do you think the boy would be alive or sane if I'd touched him? I assume this is your concussion talking, and you'll soon forget your silly little notions." 

Stephanie felt vaguely uneasy. _It will only hurt forever, princess…._

The ghoul slid close to her, whispering with icy breath into her ear. "Do you have any idea how _lucky _the Hardy boy is to even breathe? You - you humans should not interfere in _our _business!" 

The girl only looked confused. The fool. 

"_They _will come back for him. And they will come back for _you!"_

"Need some help with this patient?" Taker asked casually. Steph hadn't seen him walk across the room. 

"I - I should go back to my room." Stephanie walked very quickly towards the door, feeling dizzy. She'd never felt anything like that, the undercurrents of a deep, slow-burning tension between the two doctors, making the air thick with electricity. 

She wanted to forget it, the same way she could not remember the incident in the shuttlebay, only the pain…… 

"She blames me for the boy." Piro said simply. "I dislike being slandered." 

Taker's eyes bored into him, seeing more. "You keep your damn mouth shut around the patients." 

The undead lips mocked him with a grin. "Silence is death, dear doctor." 

"What?" Austin yelled from the across from the room... 

  
  



	95. Season 10 Episode 9 Of Robots and Livin...

**TITANPRIZE:**   
**VOYAGERS**

**SEASON TEN**

**EPISODE 9: OF ROBOTS AND LIVING LEGENDS**

By: Elektra 

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Jericho (Unit Y2J)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, Stardate 020320.02. We are in orbit around a planet our starmaps refer to as Discardia. Surface scans indicate this is a planet rich in technological scrap. One species' garbage is another species' treasure. With that mindset, I have sent an away team consisting of my daughter, Ensign Angle, and Commander Jericho. Hopefully the three will be able to find some useful bits and pieces that the Titanprize can utilize during our journey," 

"Earlier reports indicate there is indeed intelligent life on this planet, but they are unaware that our ship even exists. The away team won't be near any inhabited areas, only the refuse yards so all should be well..." Captain McMahon mentally smacked himself. He knew from experience that those were famous last words. "Meanwhile," the Captain continued, "Ensign Molly is making her monthly trip to WrestleFleet headquarters. End log," 

The Captain took a deep breath and smiled. Surely his wife would be proud of the way he had handled their son's invasion plans, wouldn't she? 

*** WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS 

Chief of Chiefs, Linda McMahon, frowned at the logs before her. Yes, Vince had stopped Shane's attempted invasion, but how could Vince have even let his son get as far as he did? Vince was a better strategist then that! He always expected someone to stab him in the back, and therefore made sure to be on top of everything happening on the Titanprize. 

Apparently not this time. 

Did Vince even realize the mental abuse Shane had put his sister through? Now while Linda knew her dear son Shane would never actually HURT his sister, regardless of the threats he made, Linda also knew her son enjoyed scaring his sister into THINKING he might. It was like this when they were children, and now his behavour was that much worse as an adult. 

Linda continued reading through the logs, and made note of the new First Officer -- Commander Jericho. Linda sighed. Vince messed with Jericho as much as he messed with Shane. The Y2J Unit probably thought he was doing the right thing, going along with Vince's scheme... but from various Ensign logs, Linda realized how great a price the new Commander had paid. His friends were very unforgiving of his behaviour, and with Vince's constant egging, Jericho had developed a rather _undisputed _ego, which didn't help matters. 

Chief McMahon sat back in her chair. The Titanprize needed help - needed some glue to keep everything together before it all fell apart. 

Linda smiled. 

She knew exactly the person they needed. 

*** 

PLANET DISCARDIA 

First Officer, Commander Chris Jericho, studied the metal pile in front of him. Surely he could find some useful scraps here. Something that he could bring back to the Titanprize. 

After a few minutes, his searching was interrupted by a soft voice calling for help, "Hello?" Jericho shouted out to the emptiness. The voice stopped. He shrugged and continued his search. Another few minutes, and the voice was heard again. It sounded like a child! 

Jericho furrowed his brow. What would a child be doing here? In a scrap yard? The Y2J Unit followed the voice, until he came upon another scrap heap. Was that a child's head? Was she buried up to her neck under all those robotic parts? 

"Hey," he started as he cautiously climbed the metal mountain and approached her, "How did you get here?"   
The little girl looked up at him, silver eyes shimmering in the sun "What the--" 

"It hurts," she said, her voice that of a child, but unemotional and robotic. 

"Hurts? WHAT hurts?" 

"Everything," 

"Ok... you're buried under metal. Let me see if I can get you out. Give me your hand," he said. Her arms had to be under the pile somewhere. 

"Over there," she motioned with her eyes. Jericho followed her gaze, and did indeed see a hand, it's fingers twitching---five feet away. "It is broken," she said. 

Jericho looked back at her, then put a hand under her chin, lifting her head up... seeing her neck.... and the wires that spilled out from it. 

He quickly let go and backed away, "No... " he whispered, "NO WAY!" 

Jericho studied the ... whatever she was. She was looking directly at him now, her eyes lacking any emotion, "Can you fix Ury?" she asked. 

"Ury? Is that your name?" Jericho asked. 

"Yes," 

Commander Jericho tapped his comm badge, "Commander McMahon, please come to the northwest corner of the scrap yard. I... need your assistance," 

"I'm busy, Jerkicho! You come to ME," Stephanie replied. 

Jericho gritted his teeth. Why did she have to be so damn insubordinate? "Commander McMahon, as your superior officer, I ORDER you to come here! There's something you need to see," 

There was a pause, then, "Ok, but if this is just some trick to annoy me, slimebot, I swear I'll--" 

"Just get your ample posterior over here!" he snapped. 

"Fine!" Stephanie spat out, then closed the comm. 

Jericho started climbing down the scrap pile, waiting for the Chief Engineer, "Please reassemble Ury," the little voice behind him said. Jericho turned back to her. 

"Reassemble? How did you get DIS-assembled?" he asked. 

"Ury Lorien, model number ASTRO-5, was created for Anor and Jowa Lorien of Talra City in Northaal Province," 

"While that's all very fascinating," he started dryly, "It doesn't answer my question," though Jericho wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer now. 

"Anor and Jowa Lorien of Talra City in Northaal Province adopted Haeran Lorien on the Fifth day of Akro. They no longer need Ury's services," 

"Services? I'm sorry, I don't-" 

"Ury Lorien, model number ASTRO-5, was created to prepare Anor and Jowa Lorien of Talra City in Northaal Province for parenthood. Ury is programmed with Haeran Lorien's personality and behaviour patterns, and was able to give Anor and Jowa Lorien--" 

"You don't have to give me their full names every time," Jericho muttered. 

A pause, then, "Ury was able to give Anor and Jowa pre-adoption experience with Haeran Lorien. Anor and Jowa were able to create a plan for parenthood based on Ury's behaviour," 

"Basically, you're a test-run of a real kid then," Jericho replied, "To see if parents are fit to raise the children they're adopting," 

"Yes, Ury is a test run," she finished, quite accepting the fact. 

"Ok, Jericho. What was so damned important that you needed me too--OH!" Stephanie gasped behind Jericho as she saw Ury, "She's trapped!" the Chief Engineer glared at the First Officer, "And you haven't bothered to pull her out yet?" 

Before Jericho could explain the situation, Stephanie went up to Ury and attempted to reach into the scrap pile and feel for her arms. Stephanie let out a startled shout when she realized that Ury HAD no arms. In fact, Ury had no BODY. Stephanie stumbled back, "What the hell?" 

"Please fix Ury. Ury is hurt," 

"Her... uh... HAND... is over there," Jericho indicated the twitching fingers a few feet away. Stephanie paled, but went to retrieve the small hand, the arm still attached. Jericho lifted Ury's head out of the junk pile as he watched Stephanie hold the detached arm away from herself, almost afraid to touch it. He figured the Chief Engineer was disturbed by the dismembered robot. 

Stephanie didn't know what _disturbed_ WAS. She couldn't possibly understand that the robot-child before First Officer Jericho could very well BE First Officer Jericho -- Just like Ury, the Y2J Unit's body could be ripped into pieces while the rest of him lived on indefinitely. 

THAT, Jericho thought, was _disturbed_. 

"Commander and.... Commander," Ensign Angle began as he came up to the two of them, weighed down with equipment bags, "When are we returning to the Titanprize? My back is starting to hurt," 

"Kurt," Stephanie started, "Put your stuff down for now. We need your help. We need to find the rest of this... uh... girl..." 

Kurt looked at what had grabbed Stephanie's attention. The eyes in Ury's head, still being held by Commander Jericho, focused on Angle and blinked, "Hello," she said. 

Angle took a step back, startled, "She's a robot!" 

"Very perceptive, Kirk," Jericho replied, then reiterated what Ury had told him. 

"So... uh... what do we do when we find all her parts?" Angle asked after he heard the story. 

Stephanie replied as if the answer should be obvious, "Reassemble her of course," 

*** WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS 

"Molly, would you be able to transport someone with you when you return to the Titanprize? Are you strong enough?" Linda asked the Houdinian before her. 

"I'm as strong as a super hero, Chief McMahon! I can do anything!" The Holly Ensign replied with a salute. 

Linda eyed Molly warily. Should she take Molly's word, or was Molly simply blowing smoke -- like her Cousin Crash who fancied himself a super-heavyweight? 

"Dr. Pritchard?" Linda called out. WrestleFleet doctor Tom Pritchard came over to the Chief of Chiefs. She informed him of her plan. "Do you think she can do it?" 

Dr. Pritchard ran a tricorder over Molly, "She seems in perfect health. It would be a strain though," 

"I can do it!" Molly insisted, "I really can! Just give me a chance, please?" 

"Well?" Linda asked. 

"I don't know, Molly. It could exhaust you..." Dr. Pritchard seemed a little hesitant. 

"Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right Dr. Pritchard sir?" Molly said, looking up at him eagerly. 

"Well, it won't kill you, no... but you'll end up in sickbay for a few days," 

"I don't care! My duty is to save the Titanprize. If this officer--" Molly looked at Linda. 

"Admiral," Linda offered. 

Molly nodded, "If this Admiral can help the Titanprize, then I'm willing to do anything to get him there!" 

*** 

PLANET DISCARDIA - SHUTTLECRAFT DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL 

A newly-reassembled Ury stood before the three Titanprize officers, Wrestlefleet tools spread along the floor of Stephanie's sickeningly pink shuttlecraft,. "Ury thanks you for reassembling her," 

"You're welcome," Stephanie said, then turned to her fellow officers, "We should take her back to her parents," 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jericho began. 

"They abandoned her! They had no right! No child should grow up alone," Stephanie replied. 

"She won't be growing up though," he answered, "She's a robot. She won't age! Obviously her owners were unhappy with her! Why would they want her back? " 

Stephanie looked at the First Officer, truly surprised at his words, "YOU, of all people, should understand her situation!" 

"Returning her won't change a damn thing. The ones she relied on most want nothing to do with her! Why even bother? No matter what she says or does.... no matter how hard she tries.... she'll NEVER be real enough for them! They've already turned on her!" Jericho finished. 

_ See,_ _I understand better then you think, Stephie!_

"You can't just TURN on someone like that!" Stephanie snapped, "Even if things don't go the way you expected, you can't--" she stopped, "Never mind. I am going to find her parents and return her! They WILL take her back!" she said with determination. 

Jericho rolled his eyes and sighed, "I doubt it... but if we're going to walk around this damned place, we might as well dress less noticeably," 

"Fine," Stephanie answered, "We'll replicate some civilian clothing," she looked at him, "Of course, I CAN do this myself--" 

"The people here are unaware of the Titanprize's existence. To keep it that way, I'm coming with you!" The Y2J Unit answered. 

"I don't need a babysitter!" 

"Yes you do," Jericho replied, "You ALWAYS do. And right now, your guardian angel, Jeff, isn't around!" 

"May I come along too?" Ensign Angle asked. 

"If we need a bag-boy, Junior, we'll let you know," Jericho replied, "As it is, we have no idea how these people react to strangers. We'd better leave it at two. Beam back to the ship and tell Vinnie-mac what's going on," 

Angle frowned, disappointed. But followed his superior's orders and returned to his duties onboard the Titanprize. 

*** 

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS 

"Last chance to change your mind, Molly," Chief McMahon said as she readied the Ensign for her trip back to the Titanprize, "Especially knowing that it's a potential health risk to you," 

"I'm ready, ma'am," Molly replied, "Honest!" 

"Alright then. But keep in mind, this isn't something you'll be able to do again! In fact, you wouldn't be doing it NOW if we had any other choice. After this assignment, you are forbidden from warping another living person! Understood?" 

"Yes, ma'am!" Molly saluted. 

"As long as we're clear on that," Linda replied, "Now it's time to meet your passenger," Linda replied, "Admiral?" she called out. A man came up to Linda. 

Molly's mouth dropped as she saw the person who now stood beside Chief McMahon - a legendary officer who had retired some years ago, "Oh gosh!" she gasped, "It's an honour, sir!" she held out her hand 

"Thank you, dear," the platinum-blond man replied, and kissed the outstretched hand, "Are you ready?" 

"Y-y-yes sir!" Molly sputtered, overwhelmed by being in the presence of the one everyone referred to as _The Man_, "Gosh, Captain McMahon will sure be suprised to see you!" 

"That's what I'm hoping," he smiled, "As long as Vinnie-mac knows I've come out of retirement and have been fully reinstated, we should have no problems, right?" 

"Uh... yeah! Right sir!" Molly replied. 

"It's time for you to go," Linda spoke up. 

"I'll be in touch, Linda," The Admiral replied. He nodded towards Molly, "Any time you're ready, sweetie," 

"Hang on tight, sir!" she said with a smile. 

"Hanging tightly," he replied, not minding the excuse to put his arms around such a pretty young girl. Yes, the Admiral was going to be a styling and profiling, starship-flying, shuttlecraft-riding, kiss-stealing WrestleFleet officer once again, "Wooooooo!" 

*** PLANET DISCARDIA 

Now in Discardia civilian clothes--which consisted of shimmery t-shirts and matching pants--Commander Jericho and Commander Stephanie walked through the heart of Talra City. Ury was playing guide, explaining the city and it's inhabitants in great detail -- her voice unemotional even as she spoke about places her owners had taken her. Places her owners had tried to create fond memories of. 

It was becoming more apparent, though, that emotions were not in Ury's program, no matter how much Stephanie pretended the robot-girl was akin to an innocent child. 

Jericho watched warily as Humanoids walked back and forth along the moving sidewalks, many followed by golden-skinned robots. The First Officer found himself feeling rather uncomfortable. 

"Well... would you look at that?" Stephanie said, "The robots here are servants. What a good idea!" she smiled in Jericho's direction, then looked at her hands, "You know, my skin has been kind of dry lately. I don't suppose you could get me some lotion, Chris?" 

Jericho wasn't amused, "I'm afraid that only works if people actually think I'm a robot, Stephie!" 

"What, you think they won't find out? I mean, I could very well accidentally let it slip, you know," 

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time your tongue has slipped," Jericho muttered. 

"You are a robot like Ury?" Ury spoke up before Stephanie could shoot back a response. 

"Uh, yeah... I am. Sort of," Jericho replied. 

Ury blinked at him, "Have you been registered?" 

"Excuse me?" he asked. 

"All artificial lifeforms on Discardia must be registered. If not... they get in trouble," 

"Hmmm, kind of like a dog license?" Stephanie asked, then smirked, "Do they get a collar and leash too?" she thought about it, the image of Jericho on a dog leash causing her to chuckle coldly. 

"As much as you fantasize about seeing me in chains, Steph, I'd appreciate it if you would please SHUT the HELL up! I am your UNDISPUTED Commander, and I will NOT have you spilling my little _secret_ to everyone in the city! That is an ORDER!" Jericho snapped. 

Stephanie turned to glare at him, "You might want to treat me with a little more respect, Mr. Undisputed Commander. I'd hate to think what they do to robots with a superiority complex here," 

"We are sent to the drop-off," Ury replied. 

Jericho looked at her, "Pardon?" 

"If we are found to be disloyal to our human masters, we are sent to the drop-off," she repeated, "That is where you found Ury. She was sent to the drop-off when Anor and Jowa did not need her any more," her voice was cold, as if stating simple facts, "The blades hurt Ury's body. If Anor and Jowa do not want Ury back, Ury will be sent to the drop-off again," 

Stephanie's eyes went wide with horror, "They PURPOSELY sent you there?" she gasped. She stopped and crouched down to look Ury in the eye, "It's alright, sweetie. Everything will be fine. We'll make your mommy and daddy take you back. They'll understand they made a mistake, ok?" 

"Ury does not have a mommy and daddy. Ury's masters are Anor and Jowa, but they do not need Ury's services any longer," Ury didn't seem bothered by that in the least. 

Jericho took Stephanie's arm and pulled her aside, "You're getting in over your head, Stephie!" he hissed, "Things are different here. The robots don't have emotion chips. Can't you understand that?" 

Stephanie was suprised at his attitude. Of all people... _wait a minute_, "Awww, are you SCARED, Chris?" she taunted. 

Commander Jericho seemed caught off guard for a moment, the quickly regained his composure, not wanting her to see the truth behind her taunt, "I'M not part of this society!" 

"Riiiight," Stephanie answered, "You're not at all unnerved to see all these A.I.s walking around like slaves. Suuuuure, Jericho!" 

Commander Jericho spoke quickly, "So, Ury... where were you created?" 

"Astro-inc, 426 Galer Dale, Talra City in Northaal Province," 

"Well then, let's find the place!" Jericho said, and walked on ahead. 

Stephanie raised her eyebrows at the change in attitude. Hey... whatever worked.... 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - THE BRIDGE 

Captain Vincent K. McMahon glared at the man who had just invited himself on to the bridge, "What the hell are YOU doing here, Flair?" 

The newly-arrived Admiral Ric Flair smiled at McMahon, "I've been sent by your dear wife, Vinnie-mac," 

"How did you get here?" Vince demanded. 

"Molly took Space Mountain for a ride! Woooooo!" Admiral Flair answered. 

Ensign Hurricane Helms jumped to his feet, "You and the mighty one? Wasssupwitdat?! Surely you didn't mean that the way it sounded, sir?" The Hurricane was almost pleading from his spot at the helm. 

Flair eyed the masked man before him, "And you are?" 

"Ensign Hurricane Helms, Citizen Admiral Flair, sir!" Helms saluted. 

"_Of course he knows who Admiral Flair is,_"Captain McMahon thought, then took in his bridge, "_Everyone apparently knows who Admiral Flair is, the way they seem to be gawking at him,_" It really burned the Captain how his inferiors gazed upon Admiral Flair as if he was some damned legend come to life. 

"Molly Holly is your woman?" Flair raised his eyebrows at Ensign Helms, concerned. 

"The virtuous Molly is my loyal sidekick!" Hurricane replied. 

"Right... well, never fear, kid. Your virtuous sidekick is still... well... virtuous," his voice grew quiet, "But you should get to sickbay. The girl collapsed after we arrived. She hasn't woken up yet," 

Hurricane's eyes went wide, "Yes sir!" he quickly headed towards the turbolift doors. 

"Wait a minute!" Captain McMahon snapped, stopping Helms in his tracks, "I didn't dismiss you, Ensign!" 

"But sir... the Mighty one is--" Helms replied. 

"I don't CARE! I did NOT dismiss you!" McMahon interrupted. 

"Yes, well_ I _did," Flair said, "And I have as much power on this ship as Vinnie-mac here," he held up a data chip, "As of right now, I am co-captain of the WWF Titanprize. WrestleFleet has sent orders regarding this new arrangement," he tossed the data chip to McMahon, then turned to Hurricane, "You go tend to your friend, son," 

Hurricane looked unsure, "Uh... Captain?" 

McMahon scowled at the data chip in his hands, "I'll deal with this, Ensign. Go!" 

"Yes sir!" Hurricane said, and with a running start, he flew into the turbolift and headed towards sickbay. 

"Ensign Christian, you're at the helm!" McMahon ordered, and shut himself in his ready room, promptly cutting off Ensign Christian's temper tantrum about the unfariness of being picked second. 

*** PLANET DISCARDIA - ASTRO-INC, 3rd Floor 

"Found her in the scrap yards you say?" a small brunette who had introduced herself as Dr. Para Alra spoke. Stephanie and Jericho had explained to the robotic specialist where Ury had come from. The woman furrowed her brow, "Well, she IS our model. But our scrap yards are off-limits. No one is allowed to go there. It's trespassing," 

"Why?" Stephanie asked, "I mean, it's just scrap. Nothing important," 

"Yes, but it is STILL trespassing! But since you found our AI, I won't say anything. Odd that she was still active when you found her," Para said. 

"I'm guessing that's NOT how things usually go?" Stephanie asked. 

"No. You see, when an AI's services are no longer wanted or needed, WE send them to the drop-off, but we make sure their sensory chips are removed and they are no longer active, otherwise signals are sent to the AI's brain, forcing the AI to suffer constant electrical impulses, experiencing what you'd consider _pain_ for as long as their systems function," 

Stephanie glanced at Commander Jericho, who stood stoically as he listened to Para's explanation. Wasn't he even bothered by it? 

"There has been suspicion that many AI owners have tried to get rid of AIs without going through the proper channels," Para continued, "You see, once our AIs are to be disposed of, they are returned to us for a price. WE then do the disposal as humanely as possible, if you can use that word when referring to AIs," Para offered a smile, then continued, "Unfortunately, some AI owners feel they shouldn't have to pay to get rid of their unwanted junk. We believe that some AIs are still active when sent to the drop-off. This makes their destruction torture for them... which makes it illegal," 

Commander Jericho quickly took a few steps away, trying to control the churning in his stomach. He felt downright nauseous... as physically uncapable of it as he was. Right there, in Para's words, lay the Y2J Unit's greatest fear--being destroyed and still feeling. Feeling EVERYTHING. 

Stephanie didn't know HOW right she was when she had taunted the Y2J Unit for being scared. 

Jericho leaned forward on the table in front of him, taking a deep breath. He suddenly had a great need for oxygen. Was he hyperventilating? But that was impossible! 

"What on Discardia are YOU!" Para gasped beside him. Jericho turned to see she was scanning him with the Discardian equivalent of a tricorder. 

"Who gave you permission to scan me?" Jericho snapped angrily. 

She was taken aback by the anger in his voice, "I'm sorry... I just... well, I was scanning Ury, and my scanner picked up your signals! You're .... you're an A.I.! But you haven't been registered! And you're unlike ANY A.I. I've ever seen! AIs don't get ANGRY," Para furrowed her brow, "Or hyperventilate," her eyes went wide as she studied her scanner again, "And your bio-signals are--" 

"He's... uh... he's MY A.I.!" Stephanie interrupted quickly as she went to Jericho's side, "A special... um... beta design," She smiled nervously, "I'm testing him! It's top secret, so you can't tell anyone, ok?" 

"Oh yeah, Steph.... that oughta work," Jericho muttered. 

Para studied both of them, not believing Stephanie for a moment, "Are you spying on us?" she accused, "SECURITY!" 

"No no!" Stephanie said quickly, "We're not spying... we're not doing ANYTHING! We're just returning Ury!" 

Para narrowed her eyes, "You're not from around here, are you?" she asked. "We don't look kindly upon corporate spies!" 

"But I told you, we're not---" 

"I suggest you LEAVE!" Para snapped, "Or I will call security again!" 

Stephanie put her hands up defensively, "Ok... ok... we're leaving," she saw Ury a few feet away. The robot-girl was starring blankly at the Chief Engineer, "But she--" 

"She is OUR concern now! GET OUT!" 

"Come on, Steph... we'd better do as we're told," Jericho replied as he eyed the security guards surrounding them. He quickly led Stephanie out the door. 

Para watched them leave, then signalled for a fellow robotics engineer, "Follow them, Marak," she said, "I want to find out more about that A.I.! Perhaps we should return their spying with a little of our own, hmmm?" 

"Yes, ma'am!" Marak replied, and headed out. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY 

Ensign Hurricane Helms sat beside Ensign Molly's bio-bed. She was supposed to be a superhero like him. She shouldn't be lying unconscious like this. 

"Silly girl overextended herself. Superhero my ass," Taker muttered as he checked her stats on the screen, "I suppose those dumbasses at WrestleFleet didn't realize how it would affect her," he allowed a small smirk. The cheery young Ensign had almost died. Now wouldn't THAT have been a shame? 

"Is she gonna be ok?" Helms asked, unaware of the doctor's cold thoughts or cruel smile. 

"Eventually," Taker replied, then headed off, not really caring either way. 

Hurricane took his unconscious sidekick's hand, "Please be ok, Molly," his voice was barely a whisper, "Please be ok!" 

"Molly!" Ensign Crash gasped as he burst through the sickbay doors. He had been informed of the situation by Terri. Bad news travelled fast on the Titanprize. "Oh gosh, Molly!" 

"What the hell happened!" Ensign Hardcore shouted angrily as he followed right behind Crash. 

"The Mighty one was using her mighty powers to transport our new Co-Captain here. Unfortunately, it seems she burned out while doing it," Hurricane explained. 

"Damn idiots at WrestleFleet actually thought she'd be strong enough to transport another person that far a distance?!" Hardcore snapped. 

"Well, Citizen Hardcore, your cousin IS a superhero! She is--" 

"Shut up, Helms! Maybe you should go see Counselor Snow. You seem to be having delusions of grandeur!" Hardcore interupted. He and Crash pulled up chairs on the other side of Molly's bed. "What did Taker say?" 

"When I asked him if she'd be ok, Citizen Taker said 'eventually'. Wassupwitdat? Do you know what he meant?" 

"Hey..." A voice came from the doorway, "How's the kid?" 

The Holly cousins turned to see who entered, "Admiral Flair!" Hardcore exclaimed as he stood up stifly and saluted. 

"At ease. You are?" 

"Ensign Hardcore Holly, sir. This is my cousin Ensign Crash. And you already know Molly," 

Flair nodded, "How is she?" 

"Still unconscious," Hurricane replied. 

Flair nodded solemnly, "Well, keep me posted, boys," he said, and headed out. 

*** 

PLANET DISCARDIA 

"Beta design? I am ABOVE any beta design!" Jericho replied haughtily as he and Stephanie walked on. 

"Well excuse me! It was the best I could think of!" she then smiled mischeviously, "But now that I've claimed you as my personal A.I., we have to keep up appearances. Follow my orders and don't give me any attitude!" 

"Living Wrestlefleet legends like myself don't follow the orders of trashbag hos," he replied. 

Stephanie scowled, "How DARE you act with such disrespect towards me! I am your owner and you do as I say!" she all but screeched. 

Jericho's eyes went wide. Stephanie was enjoying the social-structure on this planet far too much. Playing into it for all she was worth, "Wench!" he hissed quietly, "You really DO want me to end up at the drop-off, don't you? I'm UNREGISTERED, remember?" 

Stephanie smiled sweetly. Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde stood right before him, "You'd better keep me happy, Chris. Because if you don't, you MIGHT just have to worry about the drop-off after all!" 

"This isn't a JOKE, Stephanie!" Jericho snapped. "Para didn't seem to find it very amusing! You want to blow our cover completely? That'll be good! Then they'll REALLY enjoy taking me apart!" 

Stephanie waved away his concern, "Come on, Jerkicho. What are they going to do? According to the rules on this planet, you're all mine!" she stopped, "I didn't mean that the way it sounded," 

"Whatever, Steph, " he said, not in the mood to joke about her poor choice of words, "But I'd rather NOT find out what they do to unregistered AIs here!" Jericho suddenly halted in his tracks, "Someone from ASTRO-INC is following us," 

"How can you tell?" she asked as she looked around. 

"I just saw him duck behind the building on my left," he explained. 

"What are we going to do?" she asked. 

"We're going to get back to the shuttlecraft as soon as possible!" 

Stephanie nodded. That sounded like a good plan. 

Unfortunately, the downpour that had just started had now made that plan rather difficult to follow through... 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - SICKBAY 

Molly's eyes fluttered open ever so slowly, "Hurricane?" she whispered. 

"Sidekick Molly!" Helms said happily, "Welcome back!" 

She tried to sit up, "Lay down, " Ensign Angle began as he came to the two so-called superheros, "You're not Lt. Commander Rock -- you don't have his healing abilities," Angle indicated the padd in his hands, "Next time you try to warp someone here, well, let's just say things might turn out REALLY bad. It's true, it's true. Here," he injected a hypospray into her neck, "That will help you rest," 

"But I need to..." Molly started. 

"I know how much you want to be a WrestleFleet hero like myself, Molly, but as the second-in-command of Sickbay, your olympic Ensign is ordering you to stay here for another couple of days. Once you get your strength back, we'll see how you feel," 

"Yes sir..." Molly replied quietly. 

"Well, good then!" 

Helms furrowed his brow as Ensign Angle headed off. Since when had he become the second-in-command of Sickbay? Hurricane wondered if Dr. Taker knew. 

Hurricane turned back to Molly, "It's ok, my mighty sidekick!" He started, "I'll be sure to visit you for as long as you stay here! So will your cousins," 

"Thanks, Hurrishane..." Molly smiled dreamily as the meds took over. She drifted off into an exhausted sleep. 

"Hurri_shane_?" The Hurricane repeated. "Wassupwitdat? 

*** PLANET DISCARDIA 

"Ugh! I'm SOAKED!" Stephanie whined as the two stood under an overhang in a nearby alleyway. She rung the bottom of her shirt out. It was a little too thin for her liking. Practically see-through now. Luckily Jericho chose not to comment about that, "You know, this is no place for a lovely, delicate woman such as myself!" 

"It's an alley, Steph... I don't see why you wouldn't fit in here!" Jericho replied as he tried to squeeze the water out of his long braid. 

"Could you maybe quit it with the slut jokes already?" 

"If you'll quit it with the 'servant Y2J' bit!" 

"You still never got me that lotion..." Stephanie started. 

"You know what you can do with your lotion, Steph?!" Jericho scowled. 

"I'm sure you'll tell me!" Stephanie snapped in response. 

Jericho's eyes narrowed for a moment, as if listening for something, then he turned back to Stephanie, "Maybe I should find you that lotion after all..." he started to walk away, the rain having slowed to a light drizzle.. 

Stephanie was surprised at how agreeable he suddenly was, until she heard a male screech. Soon Jericho returned, dragging an Astro-Inc engineer by the collar of his shirt. 

"Present," Jericho said as he threw the man at Stephanie's feet, "I'm sure you'll find a good use for him," 

Stephanie ignored Jericho's crass comment and offered the man before her a smirk, "Well... this is even better then lotion!" she rubbed her hands together gleefully, "Why are you following me and my A.I.?" 

"Your A.I. is unregistered," was the man's only response. 

"That's hardly YOUR concern though!" Stephanie replied. "Why are you following us!" The man remained silent. Stephanie looked at Jericho, "Maybe he needs to be convinced to talk?" she asked. 

"I can take care of that," Without another word, Jericho grabbed the man's legs, and turned him on his stomach, pulling back as hard as possible. The man screamed as he desperately slapped the wet concrete with his palm. 

"Tap tap tap," Stephanie mocked, a cold smile playing on her lips. Jericho thought she was revelling in this role a bit too much... but if it worked, who was he to complain? 

"Was told... to spy..." the man gasped, "PLEASE! Let me go!!" he was pratically crying now. 

"Like I said, this is MY A.I. ... MINE! No one is spying on him, or 'registering' him, or ... whatever you people do with AIs," she replied, walking around Jericho and his 'victim'. Stephanie signalled for Jericho to let the man go. Jericho did so, leaving the man whimpering on the ground, "What's your name?" Stephanie asked. 

"Marak. Marak Elara," the man spoke. "I was following you because your A.I. is so... so DIFFERENT! My superior wanted more information on it!" 

"Let me guess... Para?" Stephanie asked. The man nodded, "Para thought we were spying on HER... but once she realized exactly _what_ my companion was, she wanted him for herself, is that it?" 

"Wanted the technology," Marak spoke, his voice pathetically weak as he still sat on the ground, favouring his back. 

"Well she can't have ANY part of him!" Stephanie snapped, then put on what Jericho referrered to as her 'conniving genius' face, "My AI is special," she spoke as she went up to Jericho. She slid a hand down his cheek, smiling slyly, "VERY special," 

Commander Jericho quickly caught on as Stephanie traced her fingers along his bare arms, playing up every skanky 'ho joke he had ever made at her expense. 

_Good lord!_

Stephanie continued her act as she walked behind him, slowly undoing his braid, "You see, there are some things that are better left UNregistered," Stephanie explained, "I mean, if I told the..." she took a wild guess, "...uh... _government_... my uses for this AI, well... they wouldn't be very willing to register him," She slinked around to face Commander Jericho, running her fingers through his now loose hair. 

"Well..." Marak spoke after a moment, somewhat uncomfortable watching the couple before him. Stephanie looked at the robotics-engineer, grateful for the excuse to turn her eyes away from Jericho's intense gaze, "There HAVE been cases of unregistered A.I.'s used for, uh, various personal services. It's kept very hush-hush..." Marak continued. 

"You seem to know a lot about it," Stephanie said matter-of-factly as she brushed a single golden lock out of Jericho's face, her hand lingering a little longer then necessary. _Just an act_, she reminded herself, _Just an act..._

"I know NOTHING about it!" Marak replied quickly as he jumped to his feet. 

"Yes you do," she snapped at the Astro-Inc scientist, "Do you think I'm stupid, Marak?" Stephanie asked, "I have a feeling there are a few profitable side-projects Astro-Inc has been working on. Am I correct?" Stephanie glared at the Discardian. _Get your mind off Jericho, _she told herself. 

Easier said then done considering Jericho had just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him. "Is there a nice collection of good-looking, unregistered AIs wandering about in a top-secret area of Astro-Inc, perhaps?" Stephanie accused Marak. She could feel Jericho's breath against her neck, playing his role a little too well. Stephanie had to force herself to continue her interrogation, "Both Male and female?" 

From the look on Marak's face, the Chief Engineer had been correct. Marak's next words were simply icing on the cake, "How did you know?" he asked, "We've kept it secret! We've--" 

"That's not important," Stephanie interrupted, smirking triumphantly. What else was she going to tell him? It was a lucky guess? That just wouldn't work. "How about we make a deal?" 

"D-d-deal?" Marak asked. 

"Yes," Stephanie finally found the strength to unwrap Jericho's arms from her waist. He let go, allowing her to step away. 

This was Stephanie's show, and Jericho knew it. He truly did enjoy watching the Titanprize Engineer circle the robotics expert like a hawk stalking it's prey. Conniving genius indeed. 

"I won't tell if YOU won't tell," Stephanie said. 

"What... what do you mean?" Marak sputtered nervously. 

"Well, Marak, it seems we both have secrets we want to keep. You leave me and my A.I. alone, and I won't mention anything to the government about Astro-Inc's side projects," 

"You have no proof," Marak snapped. 

"You just admitted it!" Stephanie pointed out, "And my A.I. has been recording this conversation," of course, she wasn't sure if he was or not, but it sounded good, "If I'm going down, Marak dear, your company is going down WITH ME!" she smiled ever-so-sweetly, "So you just let me and my A.I. go on our way, and no one has to know. Do we have a deal?" she held out her hand, waiting. 

Marak was hesitant for a moment, but realized this was best for everyone, "Deal!" he said, and shook the outstretched hand. 

"Well then, that's it!" she offered one last glance at the Astro-Inc engineer, "And Marak, if you double-cross me... well, let's just say you'll be sorry you ever met me!" 

Marak nodded, and quickly made himself scarce. Stephanie immediately walked out of the alley onto the street, making sure the robotics-engineer was long gone. 

"Nice job, Commander," Jericho spoke as he came up behind her, "I'll be sure to mention in my _Undisputed_ First Officer's log..." Stephanie scowled. He REALLY liked to shove his rank in her face, didn't he, "...how your quick wits got us out of an otherwise difficult situation," 

"More like how I just saved your sorry robotic ass!" Stephanie pointed out, keeping her back to him, "But let me warn you, Jericho -- Mention the... _details_... in ANY log, and I will tear you apart limb from limb!" 

She felt him move even closer, brushing against her as he spoke. Stephanie tried to ignore his proximity, "I thought you'd WANT WrestleFleet to know what a great actress you were," he voice was smug, "You sure had ME convinced," 

"You're a pretty good actor yourself, Commander," she replied, her words coming somewhat faster then she would have liked, "Albiet, a bit of a pervert! How DARE you grab me like that! How dare you put your arms around me... and... and... " well, she just couldn't find the words to describe what she had been feeling at the time. 

"I'M the pervert?" Jericho let out a harsh laugh, "YOU'RE the one who's first thought was to pretend I was a se---" 

"SHUT UP!" Stephanie screeched as she spun on him, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" If looks could kill, Commander Jericho would have been a pile of scrap as Stephanie's icy blue eyes burned a hole right through him, "I HATE you!" She hissed as she shoved him away. He really didn't have to stand that close to her... especially now that Marak was gone. 

Jericho didn't seem phased in the least, "If you hate me so much, you're a better actress then I gave you credit for. I could have sworn you were enjoying our little show," he shrugged nonchalantly, "Of course, it could also mean you're a lot SKANKIER then I gave you credit for too," 

"Let's just get back to the shuttlecraft before it starts to rain again!" Stephanie snapped angrily as she marched past the First Officer. 

With an amused smirk on his face, Commander Jericho followed the Chief Engineer back to the Discardia scrap yards. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN (the next day) 

Captain McMahon stood in front of his crew on the Smackdown presentation stage looking as if he had smelled something particularly nasty, "May I have your attention please?" he started, "As most of you already know, we have a new member onboard our ship -- Admiral Flair. I'm here to officially declare him, by order of WrestleFleet, as the WWF TITANPRIZE'S _Co-captain_," he spat out the word as if it was rancid, "You are to treat his orders as if they hold the same weight as my own. All crew will keep their rank when this new... _arrangement_... is put into motion," 

Jericho stood off to the side, frowning at the Captain's words. He didn't want to answer to anyone other then McMahon. 

"Looks like the Undisputed Commander has TWO bosses now," Stephanie spoke beside him, not hiding the joy in her voice, "Gosh, Chris... that means daddy can't favour you any more!" she feined sympathy, "Poor little Y2J. What a shame!" 

"Stephanie, would you please shut the hell up?" he muttered, then offered a sly smile, "Or else I'll MAKE you shut up," 

Stephanie quickly shoved away the memory of what had happened down on Discardia. She scowled at him, "Did I tell you how much I hate you?" 

"Not today, no," he replied, then ignored her as his attention was drawn to Admiral.... or Co-Captain now... Ric Flair. Why did this man, who claimed to be a legend, even bother coming out of retirement? It's not like Flair could ever have the kind of success a REAL living legend such as Commander Jericho had had. Flair was past his prime! He should have stayed in the WrestleFleet retirement community with Admiral Hogan. 

No doubt Captain McMahon was just as unhappy about this arrangement as Jericho was... and McMahon didn't like to be unhappy. If Jericho knew his Captain, he was sure Vince already had a plan brewing in that evil little mind of his. 

Jericho smiled to himself. Co-Captain Flair would do well to watch his ass... because once McMahon was through with him, Flair would never eeeeeeeeeeeeeeever be the same again! 

  



	96. Season10 Episode 10:Through the Wormhole

****

  
**TITANPRIZE:**   
**VOYAGERS**

**SEASON TEN******

**EPISODE 10: THROUGH THE WORMHOLE******

**By: Elektra and X_C**

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE! 

TITANPRIZE CREW: 

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Jericho (Unit Y2J)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.) 

... And many more! 

WWF TITANPRIZE - CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's Log, Stardate 031520.02. Ric Flair has humiliated Vincent Kennedy McMahon for the last damn time! The stunt he pulled at today's senior staff meeting will be the end of his tainted Wrestlefleet career if it's the last thing I do!" 

Stacy Keibler, newly recruited to be Vince's personal assistant, crossed her eight miles of leg and recorded the captain's stream of hate with satisfaction. After all, it was the Nature Boy's creepy crawly son who'd stalked her aboard the WCW Nitro so long ago. 

"See, Flair hid things from me. He witheld life or death information. Well, two can play at the game, and a McMahon only plays it for keeps. Ric may have the coordinates to the original Russo Wormhole and the admiral's permission to open it, but I have a more powerful weapon....the truth." 

Vince had offered Ric nothing less than his unconditional support, had been almost blissful about letting the former Nytron commander hog all the glory of getting the Titanprize home. McMahon's golden rule: keep your friends close....your enemies even closer. 

"The truth is...we pushed this ship too far too fast trying to get her home. The warp core is at its breaking point; the stress on the hull has weakened it to the point of molecular fracturing. My Titanprize can't withstand a trip through an unstable wormhole." 

Stacy's eyes widened. Captain McMahon patted her knee in a....reassuring way. 

"We'll survive, Miss Kiebler. My ship will not. And who will get the blame? The man in charge of the mission." 

Her smile was cruel. "Ric Flair." 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - PERSONNEL COMMISSIONER REGAL'S READY ROOM 

"Now you take this project and stick it in its proper place!" Regal raged at the two ensigns sitting across from him. "Here's a hint for you Kanatian imbeciles! The sun does NOT shine there!" 

"If I could be serious for a moment, sir..." Lance said gravely. "We have presented mountains of evidence supporting our theory of a Kanatian conspiracy-" 

"You've produced a mountain of toejam!" William snapped. "Now trot out of my office before I eject your bloody arses out a torpedo tube!" 

"You Brits." Christian shook his head in disgust, trying to hold back the tears. "Is it any wonder we Kanatians fled your piddly little country to colonize our own planet? And you'll never forgive us will you? You'll keeping holding us back." 

"The only bloody thing holding Storm back is having the charisma of a door knob." Regal said. "As for you, go suck on your binky and leave me alone! You'll never become a lieutenant turning in this kind of swill." 

The two ensigns departed, muttering under their breath how this rude treatment was just more proof of Wrestlefleet's pervasive prejudice. 

"I dearly hope Kurt Angle wasn't lying about his amazing medical invention." the commissioner sighed, pushing away his cold tea, which Ensign Tajiri promptly reheated. "Better to promote a yank than a subspecies who engages in barbaric sports like ice hockey. Or a lazy Aerialian bumpkin for that matter." 

Tajiri nodded in agreement. Somehow Regal's accent made everything sound so wise..... 

"I wouldn't even be here sorting through this sorry lot of brutally ignorant toerags if Stacy Kiebler hadn't gotten Vince's Viagra-X pumping again." William muttered. "Now I'm not even allowed in his bloody ready room!" 

"Maybe we should wait until we reach Earth?" 

"Bah." Regal waved his assistant off. "I refuse to prolong the misery." He took a delicate sip from his cup. "Never trust a blonde woman, Tajiri. They're nothing but black widows, luring a man in until she's ready for the kill. Blondes......they take and take and take......." 

Ensign Tajiri retreated to the corner, where he resumed filing data crystals. His own true love, Torrie Wilson, was blonde.....and Regal was rarely wrong...... 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING 

"Don't even think about it girl." With a heavy sigh and a heavier heart, Commander Stephanie McMahon removed the incremental plasma charges from the diagnostics array. Might make Matt a little moody if she vaporized his special project. 

The explosives would upset the fabric of space, re-opening the Russo wormhole. A smaller device, piggybacking on the main detonator, would disperse timed streams of superheated plasma, stabilizing the cosmic tunnel long enough for the Titanprize to escape into Federation space. 

Ensign Hardy's project was actually revolutionary, as it would allow the Federation to keep wormholes open all over the universe. Steph just hoped like hell no one else noticed he was a frickin' genius and appointed him head of Engineering. 

_ You don't want to go home, cause Daddy thinks you're a big baby and he'll make you stay at headquarters. You won't be able to see Je-_

"Einstein make those?" 

"If you had just a quarter of your brother's brain, you'd be better off, Jeff." Stephanie shoved a padd into his chest, "And don't think I can't translate Aerialian cuss words either, huckleberry." 

"You're so mean." Jeff collapsed into a chair and looked over the padd. "THIS is the evaluation you're giving Regal? Why don't you just paint the word _loser_ on my forehead?" 

"I'll leave the face painting to you." Steph was sooo not in the mood for any Hardly nonsense today. "Why in the hell aren't you in uniform? Why in the hell did you miss your shift yesterday? What kind of head trip are you on?" 

"I'm working on my special project." he pouted. "Geez, if I knew you were going to be such a hardass about my evaluation, I woulda been here kissing your fat fanny alongside Saint Matthew." 

"It's not as fat as Molly's, is it?" 

"It's not casting its own shadow, if that's what you mean." Ensign Hardy sighed. 

"Pardon me miss, intrepid reporter Gregory Helms at your service!" Commander McMahon jumped back several feet as a data recorder was stuck in her face. "Could you confirm or deny the scurrilous rumors that Ensign Hardy here will receive the coveted promotion due to his previous romantic entanglements with you?" 

"What?" 

"Gregory Helms..." Jeff grabbed him by an earlobe and directed him towards the exit. "You look awfully familiar.....are you the kid Matt and I stuck down a toilet back on Aerialia? Or are you the one we duct taped to a tree?" 

"Er, that was both." Ensign Helms admitted. "But as you can see, I am now a hard working journalist, endeavoring to record an account of the Titanprize's journey through the Russo wormhole and-" 

"Hey! Gregory Helms!" Matt Hardy beamed as he came on his second shift. "I'll be damned. Didn't I once tie your ankles to the back end of Jeff's hovercycle and then he dragged you about ten miles or so? Hey Steph, I'm gonna be late, ok? We all got some catching up to do." 

"Yeah whatever." Stephanie waved them away. That Helms kid did look familiar, sorta like the dork who ran around Engineering in a green cape....nah.... 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE – CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM 

"Captain's log, stardate 031920.02. We shall be at the coordinates for the wormhole soon. My crew is eagerly anticipating their return to WrestleFleet Headquarters. In the meantime, Ensign Kurt Angle shall be recieving a push to Lieutenant. The ceremony will be held in the Smackdown later this week. End log," Captain McMahon closed his log book and headed to the bridge. 

*** SCIENCE LAB, DECK 3 

"Ensign Storm, I would like your latest report," Commander Jericho ordered. 

Storm turned to his commanding officer and handed him a padd, "Yes sir. You'll find my latest experiments here," he replied, "I've been collaborating with Ensign Matt Hardy, using his computer expertise to assist me. The Ensign has actually been doing--" 

"Unless it has something to do with your report, I don't care what Ensign Matt Hardy has been doing," Jericho replied shortly. 

A pause, then, "If I may be serious for a moment.... before you went undercover as one of Shane McMahon's lackeys, you were rather close with the Hardy Ensigns. I figured they, of all people, would be generous with the hero worship after your spy work," 

"You only know half the story, Lance. What's in the ship's data bases fails to detail the personal incidents which happened between your Undisputed First Officer and the Hardy Ensigns. Hell, EVERYONE on this damned ship turned on me!" Jericho replied. 

"Not I, sir," Storm replied, then shrugged, "But I understand that keeping your distance is for the better. It's unprofessional for a First Officer to be friendly with his inferiors. We are merely here to follow your orders, sir," 

Jericho pat Storm on the back, "Glad you see things MY way," With that, Jericho turned on his heel and headed out of the Science lab. 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Ensign Crash walked around the Smackdown holding his chocolate milk. It was coming, he could feel it. The change. The time in each Houdinian's life where they grow-up. It was called The Age of Maturity. His birthday was almost upon him. It would begin! Cousin Hardcore had reached HIS Age of Maturity some years ago when he finally stopped showing his child-like interest in racing cars and became meaner. Tougher. 

Finally, it would be Crash's turn! And he was getting some Mattitude assistance as he reached it. 

"Hey, watch where you're going, Crash!" Ensign Jacquie started as Ensign Crash walked into her, splashing his drink on her uniform. 

Crash glared down at her - one of the few crewmembers shorter then himself, "You owe me another chocolate milk!" 

Jacquie's raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" 

"You made me spill!" Crash snapped, "So you owe me another glass of milk!" 

"Uh... I don't owe you NOTHING! You were the one who wasn't looking where he was going! And what's with the attitude, kid?" 

"I won't be a kid much longer, Ms. Jacquie," he replied with a scowl. "My birthday is coming up! I've been training under Ensign Matt Hardy to--" 

"Is this supposed to mean something to me?" Jacquie interrupted. 

"Hmpf," Crash replied, nose in the air, "You'll see. Mattitude is the most important thing you'll EVER encounter!" Crash brushed past her and headed out of the Smackdown. 

*** WWF TITANPRIZE - ENGINEERING. 

Commander Stephanie McMahon glared at the dueling chronometers flashing on her monitor. 

T-Minus 12 hours, 14 minutes, and 33 seconds until launch of incremental plasma charges. 

Time: 1400 Federation Standard Hours. 

In other words, Jeffrey was extremely late, but then he was taking everything to the extreme lately. 

"Granted, he did save my life several times." Steph sighed to herself. "On the other hand, he's become a mouthy, cocky, disrespectful little punk." 

"Mmmmm, you must be referring to Hunter "I wish I had his nose full of nickels", Helmsley!" 

Stephanie jumped up with a start. "Ensign Edge? What are you doing here? You're a pilot." 

"Indeed I am." The Kanatian took her seat, crossing his legs atop her console. "Perhaps the most daring pilot in the known universe and yet......yet.....I was not chosen to zip us through your buddy Russo's charming little wormhole. How did that happen?" 

"I'd ask Ric Flair." She felt a little uneasy, as Edge and his baby brother rarely ever showed their handsome faces on her deck, save to torment the Hardy siblings. "Daddy has no stroke on this one." 

"Oh I think Vinnie Mac does a lot of stroking, my dear." The thousand watt, hundred tooth smile was in full effect. "I bet he had a full on cardiac when Mr. Woooooo sprung his ex-son-in law." 

"H-Hunter's in jail." Stephanie's face paled. She began pacing. "He-he tried to kill me. He hit me with the sledgehammer." 

"But you live to do another ensign." Edge said pleasantly. "Is that how one acquires special favors, Stephanie? By crawling in your pants?" 

"Excuse the hell out of me?" There was only ONE blonde Kanatian who got away with that! "Triple H did once fly us out of the volatile Tai'Lor cloud a couple years back. And this wormhole is unstable." 

"Kurt's virginity....." Edge went on. "Did he lose it right before he gained his plum position in Sickbay?" 

"You wanna go through the list of every engisn I've _supposedly _slept with?" Stephanie leaned against the glowing walls. "I got twelve hours. Make my day." 

He stood up and faced her. "I do feel proud that I WORKED for my fleeting promotion to lieutenant. Poor Jeff had to actually see you naked." 

"Why don't I get out my violin so it can accompany your whining?" Steph suggested. "I think you're lying about the Game, what is it you like to say.....ohhh...Engisn Bitchcakes is it? Daddy would never let him out-never." 

"Check your calendar, babe, never is today. And today, a depraved, self-important dirtbag with a schnozz large enough to orbit the Sun de-pushed me! The helm is MY spot!" 

"Cry me a river, Mighty Mouth! Or better yet, go moan to Hunter yourself! If I had any influence on that jerk's career, I'd strap him to a torpedo and shoot him up-" 

Stephanie's shriek of disgust died before it began against Edge's rather demanding lips. He finally pulled away, smirking as she caught her breath. _Why do guys with long blonde hair like kissing me so much_? 

"I'll await my special treatment, darling." 

She stood there for a moment, waiting for her own lips to stop tingling. "Well it wasn't as bad as Jeff...speaking of which," The commander tapped her comm badge." Matt, where are you?" 

"Uh, on the Bridge, calibrating the navigational systems. Why?" 

"Go find your brother and drag his worthless ass to Engineering." Stephanie replied. "Tell him to start giving a flying leap about time, and that it just ran out with me." 

Matt sighed. You've done it again, kiddo. "Aye, sir." 

*** 

The pain felt like boiling oil being poured directly on exposed nerves, gushing from his shoulder to the tips of his fingernails. The only sound in the hall outside of Engineering was the disconcerting pop of human joints. 

"You impudent little bastard." A voice was hissing in Edge's ear, its owner hidden by the stars flashing before his eyes. "If you ever speak to her like that again, I will rip your tongue out, tie it to your broken arm and drag you the length of this ship, facedown, until sparks are flying off those teeth of yours!" 

Burning salt pricked his eyelids, but Edge forced himself to meet the gaze boring a hole through him. "You were in Science...how did you-" 

"Ultrasonic hearing, dumbass. Maybe I can even hear the bad intentions in your perverse little brain before you act on them. Wanna try me?" 

"If this is what love does to a man, I think I'll go celibate." the ensign groaned. 

"Hard to do when you just screwed yourself, junior." Jericho twisted the boy's arm until he felt the give, heard the crack. "McMahon tells me to look out for his daughter, I do it." 

"Mighty expensive puppet _you _are." 

Chris smiled. He admired Edge's futile resistance to the agony. "Touch her again, I will amputate this thing in such a manner that even Taker would toss his cookies, we clear?" 

"Aye, sir." For once Edge thanked the Kanatian gods above for the Aerialian genes that prevented him from passing out....... 

*** 

WWF TITANPRIZE - THE SMACKDOWN 

Kevin Nash wondered who he was fooling anymore. The former Nytron agent watched his synthehol go flat in its frosted glass, preferring his less muddied thoughts to the drunken stupors he usually fell into head first. 

Because he was now a member of Flair's personal security contingent, people took him seriously. People realized he must be capable of things. They had no idea. 

And now, here was Hunter Hearst Helmsley, the Game, threatening to expose him. All because of that spoiled bitch he'd married...... 

"Flair only let your ass out of the brig cause you promised to stay away from Stephanie." 

"Slut didn't know I was there." Trip's laugh was harsh. "Neither did her flamer love slave. We Degenerates do know how to make ourselves invisible." 

Nash studied his toothpick carefully, twirling it between his fingers. _Problem is, Helmsley, you're starting to believe you're invincible too_. "Just steer the Titanprize through Russo's hellhole. Forget that damned android." 

"The gravitational force from a nearby neutron star almost ripped my face off. I don't ever forget something like that!" 

"Flair needs the Kliq." Kevin said slowly, softly. "The Kliq needs Flair. Jericho is nothing to us." 

Hunter was visibly shaken. It was dangerous to utter the name of the federation's rogue hit squad in mixed company. It's lethal work was legendary among the stars. "The 'bot hates Flair. The 'bot will do anything, anything to protect Vince. He thinks Ric laid down and allowed Russo to take over the Nytrons!" 

"Flair sure as hell did surrender without a fight." Nash agreed. "Cause he knew Russo was a psychopath and a murderer. Because he knew Dr. Piro had the power to torture enemies to death. The Nature Boy kept a lot of blood off his hands by leaving the WCW Nitro to Russo's rebels." 

"Rumor has it Flair also left Jericho in a scrap heap on some Kanatian moon before the takeover." Trip said. "It slimed its way back to the Nitro somehow. Think his calculator brain forgot that? Think Y2J is the same blindly loyal robot he was then? " 

"Shawn risked his life to send us those encrypted orders. Stick to the mission. Do not deviate. Jericho is not worth being executed for treason." Kevin realized it was hopeless. Helmsley would bury Jericho no matter what 

*** 

COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS - 19:00h 

Jericho studied himself in the mirror. He was wearing his WrestleFleet dress uniform, as was required for the First Officer when the Captain was presenting a lower ranking officer with a push. Besides, Kurt insisted Jericho be there. Jericho conceeded, if only to shut up the soon-to-be-Lieutenant. 

Jericho sighed as he remembered how the Olympic Ensign had rambled on that he had deserved a push some time ago. Jericho knew that the Ensign's utterly annoying and arrogant personality had been the reason he had not. Angle had, of course, blamed Jeff Hardy for getting the Lieutenant star unfairly, claiming it should have been his. While Jericho had not disagreed to Angle's face, the First Officer knew Jeff had deserved that push. Jericho still wasn't sure what had happened to get the boy demoted. 

And why did he care anyway? It's not like Jeff was his friend any more. No one was his friend. Not anymore. He was the higlight of this damned ship, and everyone knew it. They were jealous, plain and simple. 

As for Angle's belief that he had some sort of kinship with Jericho, well... it wasn't JERICHO'S fault the man had been following him around like a puppy dog. Apparently Angle thought that a few games of Kanatian hockey had earned him the right to be the First Officer's buddy. Jericho couldn't blame the Olympic officer, though. Someone like Angle would, of course, see the benefits in allying himself with the Y2J Unit. 

What did it matter? If something happened to any of them going through the wormhole, he wouldn't care. 

Who needed friends anyway? 

***

THE SMACKDOWN - 20:00h 

Intelligence.....integrity....and an insatiable appetite for licking boot. 

Yes, those were the three I's that had earned former Ensign Kurt Angle his shiny new star. 

Gold medalist, lieutenant, medical savior, virgin...wait no, never mind that last one....role model to children aboard the Titanprize. Really, the list of accolades was embarrassingly long. 

Why even Dr. Taker was here, and he never came to the Smackdown! "Been around a long time, Angle, seen a lot of unspeakable horrors, so I'm jaded to this kind of crap." Angle could translate the doctor's congratulations; the dead man was clearly in awe of his prodigious healing abilities. 

Kurt stood up on a mock medal stand, the American flag spread proudly behind him. The holographic pyros had been a nice, respectful touch on Captain McMahon's part. Now if Vince would just pin the star on him, so he could celebrate with a nice glass of pure white milk... 

"Hey buddy!" Edge said warmly. "Or should I say, Lieutenant Buddy? Does this mean you're a real doctor now? Aw heck, you know what I mean. Just hope you won't forget about us little people." 

Kurt frowned. Wasn't it _Edge_ who had forgotten about _him_? "Thanks very much, Ensign." 

"Remember the good ol' days, Kurt? The days of Team Eck?" 

"Certainly." Angle replied. "But I do believe the C in Team Eck stands for crybaby now." 

Edge's fingers tightened on the shiny little device in his hands."Er, Christian's evolution into a reekazoid has been rough on all us. You know he practices tantrums in front of the mirror? But I digress. We've grown apart lately, Kurt, and perhaps if we looked at this holo-album together, we might remember what made us pals in the first place." 

Kurt nodded approvingly. Words like _digress_ showed marked intelligence. "We did have some good times. It's true" 

"It is true." Edge fired up the small, padd-like machine in his hands. "All aboard my totally awesome time machine? Cool. Here's when we got our commendation for rescuing the Titanprize from the mind control devices of the U.S.S. Mushnick." 

"Ahhh yes." Angle said. "I did a run in for you guys while Ensign Hardy and Commander Stephanie and that robot tried to eject the warp core. We reeked of awesomeness that day." 

"Utterly chairalicious." Edge agreed. And Kurt was utterly a dork, according to the gleaming letters being projected below him. The crowd erupted into peals of laughter. 

"Golly, I remember this one." Kurt said happily, pointing at another shimmering photo. Also shimmering was the very informative message that Angle had never gotten laid. "You and Ensign Christian taught me the Kanatian sport of hockey." 

"You never did score." Edge said slyly. "Oh here's me and Christian's infamous Halloween film festival. A night that will live on in evilosity." 

Kurt's face hardened. "You tricked everyone into thinking I wanted Triple H's ass!" Now, of course, the Kanantian was tricking everyone into thinking Angle had no olympic testicles. "Look, he's the one who kept pantsing me as a prank! Why is everyone chuckling at me?" 

Several rows back, Christian's lower lip began to tremble. Where was the coolosity in this? He and his big brother always played cruel humiliating tricks together! Now Edge was showboating and hogging the limelight, AS USUAL! 

Behind Christian, Stephanie McMahon giggled. "Poor Kirk Angel." 

"I wouldn't feel too sorry for him." Jeff said. "I hear he spends hours alone in the bathroom with your x-rays." 

"Better than using holograms of his ex-girlfriend." Matt muttered. 

"Stick it cookie monster." Jeff scowled. 

"You stick it!" big brother snapped back. 

"Why don't you both stick it?" Lita demanded. "I'm getting sick of playing referee." 

"It's your fault." Jeff pouted. "Or maybe it is MY fault. Who can resist a Hardy? We are genetically fabulous creatures who-" 

"My, my, my if it isn't Stephanie and her precious Aerialian entourage." Commander Chris Jericho sneered at the foursome. "If you find Edge's childish joke funny, perhaps your McMahon wit has been shrivelled by close proximity to these yokels." 

"I resent that." Jeff frowned. "We're actually hicks." 

"Scurry back under your rock, Christopher." Stephanie said coldly. "I don't require a social director, especially one with no friends." 

"I could have you scrubbing toilets for that insubordination." Jericho's eyes flashed. 

"Big whoop. When you were in Engineering, I always felt neck deep in sewage." 

"Good god, get a room." Matt said in exasperation. 

"A room for what?" Jericho demanded. "Look, never mind, why am I even wasting time with you opies? Time to enforce some discipline on this tin can." 

Disturbed by Matt's comment, Chris stormed up to Edge. "Thanks for the public service announcement concerning Kurt's anatomical incorrectness, but it's a serious crime to disrespect a superior officer." 

"It's also a serious crime to have a titanium pole wedged that far up your backside, sir." 

"Disrespect?" Angle echoed, eyes searching downword. "What in the H-E-double hockey sticks? No, wait people! I do have-I mean-I got those-I am not lacking in any regards! Stop that! I do not suck! You're all nuts!" 

"Can't say that about _yourself_, huh Kurt?" Ensign Van Damn called out from the back. The audience roared. 

"First my hand gestures, now my one liners." Jeff said angrily. "Who does that assclown think he is?" 

The chant of "ANGLE SUCKS" was unstoppable. Chris frowned. 

"You have all the maturity of a cadet, if you get my drift, Edgester." 

"Take out your perverse sexual frustrations for Stephanie McMahon on someone else, dude." 

Jericho felt his face grow warm. _Am I blushing? And do I need to go at Jeff Hardy's loose lips with a hot glue gun? Why does everyone think-_

The Kanatians hadn't seen the captain approach, but indeed, Vince had overheard. "Excuse me, ensign?" 

"He's slandering your daughter's good name, sir!" Kurt said quickly. "Sullying her precious innocence." 

"Get out, Edge." Vince's voice was menacingly calm. "Before I have Commander Jericho do something I'll regret." 

Edge snarled at the Captain, but didn't protest. That stupid dork Kurt used to be funny, now he was nothing but a yes man and a butt kisser. And Chris Jericho! What an arrogant jack ass he'd evolved into! This wasn't over by a long shot.... 

*** COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS - 23:00h 

Jericho sat on his bed as he stared at the padd in his hands. An old Earth movie was playing before him. The story was about a puppet who wanted to be a real boy. Jericho stopped it just as the blue fairy was about to grant the puppet his wish. 

Fairy tales didn't amuse him anymore. 

Jericho suddenly felt something shifting in what would have been considered his stomach. The shifting was followed by a strange sound. A grumbling? Or growling? He listened. Was that the bulkhead? Jericho stood up and put a hand against the cool metal. 

Nothing. 

He felt the strange shifting again, "What the hell?" and the grumbling returned. Jericho put a hand to his stomach, his eyes went wide. THAT'S where it was coming from! But... HOW? He knew what it meant to humans, but how could HE be affected by it? 

Regardless, it was happening. And he needed to take care of it! 

Jericho made his way to the replicator, not sure what to ask for. The most he had ever asked from the replicator was a Kanatian brandy. He never had a reason for drinking it, but he had become accustomed to the social habit. So, of course, it was the first thing he asked for. He scowled at his so-called stomach as it made noise once again. "Shut up!" he yelled at it, then turned back to the replicator, "uh... umm..." he tried to think. 

Of all things he had seen his fellow officers consume, what had been the most popular? Among the males, it was.... "Steak. Medium-well," he ordered. 

Jericho took the tray that the replicator had produced and sat at his desk. He picked up the utensils and cut a piece of meat. He studied it, smelled it. He was suprised to find his mouth watering. Yes, he had eaten before for social reasons, but he had never had quite this reaction to food products. 

He finally put the piece in his mouth, finding that he savoured the taste. It was.... in a word .... amazing! 

Jericho continued the same process with the rest of the steak, and his stomach soon quieted. 

He turned to his Kanatian brandy and gulped it down in seconds, only to find himself feeling somewhat dizzy. What was THIS? He remembered what had happened to his fellow crewmembers who drank down a glass too quickly, but it had never affected HIM that way. The dizziness passed, and he was fine once again. 

Jericho made his way to the replicator and ordered another glass. He drank this one down quickly as well, noting his response. The dizziness returned, but when it faded, he found himself feeling rather lightheaded. He ordered one more glass, and by the time he finished it, he was laughing for no apparent reason. 

He knew for a fact that Kanatian brandy was powerful. Most humanoids could only take one glass and still remain standing. His fellow Kanatians were able to consume more then others... in moderation. Kanatians knew better then to gulp down Kanatian brandy like water, but that didn't stop him. Was he... TIPSY? 

Impossible! And to prove it, he'd have a fourth glass! And ... a fifth! Yes! Five glasses of Kanatian brandy in less then 30 minutes... and he was fine.... except.... why was the room was suddenly spinning? And why did Jericho suddenly find himself running to the washroom, falling to his knees and leaning over the toilet as his stomach quickly rejected the meal he had just eaten? 

After a few minutes of 'praying to the porcelain goddess' - as he had heard Jeff Hardy once call it while the Ensign suffered one of his own rare binges - Jericho realized there was nothing left for his stomach to reject. 

The Y2J Unit stood up, took a deep breath, and collapsed to the cold linoleum floor, allowing the darkness to wash over him. 

*** 

CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM (the next day) 

"Captain's log, stardate 032520.02. We have finally reached the wormhole! It is time to go home! Out of this unchartered quadrant. Out of this limbo we've been travelling for the last year. The crew is getting ready to celebrate in The Smackdown. It's a 'going home' party. It should be a blast! My personal assistant, Stacy, is planning on dancing for the crew," McMahon smiled to himself. He did so enjoy watching Stacy dance. Now if only he could get her to-- 

"Commander Stephanie to Daddy," Stephanie's voice interrupted his thoughts. 

McMahon sighed, "Yes, honey?" 

"We're ready for whatever the wormhole has in store for us down here, daddy," Stephanie said happily, barely containing the excitement in her voice, "I can't wait until we get home! Stephie out!" she clicked off the comm. 

Captain McMahon turned back to his log, "We'll be home soon. Very soon! Commander Jericho, who sounded a bit worse for wear this morning -- no idea why -- has offered to forego the party and keep watch on the bridge by himself. Which is fine with me. I don't think androids care about parties one way or the other anyway. End log," 

*** BRIDGE (20:00h) 

Jericho sat in the Captain's chair, staring at the wormhole through the titanscreen. He had piped the Bridge speakers into the Smackdown's music program and was hearing whatever music the crew was currently partying to - currently a song called "Earthshine" from the late 20th Century by a Kanatian band called 'Rush'. _Well what an appropriate title THAT is_, Jericho thought. 

For what seemed like the one-hundreth time, Jericho checked the monitors beside him for any anomolies in the expanding and contracting hole before the ship. They were not to go through it until the time WrestleFleet deemed safe. 

Tomorrow afternoon. 

WrestleFleet would then be prepared to greet them on the other side and tend to any damages that may occur during the trip. 

Jericho leaned back, finding McMahon's chair rather comfortable. Perhaps one day, he would have a chair just like it. He would be a Captain! Such a lofty dream for a computer, he knew. But he was nothing if not motivated. Motivated to prove once and for all that he DID have what it took to be a leader! An UNDISPUTED leader! Nothing would get in the way of that dream! 

Except... 

What good was a dream if there was no one left to share it with? 

*** 

THE SMACKDOWN 

Ensign Matt smiled at the beaufiul red-head in his arms as the two sat together on a couch in the Smackdown, "It's been a while, hmm?" he asked. 

Ensign Lita smiled as she snuggled against him, gingerly positioning her sore neck, "Yes. I've missed this," she said. 

"Lita..." Matt started, not wanting to break the moment, but needing to know the truth, "What happened with you and Jeff?" 

"Can we not talk about that now, Matt?" 

"No. Please. I want to know," 

Lita took a deep breath, "Well, you know how I had a crush on him when we were kids?" Matt nodded, and Lita continued, "When we were together as adults, I realized that I had grown up and Jeff was still that sweet little boy from so long ago. I tried to tell myself 'oh he's just being silly. He'll change' but he never did. Jeff is Jeff. He doesn't take anything seriously. Basically, he's an idiot-child. And I don't need an idiot-child," she offered a small smile, "Especially one who still hasn't learned how to kiss a woman," 

"He's really that bad?" Matt asked. 

"You have NO idea! Just ask Stephanie. She can vouch for it!" 

"Well then, it's about time someone kissed you properly!" Matt replied, and tilted his head towards hers. Lita smiled, and closed her eyes, savouring the moment as Matt took her breath away. 

Ensign Jeff Hardy frowned as he watched Lita and Matt from a few feet away. His heart dropped. But really, why should he be surprised? He saw it coming. After Lita had dumped him, he had seen Matt and his ex share secret looks, secret touches. They never realized he had grown aware of their relationship. 

Jeff knew Lita had never stopped caring for Matt. Matt was her first 'serious' boyfriend. And no matter how hard he tried to keep it together, Lita had begun to grow more and more distant from Jeff. When he had proposed to her, it was a last-ditch effort to keep what he knew was slipping away. It was no wonder their wedding ended in disaster. Jeff realized now it wasn't meant to be. 

He sighed and walked away from the two, the stopped, "Steph?" he started as he eyed the Commander leaning against a bulkhead, "You looking for a new career as a wallflower?" 

Stephanie shrugged, "Well, Kurt _did_ ask for an Olympic dance, but something about the man talking about his medals as we danced didn't quite appeal to me," 

"How about a slow dance with ME then?" 

"Not really in the mood to do much dancing," Stephanie sighed. 

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "Well if YOU won't dance with me, maybe I should just go on stage and join Rikishi and Scotty!" 

Stephanie grabbed his arm, "You do, and I'll never speak to you again! I'll slow dance with you, ok? Just DON'T put us through the torture of watching you skip your little heart out in front of everyone!" 

"Hey, I don't skip!" 

Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Here's a slow song. Surely you won't embarrass yourself by just standing and swaying," she pulled him out onto the dance floor and rested her hands on his shoulders. 

"You're not having fun here, are you?" Jeff asked. 

"What? Of course I am!" Stephanie forced a smile, "What makes you think I'm not?" 

"The fact that you're watching couples dance with that forlorn look on your face," Jeff replied with a smile. 

"And what about you, Hardy? You think I didn't notice you staring at _them_?" she indicated Matt and Lita, currently making out in their little corner of the bar. Jeff said nothing. Stephanie sighed, "Jeff, listen. Things happen. Relationships end! I know from experience," 

"It hurts," Jeff said. 

"Of course it does. It's called life. Sometimes life sucks," Stephanie replied, then took on a big-sister attitude, "But speaking as one older and wiser," 

"By two years," he interrupted. 

"Old enough!" Stephanie snapped, "Now shut up, Hardly. I'm trying to give you some words of wisdom here!" Jeff coughed, trying to stifle a laugh. Stephanie frowned, "Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?" she asked. 

Jeff cleared his throat, "Uh... yeah. Sorry, Steph. Go on!" 

Stephanie smiled smugly, "Good! Now as I was saying.... speaking as someone older and wiser, I'll tell you this -- you'll find someone else, and when you do, you'll realize she's the one you've REALLY been waiting for!" 

Jeff offered a small smile, "Or I can just insist I hate them and never admit my true feelings," 

"What are you talking about?" Stephanie said quickly, if not defensively. 

"You KNOW what I'm talking about! He may be acting like an ass right now, but...." 

"Who?" Stephanie asked innocently. 

Jeff sighed, "He's on the bridge if you want to--" 

"Want to.... what? I don't want anything. Let's just dance, Hardly. And... try not to trip over my feet, ok?" 

Jeff rolled his eyes, but continued to dance. Maybe there was something he could teach his _older and wiser_ commander about admiting one's feelings... 

*** THE BRIDGE 

"Commander Jericho?" A quiet voice spoke as the doors to the bridge swooshed open. 

"Yes, Counselor Snow?" Jericho asked, not bothering to look at the man as he walked onto the bridge. 

"I thought you could use some assistance," Snow replied. 

"Why aren't you at the party, Al?" Jericho questioned as the man sat beside him, holding his H.E.A.D. 

"Too much noise," he smiled. Jericho nodded, knowing the man didn't mean literal noise. The counselor would, of course, be uncomfortable in a crowded room bombarded with the thoughts and feelings of drunk WrestleFleet officers. 

"How do you do it?" Jericho asked the counselor. 

"Pardon?" Snow replied. 

"How do you deal with all those emotions?" 

"Very carefully," Snow smiled, then grew serious, "You're having problems," he said. 

"I've been having some... uncontrollable emotional surges," Jericho explained quickly, coolly. "I suppose it's hanging around all these sentients," 

"You can't turn your emotions off anymore, can you," Snow said matter-of-factly, "You don't have a chip," 

Jericho's eyes went wide. How the hell did Snow know THAT? "Did a certain McMahon skank spill her guts to you?" he asked, angry that his confidence had been broken. Why did he tell her in the first place? 

"No," Snow replied,"Stephanie didn't tell me. THEY did," he indicated H.E.A.D. 

Jericho narrowed his eyes, "You are NOT to tell anyone, Snow! If you do, I will give you an undisputed beating you will never eeeeeeeeeever forget! Do you understand?" he hissed. 

"I won't ask how it happened. I'm sure even YOU can't explain it," Al replied, "I can see how difficult it is for you to adjust. Especially now - when your friends won't even talk to you. When SHE won't talk to you. That's what's affecting you the most, isn't it?" From the look on the Commander's face, Al knew he was correct. Counselor Snow sat back in his chair and sighed, "But I suppose it's easier for you to sit up here alone on the bridge and not think about it," 

Jericho studied Counselor Snow with a raised eyebrow, "What the hell are you going on about, Al?" he asked. 

Snow caught the First Officer's eyes, "These emotions are all part of your wish on Kanata, Commander. You have to accept them as part of you," 

"Why did you come up here, Snow? I don't need a counselling session!" Jericho snapped, "And what do you know about the incident on Kanata? Have you been hacking into personal logs?" Jericho frowned, "Do I need to report your invasion of privacy to the proper WrestleFleet authorities when we return to Earth?" 

"No sir!" Al said quickly, "I didn't invade ANYTHING, sir! H.E.A.D told me!" he insisted, holding up the object in his hands. 

"Oh really? Then I suppose H..E.A.D. told you that my WISH came true already! It was to be an Undisputed commander!" 

"No it wasn't," Snow replied. 

"Yes it was," Jericho insisted, "And don't claim to know so much about me, jerky!" 

"You're changing," Al said, then leaned towards Jericho, his voice dropping to a whisper, "H.E.A.D. knows why you were late for your duties this morning," 

"I had a malfunction," Jericho explained. 

"H.E.A.D. says it was a hangover," Snow replied. 

"Tell H.E.A.D. to mind it's own business!" Jericho snapped. "Androids don't get hangovers!" 

"Androids don't have emotions either," Snow pointed out. 

"Counselor Snow," Jericho interrupted, "If you have nothing helpful to say, would you please SHUT the HELL up?!" he said, then added, "And the only thing I care about is my Undeeee-speeee-uted First Officer's title, junior!" 

"Yes, sir," Snow replied, deciding the matter was best dropped. He turned to the Titanscreen and stared out into the gaping mouth of the wormhole, deciding not to inform his First Officer of the eavesdropper that H.E.A.D. had sensed in the hallway. 

*** TITANPRIZE CORRIDORS 

Stephanie put her hands against the partially-opened door in front of her. The conversation she had overheard between Snow and the First Officer had stopped her in her tracks, preventing her from stepping onto the bridge. 

Yeah, Jerk-icho sure did care about his title, didn't he? He even turned on his friends to get it! 

But what had Snow said about Jericho having an hangover? How was that even possible? She would have liked to find out. Maybe she could use it against the arrogant Commander! 

Of course, Stephanie would have also liked to find out why she had been drawn to the Bridge in the first place... 

*** 

THE BRIDGE (the next day) 

McMahon and Flair looked out the viewscreen at the wormhole that awaited them, "This is it, Vince," Flair started, "This is the way home! Woooo!" 

"May I say it HASN'T been a pleasure working with you, Admiral Flair!" McMahon spat. 

"Hey, Vince, who knows? We may be working together again when we get back to WrestleFleet headquarters. 

"Oh I hope not!" McMahon muttered, then hit the ship-wide comm, "This is your Captain speaking. We have reached the wormhole. We will be going through it shortly. I ask that everyone brace themselves just in case the ride isn't as clean as we've planned," _And if it's not clean, the destruction of this ship will be on YOUR head, Admiral!_

After a few minutes, McMahon ordered the ship to slowly make it's way towards the mouth of the wormhole, full impulse. All began smooth enough... 

But no one was prepared for the sudden gravitational force that grabbed the ship, throwing the officers every which way. 

"PULL BACK!" Flair commanded, "Reverse engines! Get us out of here!" 

"Trying!" Commander Stephanie's voice came through the comm, "No luck! The pull is too strong!" The ship lurched violently. An explosion was heard through the comm and was soon replaced by static. 

"Captain Sick Freak - Engineering is taking on massive damage and a possible warp core breach. The Rock's ship is unable to pull away from the wormhole," Lt. Commander Rock informed Captain McMahon. 

Without waiting for the order, Commander Jericho jumped to his feet and ran into the turbolift, "Engineering!" he demanded, "NOW!" 

"We're going in!" Ensign Edge informed McMahon, "And it's so totally NOT gonna be cool!"   
  
  


END OF SEASON TEN   


Return to the Wrestle Trek page 


	97. Series Finale: Breakdown

WRESTLE TREK:  
VOYAGERS

**SEASON ELEVEN**

**EPISODE 1: BREAKDOWN**

By: Elektra and XC

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE!

TITANPRIZE CREW:

Captain Vince McMahon   
First Officer, Commander Jericho (Unit Y2J)   
Chief Engineer, Commander Stephanie McMahon   
Chief of Chiefs, Commander Linda McMahon   
Chief of Security, Commander Kane   
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Taker   
Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Austin   
Transporter Chief, Lieutenant Commander Debra   
Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Rock   
Counselor Al Snow (assisted by H.E.A.D.)

... And many more!

WWF TITANPRIZE - BRIDGE

Captain McMahon tried to dodge the flying sparks as he gave his order, "Lt. Commander Rock, open all hailing frequencies! On every possible WrestleFleet channel, send the following message: This is Captain Vince McMahon to any WrestleFleet ship through the wormhole! Our hull integrity and Engineering have been compromised by the gravitational pull of the wormhole! We have lost navigation and warp engines. We are falling apart! Repeat--we are falling apart! Titanprize may have casualties! We are going to try to make it through, but once we come through, the ship must be tended to immediately! We--"

Suddenly there was a fizz and an explosion at The Rock's comm station, "What in the blue hell!" Rocky snapped as he was singed by the small fire. He quicky got back up, his Maivian healing abilities kicking in, "The communications array can lick a Llama's nipple!" he shouted angrily as he studied the burned-out console, "The Rock is unable to communicate with anyone on-board or otherwise!"

"Damnit!" McMahon shouted as the console before him exploded as well, "Everyone to the safety shelter before the Bridge goes up in flames! Let's go!!" with that, the Bridge personnel quickly ran to The Smackdown.

ENGINEERING 

"Out! Everyone OUT!" First Officer Jericho commanded as he ran into Engineering. White-hot Sparks flooded through the deck as a good portion of the bulkhead fell around the crew. Jericho's fingers frantically flew over the nearest console as he attempted to stabilize the warp core, which was heating beyond acceptable levels. "I said OUT! That's an order from your undisputed first officer!" he shouted to the crew. Another shower of sparks convinced them that Engineering was no place to be. He quickly programmed the safety doors shut, protecting the rest of the ship from a possible warp core breach... but also preventing himself from escaping any time soon.

"I'd argue about you encroaching on my command, but now wouldn't be the time!" a voice shouted from the other side of Engineering.

"Steph!" Jericho shouted, "I ordered everyone OUT!"

"I'm the Chief Engineer!" Stephanie snapped, "I am not leaving my engines!" She dodged an explosion from the console beside her, "Damnit!"

"No time to argue! We have to make sure the ship gets through the wormhole in one piece!" he said as the sound of twisting metal became almost unbearable. The violent lurching of the ship did nothing to help the already unstable warpcore. What direction was the Titanprize going in? For all he knew, they'd end up even more lost then before. Jericho ran to the plasma conduits and tore away the protective panels. He began rearranging the silicon chips and wires in an attempt to stop the warp core from burning up and exploding.

Stephanie studied the read-outs on her console, trying to redirect some of the warp core's extra energy elsewhere, "It's cooling. Slowly! But our engines are going to be fried after this! This ship is as good as dead. I only hope we end up in Federation territory!" She let out a scream as she was thrown from the console in a burst of flame.

"STEPHANIE!" Jericho shouted.

"I'M FINE!" She replied, only slightly battered. She quickly jumped to her feet and ran to the closest console that WASN'T on fire to continue her work, "This is the best we can do," she said. "It may not hold for long but---" her words were cut off as a hull breach created a huge vacuum in Engineering, taking all the oxygen with it. Stephanie could see the stars through the hole a few feet away, and her very breath was drained out of her body as Engineering began to depressurize.

Jericho gasped for air. Why the hell was HE unable to breathe? Regardless of his environment, oxygen was supposed to run though his systems non-stop. No time to worry about that now as Stephanie was holding on to a console for dear life, the ominous hole trying to suck her through.

He fought the vacuum and his lack of oxygen. He had to get her before it was too late! He clamped an arm around her waist and used all his strength to pull her back against him. He could almost feel his artificial lungs burst as they demanded oxygen that was never coming.

With Stephanie in one arm, he forced his way from the vacuum of space and into a jefferies tube, pulling the panel shut behind him.

Jericho took a deep breath and felt his lungs burn as the oxygen came rushing into them. Stephanie wasn't in much better shape, her body racked with a violent coughing fit.

"You.... okay..?" he croaked out. It wouldn't do for her to find out he almost suffocated like _she_ had. It wouldn't do at all. He still couldn't understand why his oxygen processors had malfunctioned.

Stephanie nodded, still unable to find her voice. She sat against the wall of the jefferies tube, taking deep gulping breaths. It was so quiet in here compared to the explosions in Engineering. All that could be heard was the creaking of the hull as it protested the violent trip through the wormhole. They could still feel the ship lurching violently beneath them and soon found themselves airborne as gravity briefly disappeared.

Stephanie closed her eyes, groaning. Luckily she had gotten used to roller coasters when she was younger, or else her lunch would have ended up in the jefferies tube when the gravity harshly returned -- which was something neither of them could afford at the moment.

Stephanie quickly got to her hands and knees and made her way to the middle of the jefferies tube, as far away from Engineering as possible. Jericho followed her lead.

"At least we got the warp core somewhat stabilized," Jericho said.

Stephanie nodded, then tapped her comm badge, "Daddy?" she called, but recieved nothing but static. She tried again, "Daddy?!" Still no answer. She tried repeatedly, "Daddy? Daddy? DADDY ANSWER ME!"

"It's not working, Steph!" Jericho said.

Stephanie looked at him, eyes wide, "What if he's gone?" she gasped, "What if they're all gone! What if we're the only ones who---"

"Stephanie, would you please just SHUT the HELL up!" Jericho snapped, "Listen... they're not gone, ok. They CAN'T be gone," he insisted desperately, "They just... they can't be, ok!" _And to think, the other day I was convinced I wouldn't give a damn if something DID happen_, he thought. He really hated realizing he had lied to himself all this time.

"You're as scared as I am," Stephanie said. There was no question. It was a fact. Her voice grew quiet, "I don't want to die, Chris. Not now. Not like this!" Stephanie leaned her head back against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to fight back her fear.

"No one can chose WHEN we go," Jericho replied.

"YOU can chose," she answered.

Jericho raised an eyebrow, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Stephanie sighed, "You'll never die. Not until you shut yourself down!"

"That's not entirely true," he answered, but stopped. Should he tell her that the hull breach had almost killed him? "_I couldn't breathe!" _He thought to himself, "_ME, of all people! I was suffocating!_" Itwas the most frightening thing he had ever experienced. It made him wonder if he wasn't only mortal after all.

There were far too many odd things happening to his body lately for him to ignore -- first the blood in his fight with Triple H, the mood swings, then the hunger, the effect of drinking too much Kanatian brandy, and now the lack of oxygen. Maybe the Chief Engineer could help him figure it out.

"Steph--" was all he could get out before Stephanie suddenly pressed her mouth against his...

... until another shift in gravity threw them both apart.

The two Commanders stared at each other wordlessly until the ship suddenly lurched to a stop. It was floating dead, the jefferies tube filling with a deafening silence that replaced the creaking metal and violent protestations of the warpcore.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the WWF TITANPRIZE!" Stephanie could hear Captain McMahon's voice boom outside the jeffries tube, the communications back online--barely, if the hissing and popping was any indication. "This is your Captain speaking! We've made it! We're HOME!"

"HOME?! You mean, we're not going to DIE?" Stephanie's eyes lit up as she crawled to the farthest panel. Before she could remove it, Jericho grabbed her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks, "Let go!" She snapped, "We're HOME! We're ALIVE! I have to get out of here! I have to find daddy!"

"Why did you KISS me?" he demanded, then realized, "Was it because you thought we were going to die?"

"WHAT?" She snapped angrily, then her words came out in an angry rush, "You said you couldn't breathe! That you were suffocating! So I just gave you CPR, ok? THAT'S IT!" She snapped, "If you thought it was something else, then you have a serious UNDISPUTED ego problem! But that's nothing new! So LET GO OF ME!"

Jericho had thought outloud... and she had used that as a very convienient excuse. Not letting his eyes leave hers, he let go of her arm, "Ok, Steph. If you say so," he then smirked ever so slightly, "I guess that was a new 'French' version of CPR," he said, "Thanks for showing me. I'll add that to my first aid program!"

Stephanie quickly looked away from him, "You're an ass!" she hissed angrily. The Chief Engineer's fingers nervously fumbled to removed the panel and allowed herself to tumble into The Smackdown, extremely relieved to see rest of the crew already gathered there.

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - BRIEFING HALL (two days later)

"Attention please?" Chief of Chiefs Linda McMahon stood up on the podium and addressed the crew of the WWF TITANPRIZE, "I have a few things to address. Some of you may like what I have to say, some of you may not. First things first: All Nytrons that served aboard the WWF Titanprize are now officially recognized as WrestleFleet officers. If you do not wish to be a part of WrestleFleet, please leave now and inform a Chief or Admiral as soon as possible. You will hand in your rank and uniform, and will be free to live your life as you please. As for the Nytrons that have gone into hiding, those guilty of severe crimes against WrestleFleet will be found and punished!"

Several WrestleFleet officers cheered while several Nytrons sighed with relief. Finally the Nytrons-come-WrestleFleet officers would be able to start anew, without the threat of death from their overly-loyal commrades hanging over their heads.

Linda waited a moment for the crew to quiet down, then continued, "Now on to the second order of business -- As of now, the WWF Titanprize is damaged beyond repair,"

A collective gasp, and a chant of "WHAT" forced the Chief of Chiefs to raise her hand and hush the audience, "We have recently started work on another Main-Event Class Starship much like the WWF Titanprize, but it will be some-time before it is completed. It will be called WW**_E _** Titanprize. Until then, we have two Mid-Card Class starships in dock. They were built only recently, and have yet to be taken into Space. The ships are called the TNN RAW, and the UPN SD. The RAW will be run by Captain Ric Flair, and the SD will be run by Captain Vince McMahon. We will be splitting the crew in half until we can finish work on the WWE,"

A mumble of discontent rose up from the crowd. Split? In two? They didn't WANT to be split! The crew had been through too much! Suffered too much to be torn apart now. This wasn't going to work. They knew it wasn't.

"You will all be recieving your new assignments later today. Those that do not recieve anything, please come see me tomorrow afternoon. I do regret having to tear this crew apart, but we have no choice at this point in time. We hope you'll understand our position here, and realize that this is for the best. Thank you," Linda left the podium and headed back to her office.

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - AIR DUCTS 

Bishoff listened carefully to the meeting below him. After barely surviving the Titanprize's descent through the wormhole, he swore he would stop hiding in air ducts. Besides, Russo was gone. No need.

But yet, cowardice still resided in his heart. What had happened to him? Ever since Russo had taken over the Nytrons, Eric had been running scared. It was time to bring back the Ruthless Agression that had created the Nytron movement in the first place! No more running from those who tried to challenge him -- that's how Russo had taken over in the first place.

It was time for Eric Bishoff to get back in control. But how... how to go about it? Chief Linda McMahon spoke of two new Wrestlefleet ships. One was the TNN RAW, the other the UPN SD.

Perhaps Eric could make himself useful on either one. Perhaps... if he could convince Linda that he was back in control of his mental faculties, she would offer him a position. He was sure he could convince the Chief of Chiefs that he was no longer a traitor. In fact, he was a victim of Russo! Yes, that would work! And he had the scars to prove it as well. Surely she would take pity on him.

And then... with his extensive background, perhaps she could find a position for him after all!

Now, if he could only find Stephanie and remind her of the time he had saved her life...

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - CHIEF OF CHIEFS' OFFICE (the next day)

"Mother!" An angry Stephanie McMahon burst into the Chief of Chiefs' office, "Why wasn't I assigned to either The RAW or SD?" she demanded.

Chief McMahon sighed and put away the padd she was working on, "Have a seat, honey,"

"I don't want to sit! I want to know what's going on!" she insisted as she stamped a foot on the plush carpet, though she had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that her suspicions had been accurate.

"Steph, honey, we -- your father and and I -- figured you'd be better off here," Linda explained.

Yes. VERY accurate. "I don't want to be HERE! I want to be out THERE!" she absently indicated the sky, "How could I be better off HERE?"

"Well, a few reasons, actually. You knew the WWF Titanprize Engines like the back of your hand. You could help us with the WW_**E** _Titanprize's warp core design!"

"Commander Jericho knew them too!" she snapped, "So why don't you make HIM stay instead?"

Linda studied her daughter. How to say this in the nicest way possible? "Well... your father and I think.... you might be a liability," before Stephanie could protest, her mother continued, "In name, only," she added quickly. "There have been two incidences showing that neither the crew, nor it's enemies, are beyond using you and your name as a way to gain power within WrestleFleet and on-board it's flagship," she held up one finger, "Triple H married you for political power," then held up another finger, "And High-Commander Russo tried to have you killed in an attempt to take over the Titanprize and destroy the Milky Way -- an attempt, may I add, that caused the WWF Titanprize to get lost in space for a year,"

"I divorced Triple H!" Stephanie shouted back, "And I'm not to blame for Russo's derangned mind! In case you've forgotten, I managed to take pretty good care of him later!"

"Yes, this is true. Before that, however, how many times did you need the Hardy Ensigns or Commander Jericho to help you out of a sticky situation? I'm sorry, Stephanie. The decision stands," Linda was apologetic, "You're staying here. It's safer for you! This matter is closed,"

"No it is NOT closed! I don't WANT to be safe!" Stephanie replied angrily, "If I wanted to be SAFE, I never would have--"

"Chief McMahon?" A voice broke through Stephanie's rant. She turned around to see who had so rudely interrupted her. The gold-uniformed officer smirked, "Ahh, Commander Stephanie. Feel like teaching me some new CPR techniques a little later?"

Stephanie was not amused, "Excuse me, Jerkicho, I'm in the middle of something here!"

"I believe your Mother said the matter was closed. Now speaking as one who IS assigned to a ship - the TNN RAW, in fact - I need to speak to the Chief of Chiefs... if you don't mind, your highness," Jericho replied, his voice full of sarcasm and arrogance.

"Yes, I did have a meeting with Commander Jericho," Linda spoke, "I'm sorry, Stephanie. This discussion is over," Stephanie scowled at both Jericho and her mother, then marched out angrily, "Now, Commander... how may I help you?"

"It's my assignment," he began as he sat down, "Why wasn't I given rank of First Officer on-board the RAW? I served as First Officer onboard the Titanprize for several months!"

"Well, yes... but we feel that your talents are better used as Chief Engineer on the RAW. You managed to stablize the warp core when the Titanprize went through the wormhole. It saved the ship from burning up and helped bring everyone home safely," Linda explained,"Besides, we are bringing in another First Officer for the RAW,"

Jericho raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?" he asked, "And who, may I ask, might that be?"

"Commander Shawn Michaels will be given rank of First Officer," Linda answered.

"WHAT?" Jericho jumped to his feet, "You're getting that past-his-prime Commander to take MY Undisputed spot on-board the TNN RAW?"

"We're currently lacking any other high-ranking officers,"

"That's MY SPOT!" Jericho repeated angrily, "I've worked long and hard to get this rank!" he pointed to his Commander stars, "And WrestleFleet has the gall to yank it out from under me?"

"You're still a Commander," Linda replied calmly. She was used to dealing with WrestleFleet egos, "You're just assigned to a different position,"

"And who's bright idea was it to bring him back?" Jericho asked.

"It was actually a suggestion made by Captain Flair himself," Linda answered, "But ultimately, it was WrestleFleet's decision in the end," Linda explained, "Now if you'll excuse me, Commander, I have a board meeting to go to," With that, Linda stood up and left her office, leaving a fuming Commander Jericho staring after her.

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - MESS HALL

Ensign Hurricane studied the padd before him, "It seems we're both on the TNN RAW! How very fortunate!" he looked at the pretty blonde girl beside him -- well, she_ used_ to be blonde, but now her hair seemed more cinnamon brown. Hurricane wondered if it was a Houdinian thing. The masked man decided to leave that question for later. Right now, he had a greater concern, "I still have my mighty sidekick!"

Ensign Molly Holly frowned. She was hoping they wouldn't be on the same ship. Without _him_, she was hoping she'd finally be taken seriously! Another bithday was approaching. The age-of-maturity was sneaking up on Molly. Not only was her mentality changing, but Molly's physical appearance as well, for the closer her birthday came, the darker her hair had grown . It was all part of the same thing. It was all a part of growing up. Soon, Molly would be more like her older cousin, Hardcore.

Molly suddenly felt a pang of seperation anxiety. She was split from her Cousin Crash -- he had been asked to stay at WrestleFleet headquarters. She didn't like that. Not at all.

As for her partnership with Hurricane... well, as far as she was concernced, he was a silly fool living in his own little world. She had already planned to take care of him.

"Just so you know, Hurricane," Molly started as she grasped the small lead frying pan behind her back, "I've resigned from the super-hero business!" She lifted the frying pan high, and struck. The poor boy's Hurri-senses kicked in a moment too late...

"Steph?" Jeff Hardy started as he saw the ex Chief Engineer sitting alone in the Mess Hall, "What's wrong?"

"It's over," she said.

Jeff furrowed his brow, "Over? What's over?"

"My career!" she replied bitterly, "It seems my _loving_ parents have assigned me to WrestleFleet headquarters. They said it was safer..."

Jeff looked forlorn, "Yeah... I've requested a transfer to the TNA NWA. The Titanprize crew... they're just... not for me. But I think Matt will be on the TNN RAW," he offered her a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He wasn't very happy about his decision, but it was for the best, "I'm not going to miss having to save your ass all the time, though,"

Stephanie let out a harsh laugh, "And that's one of the reasons I'm stuck HERE!"

An unwanted guest interrupted their conversation, "Hey, Princess! What's with the long face? It's not very attractive on you, but then again--"

"Shut up, Chris!" Stephanie snapped, not really in the mood. Jericho made himself comfortable at the table her and Jeff currently occupied. Stephanie glared at him, then quickly got to her feet and walked away.

"Steph?" Jeff called out, but she didn't look back. Jeff turned his attention to Jericho, "You know she's staying here,"

"Yes. I heard you're transfering," Jericho replied.

Ensign Hardy nodded, but the air was tense between them. Things had not yet smoothed over, "Chris, this is probably the last time we'll see each other for a long while," he started, then held out his hand, "Even though I still don't like this new you, I just want to thank you for the friendship we DID have,"

"I haven't changed as much as you think, Jeffery," Jericho spoke quietly, but didn't bother to elaborate as he shook Jeff's hand, "Goodbye, Ensign,"

"Who knows how long it will be before you see her again," Jeff called out as Jericho got to his feet, "You should tell her before she finds someone else,"

Jericho turned back to him, the arrogance returning, "Tell who what?"

Jeff sighed, "Chris..."

"It's _Commander Jericho_, Ensign Hardy. I suggest you remember that!" Jericho replied, then turned on his heel and headed out of the mess hall, leaving the Hardy Ensign shaking his head.

WWF HEADQUARTERS - PLANET EARTH - QUARTERS OF MATT AND JEFF HARDY (06:00h)

"Do you really want to be on the same ship as the Cocky Kanatians?" Jeff asked of his brother as the two lay in the dark of their quarters.

"I don't care. Lita's there at least. You're leaving, remember?"

"I heard the love in your voice when you said that." Jeff said sweetly.

"Clean your ears." Matt mumbled, burying his face in his pillow. Maybe only suffocation could block out that squeaky voice....

"Ah, company!" Jeff bounced off his bed and pulled a wrinkled t-shirt over his spiky red and purple hair. "Come!"

"I hope I'm not disturbing you guys." Commander McMahon blew into the room and sat on the edge of Matt's bed. "You weren't sleeping were you?"

"No, we're having a frickin' party." Matt snapped. "See, we're playing charades, and I'm only pretending to doze off because I have to be up in three hours."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "His blood sugar must be low. He probably ate a whole five minutes ago."

"I have this idea." Stephanie seemed completely wired. Her eyes were wide and bright, her hands busy with her braided hair. "And I needed to tell someone, in case, you know, it didn't work."

"I don't wanna know." Matt groaned.

"I'm going to stow away on the RAW." Stephanie blurted out eagerly. "Any idiot can put together plans for the new Engineering deck on the new WWE Titanprize. Even you, Jeff!"

"You're too kind." he said dryly. "Gee, isn't that Jericho's ship? Stashing away, defying Daddy, risking your ex's abusive wrath....so romantic."

Steph frowned. "Grow up, Skippy. Jericho can't be trusted with Engineering with his bitchy selfish attitude."

"And you can?"

Matt sighed. There was no escape. "Just ask Daddy to hire you back, Steph. Don't you have him wrapped around your little finger?"

"Right." Stephanie said bitterly. "Before he adopted Chris maybe. I'll ask, but if he insists on shielding me from Hunter and treating me like a fragile doll, I fear I will have to rebel."

"Hunter kicked the crap out of you." the elder Hardly reminded her.

"I'm your friend, Stephanie, so let me say this." Jeff said solemnly, taking her gently by the arm and steering her away from Matt's bed. "My brother is right here and-" Once they got out of earshot, he lowered his voice. "God, what a stick in the mud he's become. What's the point of hiding if you can't do anything?"

"I'm your friend, so I won't say anything about those pigtails." she retorted, shaking off his grip.

"Do you think you're just going to pop out of a closet and say _hi y'all_?" Jeff demanded. "How will you eat?"

"Maybe you could advise me on coming out of the closet." Stephanie snapped. "Once we're in deep space, out on a mission, Daddy will just have to deal with it!"

Jeff sighed, "I guess I can't stop you. Take your Crippler. You know if Hunter finds out you're on the ship, he can kill you and get rid of you and no one will ever know?"

"Duh." Stephanie didn't seem appropriately concerned. "I'll let you know when I make it aboard. Until you go your seperate ways, listen to Matt, okay?"

"Why start now? Did he suddenly find something interesting to say?"

Steph raised an eyebrow. "You have, like, NO friends since you're transfering! You're stuck with each other. Got it?"

Jeff pinched his own arm. "Ow! God, guess it's not a nightmare. How about a good-bye kiss with lots of tongue to make it better."

"How about I leave here and you still _have _a tongue?" she suggested.

"Fair enough." Ensign Hardy held his arms out awkwardly. "A hug. Hands above the waist I promise."

Stephanie thought about it for a moment. "Nooooo.....let's stick with our no-touch policy."

"Yeah, you're afraid the desire will overwhelm you, it's cool Steph." Jeff nodded. "So good luck and stuff."

"And _good night_." Matt said pointedly.

Commander McMahon departed, feeling pretty pleased with herself. Why did they worry so much about Hunter? She knew how dangerous the Game was to play, she'd learned the hard way and almost lost everything. And yet she felt a little sad too.....

Not that she'd admit it to the Aerialians. After all this time, it was still difficult to swallow the idea her best friends were mere alien ensigns. Who knew when she'd see Jeff again? When she was hiding on the RAW, who'd make subtle slams about her slutty ways and her so non-existent crush on Y2J? Who'd show Lita how to match her clothes or help force Matt onto a diet?

Stephanie took a deep breath and headed back to her quarters. She couldn't think about that now....she had a mission.....

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - UNDISCLOSED LOCATION (06:00h) 

The Chosen One eyed the man before him - a WrestleFleet officer. The man stood smugly, his blond hair tied back into a ponytail, his black shirt embrodiered with three "H"s. This was one of the top members of the Kliq.

But then, he was also with a Kliq member - a member who had only recently up and left WrestleFleet.

The Chosen One signalled "Razor" to take the briefcase their contact offered. Razor opened the briefcase carefully, showing the contents to his Commander.

Before them were blueprints for a highly-destructive weapon called the F5. A weapon WrestleFleet had already built and pushed as 'the next big thing'. Knowledge of the weapon had not reached the general public yet, nor had it been positioned on a ship, being considered far too uncontrollable.

Another briefcase was given to the WrestleFleet contact in exchange. The WrestleFleet officer checked inside and smiled at the several-million credits that lit his face in a soft green glow.

No words were spoken as the men parted ways.

WRESTLEFLEET HEADQUARTERS - HALLWAY (06:10h) 

Stephanie turned a corner and almost ran into the undisputed egomaniac, Commander Jericho. Stephanie scowled at him, and started to walk on. Jericho shot an arm out, stopping her in her path. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, neither turning to face the other. Stephanie swallowed the nervous lump in her throat, waiting for Jericho to ask why she was wandering the Hardy's corridor this early in the morning. Figures HE would be the one to catch her...

"Commander--" Jericho started.

"Save it, Jerkicho," she interrupted quickly, "I don't need you bragging about how you're going out into space, and I'm stuck here, thanks!"

A pause, then almost regretfully, "Goodbye, Stephanie,"

Stephanie took a step back and looked at him. He truly seemed sincere, "Goodbye, Chris," she replied quietly.

The two locked eyes. _You should tell her before she finds someone else. _Jeff's words from yesterday echoed in his head, but Jericho said nothing as he nodded to Stephanie, and continued down the hall.

It was over.

  



End file.
